Luckier Star
by Acsuperman
Summary: As the performance ends, the girls go about the rest of the day with their activities. However, Tsukasa makes yet another prediction of love in Kagami's future and a new boy arrives in Konata's class! Are they connected? No, not really. Konami!
1. Chapter 1: After the performance

Chapter 1: After the performance

**(A/N) **Ok, so this is my very first Fanfic, I've read a couple really good ones and wanted to try and do one myself, I'm always thinking about this anime, so I figured I might as well give it a try. Please, any critique would not only be welcomed, it's encouraged! I'm going to warn you now, this is a Lucky Star story, there will be a lot of off the wall references. I'll tell you if there's anything I think you might need to know before it happens and I'll do my best to keep it clean. Instead of saying it's all one rating because of one chapter I might write, I'll just give it a rating before each chapter. If there is something that some of you have to skip, I'll try and make it so that it doesn't affect the plot if you do end up skipping it for whatever reason. Like I said, I'll warn you if there's any reason I think you might. If you have any critiques, advice, or just plain compliments, please don't hesitate to use that nice review button! (By the way I'll say it now, I do not own ANYTHING that I use in this. All copyrights belong to their respective owners, just not me.)

**Rating: T**

* * *

As the curtain closed, the girls collapsed on stage and started to rest.

"That actually went better than I thought it would." Kagami said.

"You messed up around the middle Kagamin~" smirked Konata with her signature cat grin.

"It's not my fault! We didn't have much time for rehearsals!" The lilac haired girl yelled. It was true, they only had 4 practice runs to begin with and only 1 of those was on camera. Most of them had had their own class projects to work on after all.

"Did I do alright Minami-chan?" Yutaka asked her Mint-haired friend in between huffs of breath.

"You did fine Yutaka." Minami said reassuringly. They all fell silent as they heard Minoru Shiraishi calling out the next performance.

"And now all the way from North High, give a big Ryōō welcome to their band ENOZ!"

"Oh man, we better get going!" Kagami said to the other girls as they ran off to their respective class projects.

As they started to part ways, Konata addressed Kagami for a minute.

"Wish me luck Kagamin! Maybe I should let you be my first fortune told!" Konata giggled.

"I already know what you're going to say, 'You will come into money soon' or something vague like that." Kagami said as she mocked her blue haired friend.

"Noooo~ I'm serious! I've really got one for you!" said Konata with a gleam in her eye.

"Fine, let's hear it…" sighed a face palming Kagami.

"You will fail to scare multiple people today." Konata said in her best Nagato impersonation while pulling out her Staring Inferno.

"Shut up! And where did that thing even come from?" yelled the Tsundere.

"Cya later Kagamin~!" waved Konata as she ran away.

*Sigh*"That girl sometimes…" as Kagami started off towards her class's project.

* * *

**The First Year Class**

As Yutaka and her friends Minami, Hiyori and Patricia ran towards their cafe, Yutaka, Minami and Hiyori all went to the back room to get the former two changed into costume while Patricia went to entertain any customers already there. About five minutes later, Yutaka, wearing a red dress, came out on the arm of the cross-dressing Minami.

"Is this okay? I've never worn anything like this before..." Yutaka said, turning a little red.

"Yutaka are you okay?" asked Hiyori. "You were fine a minute ago!"

"No, I'm fine, just a little embarrassed is all" said Yutaka, blushing.

"Don't worry. You look fine." commented the ever-cool Minami.

"Th-thanks Minami-chan!" said the Salmon haired girl.

_Awwwwww, it's almost like..._ pictured Hiyori.

"Tamura-san, are you okay? Your nose is bleeding!" Yutaka exclaimed.

"No-no-no-no-no-no! I'm fine! Don't worry about me! Just get serving already, don't you have a job to be doing?" Hiyori yelled as she turned around patting her nose with a handkerchief. _Man, I've gotta keep my mind on a better leash!_ thought the perverted 10th grader.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Yutaka cried out as she went to take peoples orders.

"Are you okay? Would you like me to take you to the nurse?" Minami asked her friend after she had sidled up. Scared half to death at her sudden appearance, Hiyori started stumbling over words.

"Like I said, I'm fine! It just happens every now and again you see! Ahehehehehe..."

"I see..." Minami looked at Hiyori like she was peering into her very soul with those emotionless-looking eyes.

"Uh! I've gotta go get changed!" Hiyori yelled as she ran into the back room.

"Funny, she never got herself a costume, did she?" Minami asked no one in particular while a question mark appeared above her head. "How vexing..." she mumbled, going to work.

* * *

**Class C**

Kagami, Misao and Ayano quickly ran to change into their costumes for their class's haunted house. As they got there fully geared for scaring the bejeebers out of poor students, they noticed the rest of their class walking down the hall talking about the cheer leading performance done just a moment ago.

"You mean to tell me we ran all the way here and they weren't even here yet?" angrily yelled Misao

_Hmmmmmmmm, They haven't appeared to have noticed us yet... _Kagami thought with a grin.

"Guys, come on!" the lilac haired girl whispered as she dragged her friends into the Haunted House. "Let's see if we can't scare them for taking so much time to get back here!"

As they hid in the make-shift house, they started hearing their fellow classmates come in.

_Here they come, this is gonna be great!_ snickered Kagami.

"RAWR~!" She yelled out as she jumped from behind a pitch black curtain.

"Oh, hey Hiiragi." the boy in front of the group responded as they walked by unfazed.

"uugh..." groaned Kagami as she moped about in the corner. Kagami's eyes suddenly widened as she thought back...

**"You will fail to scare multiple people today."**

_How could she have... No way, it must have just been a coincidence. Still, that's kinda freaky..._

"Alright people, we're opening up, get ready to scare some students!" announced a disembodied voice from the darkened room.

_Guess I better get going then._ As she got near the beginning of the room preparing to jump out at the next people through the door. She heard footsteps coming down the hall as people began to see that it was open. "RAWR!" She yelled out as she scared several students clear out of the room. _Yeah, that how you do it!_

**20 Minutes Later**

_Whew this is fun, only a few groups have made it past me! Oh, here comes another one..._ Smirked Kagami as she heard light footsteps.

"RAAAWR I AM A WITCH COME TO EAT YOU~!" the Tsundere screamed out.

"Hmmmm? You wanna eat me Kagamin~?" Replied her blue haired friend with a catgrin.

"Ko-Konata! No-no-no, Yo-you don't understand, I've been scaring people all day, it just sorta grew to that!" Shouted an embarrassed Kagami, turning a very deep shade of red. "What are you doing here anyway? I thought you would still be telling fortunes or something. Do they even know you're gone?"

"I took a break to come see you! You see, I was telling everyone's fortune and then it occurred to me that I hadn't told mine yet sooooo..."

"Don't tell me..."

"I saw that I was supposed to visit Kagami so I left!" shouted the excited otaku, throwing her short arms into the air for emphasis.

"You can't just up and leave whenever you want! What do you think this is, a game?" retorted Kagami, scaring off a few more guests with her yelling.

"Kagamin's scary!" Konata flinched in mock fear, but dropped the act in seconds. "But this is an Arts Festival, you sure you're not taking this too seriously?"

"We-Well I wasn't ten minutes ago! I was-"

"Hey, if you two are gonna keep yelling like that, would you mind taking it somewhere else? You're scaring away all our guests!" Said the voice of a classmate.

"But it's a Haunted House, they're supposed to be scared! Fine..." the white haired witch let out a big sigh before following Konata out of the room.

"So, what's up?" asked an exasperated Kagami, strangely glad that her friend had risked a large bump on the head from Kuroi to come see her.

"Actually, I should probably be getting back about now..." The blue haired fiend replied.

Several volcanic sized eruptions weren't as loud as Kagami in that moment.

"ARE YOU FREAKING SERIOUS? I JUST GOT KICKED OUT OF MY OWN HAUNTED HOUSE!"

"Well, you could always visit our fortune telling or Yu-chan's diner." Suggested a calm Konata, her mouth in the shape of a cat's.

"But they might be expecting me back in there soon, I mean I can't just leave them li-"

"Go ahead! You're hogging all the fun anyway!" Shouted yet another disgruntled student.

_It's like they're trying to piss me off! So what if I happen..._

"to be good at scaring small kids!" Konata finished.

"Wh-wh-what? How did you-"

"I just know my waifu!"

"ARE YOU TRYING TO GET HURT?" Growled Kagami, losing patience.

"Hmm, Want to change conversation topics?" Asked the otaku.

"I think that's fairly obvious." Kagami pouted, crossing her arms.

"Hmmmmm, Tsukasa is actually doing pretty good! With a little help that is..." Konata's voice dropping to a low giggle.

"Really? Why do you make it sound like she's cheating or something?" Kagami said as she noticed that they had been walking. _When did we start walking? Where are we even headed, it looks like Konata's leadi-_

"Hi Onee-chan! Did you come to have you're fortune read?" Tsukasa said brightly.

_Ah, Showing me first hand, eh?_

"Sure why not? Sounds fun!" Said a sweatdropping Kagami.

"Go on, her predictions have been uncannily accura-"

"IZUMI GET YOUR SCRAWNY LITTLE TAIL OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!" Shouted an enraged voice.

"Sakura?" Kagami said as she turned to see the source of the large thud she had just heard, only to see Konata with a lump the size of her fist being dragged off by Ms. Kuroi. _I shoulda figured..._ the Tsundere thought before turning back to her sister. "Ok, I'm ready when you are!"

"Ok Onee-chan!" Tsukasa said as she began shape reading.

"The shapes tell me... You'll find love soon?" the short-haired Twin said, sounding uncertain.

"Why does this sound familiar? Even if I would, who would this 'love' be?" Asked Kagami rhetorically.

"Uuuuh, I don't really know..." Tsukasa said as her Yellow hair bow drooped down.

"You said the same thing when you first thought of shape reading. I hope that you haven't gotten anybodies hopes up. It's great that you want to help out and all, but..."

"But Kona-chan said I was getting really good and people's fortunes were coming true! I really did see love soon for you Onee-chan, I just don't know who it is!" Tsukasa interrupted.

"Well, we'll just have to see, won't we?" Smiled Kagami.

"Yeah!" _Just you wait Onee-chan. I bet you'll find love._

* * *

**Class B**

As Konata, Tsukasa and Miyuki all walked to their fortune telling, they noticed some people already lined up at the door waiting for it to open. As they opened the door, they heard someone from the back of the line yell out

"Hey! If you can really see the future, how come you didn't know you would be late?"

Konata turned around with her cat-like grin and said "Because shut up." just before closing the door.

As they closed the door to get dressed, they heard Ms. Kuroi from behind the make-shift walls.

"Finally, where have you guys been?" She asked

"I'm very sorry we're late Ms. Kuroi, but we had to wait up for Konata-san as she talked with Kagami-san." Miyuki explained.

"Fine, I suppose I'll let you off the hook this time, just try to show up on time from now on." Ms. Kuroi replied.

"Wait a second Teach, aren't we supposed to be getting out in a few days? There aren't going to be any 'from now on's anymore!" Konata informed her teacher with a grin.

"Uh-huh" mumbled Ms. Kuroi.

_I wonder what that was all about. I'm pretty sure I passed my exam to get out of here... I wonder how Kagami is doing..._

**15 Minutes Later**

"You will run into you're girlfriend nine minutes, twenty-seven seconds from now." Konata said to the student in front of her.

"Bu-but I don't have a girlfriend! That can't be right!" claimed the young girl in front of Konata.

"Hey if you don't believe me..." Konata shrugged

"Hmph!" The girl scowled as she walked away.

_I think I'll go see Kagami now. This is getting boring. _The eighteen-year-old thought as she got up and left.

"Izumi! Izumi? Where is she? Maybe she needed to use the restroom." Ms. Kuroi assumed. "Well, when you gotta go..."

"The shapes tell me you'll find money today!" Tsukasa said to a young girl.

"I hope you're right!" Replied the girl. As she turned to walk out, she stepped on something.

"Hmm? What this?" She asked as she bent to pick it up. "A 1000 Yen piece? Wow, you're much better than that blue haired girl, Thanks!"

"Well I'm just glad my prediction came true for you!" Tsukasa said with a smile.

**10 Minutes Later**

"Hi Onee-chan!..."

* * *

**Luckier Channel (A/N I will underline the parts where Akira isn't in cute mode to distinguish it better)**

"Luckier~ Channel~! Hiya Luckies! I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami!" Akira yelled in a very cutesy voice. "Can you believe we're on our very first chapter? Cause I sure can't!"

"Hello, I'm Minoru Shiraishi and I'm the assistant!"

"I'm so glad you came to apologize Shiraishi-san!"

"Ye-..Yeah, I just felt awful!" Minoru said, the threat he had heard just that day echoing in his mind, the presence of Gotouza still fresh.

_"Now look. I'm getting paid so that you and little miss bitchybritches over there get along. Now I'm going to count to ten. You're going to apologize before I get to ten. Bad things will happen if I get to ten. Do you understand?" The terrifying woman had said._

_"Yes ma'am!"_

_"Am I going to reach ten?"_

_"No ma'am!"_

_"Good. Now go apologize. Or else."_

"Man, I wish this gig paid more." Akira mumbled, as her cheery and friendly tone disappeared, and she had an edge in her voice that made Minoru's spine tingle. "First chapter and we're already getting our pay cut."

"Well, I understand, but they need to make money too I guess, right Akira-sama?"

"But I'm Akira Kogami. I'm a super idol! I SHOULD BE MAKING MORE THAN TH-"

*Music tone*

"Awww, it looks like we're all out of time for today. Akira's sad now!" The girl said, immediately turning her cutesy face and voice back on. "Well I'll see you again next time! Bye-nii~!"

"..."

"So, why did you apologize anyway? Did your mommy tell you to?"

"I don't see where that's any of your business."

"What was th-"

*End*

* * *

**After Section**

So what did you think? This took a little while to write and some of the parts turned out much different than what I thought they would in the beginning. There were several parts where I would stop and simply stare at the screen trying to decide between some of the jokes I could have done. Like I said, please review, critique, compliment, just please no flaming. I don't care if you tell me that my work sucks, I already know that, but tell me why it sucks so I can improve. Let me know what you think of it and if you think I should keep posting these!

**(EDIT)** Just reread this myself. It blew my mind all the errors I made with grammar and even a couple spelling mistakes… I also redid it so that it's more like the rest of the chapters, there were a few thoughts that, if read like the rest of my story, seemed to be a part of someone else's thoughts. Anyway, to everyone who's reading for the first time, enjoy my story! I heard it gets better the more chapters you read, so please don't be discouraged from reading! Enjoy!


	2. Chapter 2: The Day After

Chapter 2: The Day After (Mostly)

Ok, so this is my newest chapter, I'm trying to type these fast, but correct so if there are any errors, please tell me so I can correct them ASAP and not make them again. I hope you all enjoy and don't forget to review! Well I hope you like Chapter 2! (By the way, this isn't the speed I'm going to be typing these at, I just happened to have been working on this for a little while before I actually posted the first one.) Oh, and to Gonstika, don't worry about being harsh, I know I have a long ways to go and I gladly accept your criticism! Enjoy!

**Rating: T**

* * *

**The Announcement**

"Hello Ms. Kuroi!" Chimed Konata, recovered from last nights scare.

"Hey Izumi." She heard her lethargic teacher say.

"You sound down teach, whats up?" Asked The blue haired girl inquisitively.

"I have a few announcements that are a real drag..."

"Hmmm, I wonder what it could be with only a few days left until graduation." Said Konata with her catgrin.

*Sigh* "I guess there's no better time than now to bring your mood down." Ms. Kuroi said halfheartedly. "Class, I have a few announcements to make that for your convenience has been arranged in the list below."

"1). Summer vacation has been canceled. Apparently they can do that. Instead, you will be given more time off that is spread throughout the next school year."

"Doesn't affect me at all!" Cheered the Otaku.

"Let me finish Izumi." Her teacher responded with an equal and opposite tone in her voice.

"2). Due to some attempt to save money or something, all the local colleges have been shut down. Instead, you will attend college classes right here in Ryōō. You will each have to retake your tests to determine whose class you will be in. This also means I have to learn a whole new lesson plan ALONG with my old one!" Cried the despondent instructor.

"WHAT? That sucks!" Konata cried along side her teacher and fellow students.

"And finally 3). We have a new student! His name is Kanpeki Otokonoko." He was an average looking boy with short, brown hair. Most of the rest of his features were hidden by his school blazer, which seemed different somehow.

"Its nice to meet all of you, if my name is too long to remember, my friends usually call me Tony!" Bowed the new student.

"Tony? That makes no sense." Commented the teacher under her breath.

"I like the name, I'm not sure why." Said Tony, startling Ms. Kuroi with the fact that he heard her. "But, call me whatever you feel comfortable with!" He said with a smile.

"Lets see, there an empty seat behind~... Izumi!" Stated Ms. Kuroi, pointing to an empty desk of a former student behind Konata.

"Ok then!" Tony sat down behind the Blue haired girl.

_Uhg, a newbie. What a drag..._ Thought Konata as she thought about her new situation.

"Hey, I hope we have a great year." Whispered Tony.

"I'm not looking for more friends, kid." Konata replied coldly.

"... Oh" _What did I do?_ the new guy asked himself.

* * *

**Lunch Time**

"Hi everyone, I've come for lunch!" Kagami said as she entered the room. Just as she was about to sit with her friends at Konata's desk, she noticed the new face behind her friend. "Who's the new guy?"

"Oh, he's just some kid that transferred in because his scores placed him here for now. Crazy stuff about the whole college and summer thing, eh?" Konata said, trying to change the subject.

"He looks kinda lonely, we should go ask him if he wants to join us!" Kagami suggested. "Who know, he might be a time traveler, alien, or esper..." She joked at Konata.

"Ug, Fine, but just because you asked Kagami." Konata turned to the desk behind her reluctantly. "Hey Tony, wanna join us?"

"Sure! It would be my pleasure." The boy said gratefully as he got up to move.

"Hello, My name is Kagami Hiiragi and this is my sister, Tsukasa Hiiragi. These are our friends, Miyuki Takara and Konata Izumi."

"We've met..." He said as he sweatdropped looking at Konata, "But I have heard of you all before."

"Oh really?" Kagami said with surprise. _How does this guy know us?_

"You see, I've heard about how Hiiragi-san and Takara-san are some of the brightest students in the school. And I heard that Hiira... the younger Hiiragi is one of the best cooks around!" He didn't have the heart to tell them that the only reason he really knew Tsukasa was by her older sister. More often then not, he had heard her talked about as "Kagami's Sister" rather than Tsukasa. He had a feeling she was a good cook and so decided to go for it.

"You can call me Kagami." Kagami said, blushing slightly at such high praise.  
"My friends all call me Miyuki." Said Miyuki  
"I don't mind if you call me Tsukasa at all!" Tsukasa stated.  
"Izumi is fine." Konata said with slight hostility in her voice, causing Kagami to give her a look that Konata somehow knew meant that she wanted to see her later.  
"Fine, you can call me Konata then..." Sighed the blue haired Otaku.

"Thanks, I appreciate the kindness. I do have one question though Kagami." said Tony as he started looking deep in thought.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Twin tails... Dual personality... Nice sometimes but cruel at others... Are you by chance a Tsundere?" Asked the boy innocently. Konata's ears perked up and her head whipped around to look at him with a slight twinkle in her eye.

_Another one, huh? *Sigh* _"That's what she tells me." Kagami explained as she pointed to Konata.

"And by the way you reacted, I'm guessing you're an Otaku, Konata?" That only brightened her twinkle.

_He seems nice enough though. I wonder what the rest think of him... I can ask Miyuki without him knowing I'm sure._ Thought the Tsundere, as she and Miyuki had both taken several foreign languages.

"Oye Miyuki, ¿qué piensa usted de este tipo, que parece lo suficientemente bueno hasta ahora." Kagami asked her friend, sure she would understand the need for the language change.  
(Hey Miyuki, what do you think of this guy, he seems nice enough so far.)

"Él es bastante bueno hasta ahora, creo que se parece como una buena persona." Miyuki replied in Spanish, basically reiterating what Kagami had said.  
(He's rather nice so far. He seems like a nice person.)

"Creo que es el mejor hombre en este grupo!" Said Tony with a smirk.  
(I think he's the best guy in this group!)

Kagami and Miyuki both jumped a little as he spoke Spanish more fluently then both of them.

"Uuuh, I'm really sorry for talking about you in front of your back like that, I was just curious is all..." Kagami said quickly turning a light shade of red. _Hmm, if he knows Spanish so well, he probably doesn't know many, if any, other foreign languages..._

"Its no problem, I understand your curiosity of your friends opinion of me. I was kind of wondering myself." Stated Tony, obviously amused.

Now speaking in English (I'll put them in double quotation marks to symbolize it from now on), rather than the Japanese you're obviously not reading, Kagami started talking to her sister who occasionally joined her sister when studying it at home.

""So, do you think of him Tsukasa?"" Kagami said in rough English.

""If he is not listening, I'll tell you later, you do not know us."" Said Tsukasa, surprising her sister with her caution, but in equally rough English.

""You think he kn-""

""I believe you are trying to say, 'So, what do you think of him Tsukasa' and 'I'll tell you later, we don't know if he's listening.' Which I kinda still am."" Again startling them with a near perfect command of English as well.

_What is this guy? I guess it could be worse, if he hadn't told us, he could have listened in on so much stuff that we might have said..._

"So Tony, how many languages do you know?" Asked Tsukasa.

"I am fluent in over six million forms of communication." Stated Tony rather matter-of-factly.

"Eh~?" exclaimed the short-haired girl.

"What are you? A droid?" Kagami asked with a snicker.

"Not the one you're looking for." The boy said, eliciting a laughing fit from Kagami, making Konata stifle a similar reaction, but leaving Tsukasa and Miyuki with nothing but a confused look.

After the laughter had subsided, the Tsundere saw the confused look on her sister's face. "Come on Tsukasa, its Star Wars! We watched it a couple years ago, remember?"

"I guess, kinda..."

"So Tony, wh-" Kagami tried to ask.

"Hey Hiiragi, weren't you supposed to go back to your class ten minutes ago?" Ms. Kuroi interjected.

"Huh?" Kagami questioned as she looked at the clock. Lunch had ended five minutes earlier. "..."

"CRAP CRAP CRAP!" She yelled as she ran out of the room at light speed.

"I hope her teacher isn't going be too hard on her." Miyuki commented.

"Yeah, me too..." said the concerned boy.

"Don't worry, Yukari is late half the time herself and this, if memory serves, is Hiiragi's first time being late." The teacher said.

"I'm glad." Tony said with a sigh of relief.

"Shouldn't you three be getting back to you're seats?" Ms. Kuroi said, referring to the three friends who were still at Konata's desk.

"Ye-yeah!" Tsukasa stuttered as they hastily returned to their seat.

* * *

**After School**

Kagami raced over to her friend's class as soon as the bell to get out rang. "Oi! Hiira..." was all Misao could get out before her friend was out of earshot.

She got to her destination at the same moment Konata was leaving the room. "Hello Kagamin~!" the Otaku called out.

"We need to talk." Kagami said curtly, grabbing her friend by the hand and pulling her away from the others.

"Whats up Kagami?" She asked as the started to stop. "Anything wrong?"

"What did Tony do to you? Why are you acting this way?" Kagami questioned ferociously.

"Acting what way? He didn't do anything."

"You're acting like an ass. Now I want to know why before I make any judgments."

_I can't really tell her why, not yet at least... That prediction I don't think I was supposed to hear that Tsukasa told me about... __**You will find love soon**__... He's the only guy we have actually talked to for more than five minutes and Kagamin is always complaining that she doesn't have a boyfriend... _"I just have a bad feeling about him is all. You understand?"

"No. No I don't. He seems like a nice guy, but you don't like him. I'm trying to understand, but you're not giving me any reasons here other than your intuition. Now there's something you're not telling me and I want to know what it is. I know you, you're not like this!" Kagami tried desperately to goad her friend into telling her her true thoughts.

"I... I..." Kagami knew she was close. "I.."

"Kagami! Konata! Hey!" Tony yelled as he ran towards them waving.

"Tony! What are you doing here so late, do you have an after-school activity?" Konata said quickly, trying to keep the subject off of her behavior.

"No, you see I'm sorta... kinda... lost.." He said while hanging his head, ashamed.

"Well that's too bad, why don't you show him around Kagami? Kthxbye!" Konata shouted as she sprinted off.

"What was all that about? Didn't she hate me at lunch time?" Tony thought out loud.

"I was actually trying to find out why that was. I was pretty close when you came and interrupted us." Kagami said, slightly irritated at the boy's terrible timing.

"Oh man, I'm really sorry. I was wondering what I did..." _Hmmmm, I'll have to think on this. _

"I wouldn't worry too much, she already said you didn't do anything."

"Hmmm, I might have a theory, but I'll need to think for a little while before I can put any confidence in it." Tony said getting a distant look in his eye, but recovering a second later.

"Oh? And just what might this theory of yours be?"

"Classified Information."

"I figured." Kagami said, wishing people would for once just tell her things instead of hiding them from her. "So your lost, huh?"

"Yeah, I was wondering around trying to find my way out when I realized, even if I did make my way out, I have no clue how to get to my house from here. That's about the time I saw you two."

"Well, where do you live?"

"3-14-17 Kita-Satte"

"Are... are you serious?" Kagami deadpanned.

"Yeah why?" asked Tony, confused at her reaction.

"No-...Nothing, I'll help you out." Kagami stuttered, almost stunned by this turn of events.

"Cool you know the way?" Tony asked excitedly.

"All too well..." She said as she led him on a quick tour of Saitama before she would lead him home.

**2 Hours Later**

"-And MAN was it stinky!" Tony said as he concluded his story.

"Really? I didn't even know they got that stinky!" Kagami said laughing.

"Neither did I until I smelt it myself!" The boy laughing with her.

"Well, we're here, this is your house. I'm wondering though, how did you not know where this was? I mean its your **house**."

"Thanks a lot for your help. And as for the question, when I was transferred here, I didn't have much time so I chose the cheapest place available at the time that would still be kind of spacious and went straight to school. I've never even seen the inside!" Tony said cheerfully.

"I see, I guess it would have to be spacious to fit you and your parents, not to mention any siblings, huh?" It was more of statement then a question though.

"Well... My parents are both gone and I haven't heard from my brother in a long time. I'm on my own here." Tony said in a slightly less cheerful voice.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know..." Kagami said rather depressed that she had stirred painful memories in her friend.

"Nah, its ok. Its been like this for as long as I can remember. Or as long as I care to remember, that is. I'm doing fine."

"Glad to hear it... If you don't mind me asking, how did it happen?"

"I don't mind you asking, its the answering part I don't like much. To be quite honest, I don't remember clearly, all I really have is what my brother told me."

"Wow look at the time! I'll never make it home before curfew, even if I run! Crap!" Kagami said, nearly losing her temper with herself for not keeping better track of the time. _Late twice in one day because of this guy. I'm oddly not angry with him as I am with myself for not watching my time._

"You can use my bike! Its right in here... " Tony said as he retrieved his bike.

"Wait... didn't you say you had never been here? How did you get this here then? And how did you even know where it was?"

"You've no time for questions! Ride Kagami! Ride like the wind!"

"Th-thanks... I've had a lot of fun showing you around!"

"Hehe, as have I. Hey Kagami?" He said, halting her for a minute.

"Yeah?"

"Um... I'll tell you tomorrow. If you don't mind me sitting with you guys again, that is." Tony said in a playful tone.

"Not at all! I'll see you tomorrow!" And with that, Kagami rode off into the night, hoping to make it home in time. "And thanks for letting me use your bike!" She shouted behind herself.

"No problem!" He called after her.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~ Channel~!" Akira shouted as the lucky board was held in front of the monitor. "Hiya Luckies! I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami!"

"And I'm her assistant, Minoru Shiraishi!"

"We're on our second chapter! So did you notice anything out of the ordinary Shiraishi-san?" Akira said in her cutesy voice.

"Well, this chapter was kind of different from the last one, they introduced a new character!"

"Yeah, I know, what the hell was the writer thinking anyway? You never introduce a new character in these things unless you kill them off the next chapter. I wonder how that's gonna happen." Akira remarked, dropping her cute act completely. "So, what do you think of him? You like him? I thought not, he shouldn't even be in the story, much less in the limelight like he was here. I'm mean WHY THE HELL CAN'T THEY LET ME ON THERE AGAIN IF THEY CAN JUST BRING IN SOME GUY LIKE THIS? THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!"

"Please Akira-sama, calm down!" Shouted Minoru.

"I WILL NOT, I WA-*Music Tone* Awwwww, that was way too short! Well, we're out of time for today! Bye-nii~!" Akira faint cried, picking her act up again instantaneously.

"Bye nii~!" Minoru mirrored.

"..."

"So. Have you asked them why they wrote me out of the show?" Akira asked after the screen went back up.

"Yeah, they said we caused too much of a ruckus last time." Minoru explained.

"Fine. They want a ruckus, I'll give them a ruckus..." Akira said almost under her breath as she walked off.

"Ah-Akira-sama, wait!" Minoru chased as the camera goes black.

*End*

* * *

**After Section**

And so ends another chapter, what did you think? There were a few parts that didn't happen like I thought they would, but overall I'm happy with how it turned out. So a lot happened in this chapter and I'd like to clarify a few things. I know a few people personally would probably say "OMG! A male character on LS? There are no male characters on LS! Especially an OC!" to which I must quote one of my favorite authors on the site by saying  
I reject your reality and substitute my own.  
Besides, I've thought of quite a few things that can happen with a guy character in it. That is also my reasoning for college and summer. I wanted them to stay where they were, at least for now seeing as how I'm still a noob at writing. Maybe people will stop being such cheapskates and reopen the colleges in the future.

Just let me know if you have any questions/concerns/critique/or (unlikely as it is) compliments!

**(EDIT)**Warning. Tony is going to be a prick for several more chapters, please don't stop reading on his account! Please if you've read to this point, at least read a few more and don't quit. I realize, he's extremely annoying, but it was for an intro. He gets better later after some stuff happens.


	3. Chapter 3: Concern

Chapter 3: Concern

'nother chapter. I've found the hardest part is to actually come up with a chapter name that doesn't ruin the actual chapter also without repeating chapter names (Though I did come up with one for this chapter after all.). Also how to string my ideas together coherently. I have no shortage of ideas, just about how to implement them. As always, please review, tell me how horrible I'm doing and critique please! Just please no flaming for no given reason. Oh, and if there are dark parts coming up, don't worry, it won't be anywhere NEAR what I did with Yutaka in Chapter 1 for a long while, if ever. For those of you who didn't read that and won't get the chance, you're not missing anything. It was God-awful. And don't think I'm going to be able to keep up the pace of a chapter a day. Cause I won't be able to for very long I assure you. Enjoy!

**Rating: T**

* * *

**The Next Morning**

"Huh, I can't believe I'm going to be wearing this for another few years..." Kagami said while staring at her Summer Uniform. "Just how the hell did they even cancel summer? Or close college? Is that even legal?" She wondered out loud.

"Morning~ Onee-chan..." Her sister said as she walked lazily into her sister's room, still rubbing sleep out of her eyes. "Where were you yesterday? And why do you have your uniform out?"

"I was showing Tony around town, he's never been here before. And a better question would be, why are you still in your pajamas? They canceled Summer, remember?"

"..." Tsukasa deadpanned.

"Go get ready quick!" But Tsukasa was already running towards her room down the hall, completely forgetting the fact that Kagami hadn't gotten home until after curfew, well after she had gone to bed. "Seriously, she can be so forgetful sometimes..." _Late twice and both his fault. Hehe. I just can't let that go...  
_

_I **will** find out what's wrong Konata. Just you wait._

**On the way to school, Kagami and Tsukasa are using the bike so they can return it.**_  
_

"Hey Onee-chan, where did this bike come from anyway? It's not ours, is it?"

"No, Tony let me borrow his so I could get back before curfew." Kagami said, leaving out the fact that she hadn't.

"Wow, he let you borrow his bike? He's only known you for one day! He must really trust you Onee-chan."

"I know, it feels weird to have someone you just met trust you so much." _We did kind of hit it off though, we talked for hours and had so much fun. I wonder why Konata doesn't like him..._

"So are you returning it today?" Asked Tsukasa, breaking Kagami from her thoughts.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I? I have my own bike, I just needed to get home quick at the time and he was already nice enough to lend it to me for a day." _He never did answer my question though..._

"I guess you're right, I didn't really think about that before I asked..."

"Its alright Tsukasa, I understand. It's a nice bike, I get how you would want to keep it."

"Wait, wh-"

"And it did just kinda appear out of nowhere. I guess it would seem kinda weird, huh?"

"Do-Do you think I wanted t-"

"But the only real reason I could accept his kindness was because I needed to at the time. We can't ask him for his bike, that wouldn't be right!"

"I...I..." _Aww forget it..._ The poor Tsukasa thought as her ribbon drooped, defeated.

"Alright, we're here! I've gotta get up there quick so I can talk to Konata." Kagami said with determination.

"What do you need to talk about Onee-chan?"

"Don't worry about it Tsukasa." The Tsundere smiled, but her voice had a sternness about it. "Lets just get there before class starts."

"Ok!" Tsukasa cheered as she ran after her sister.

As they neared the door to Class B, Kagami saw the clock. They were twenty minutes ahead of the first bell. _Oh. Right. We rode here super fast on a bicycle. I forgot. I guess not.._ She thought as she looked into the class to see only a couple students in said room. The two waited as students trickled into the classroom in small group of two or three. As they were waiting, Miyuki showed up ten minutes after them.

"Hey Miyuki, you're early." Kagami said.

"Actually, its a little embarrassing... I'm always afraid that I will be late for class so I try to arrive ten minutes before we're needed." Miyuki eyesmiled.

Kagami got instinctively ready to scold as she expected Konata to make a comment on Miyuki's moe. _Oh that's right, she isn't here yet..._

They waited for five more minutes before Tony showed up. "Hey Kagami! Tsukasa!"

"Hey Tony. I brought your bike back..." Kagami said distractedly.

"Worried about Konata?"

"Ye-" _!DANGER! _"Wha-Wha-What are you trying to say?" Kagami yelled out, absolutely flustered.

*Sigh* "Nothing, don't worry about it... Thanks for bringing my bike back, did you get home okay and on time?"

"Uhh" _No _"Yeah, which brings me back to the question of how you knew where it was when you hadn't been inside your house yet."

"It's pretty funny actually, because I can't tell you." The boy said with confidence.

"Huh? Why?" Kagami barely managed to get out before the bell for her class had rang.

"That's why."

"Figures..." She mumbled under her breath. _I'll have to wait for lunch to talk to Konata. I'll drag her aside again, but it sucks that she's late today of all days..._ She thought to herself as she went to her own class, sighing that she couldn't see her friend. She had an uneasy feeling in her stomach.

"Oi Hiiragi!" Misao yelled as Kagami entered her class.

"Hey..."

"What's wrong Hiiragi? You and the squirt have a disagreement or something?" Her fang toothed friend asked, little knowing exactly how right she had been.

"Wait a minute, how did you know? Were you watching or something?" Kagami yelled, confused.

"Uhh... Lucky Guess?" Sweatdropped Misao.

"Hey you two! Sit down, get to work and stop interrupting my class!" Ms. Yukari shouted.

"Yes Ma'am..." Kagami said as she sat down, barely able to wait until lunch.

**Back at Ms. Kuroi's room**

"That's why."

"Figures..." Kagami said as she left for her own class.

"Hmm, I have an odd feeling she lied to me..." Tony said as he watched Kagami leave.

"What makes you say that?" Tsukasa asked.

"Well I-"

"Otokonoko! Hiiragi! Get in here, class has started!" Ms. Kuroi yelled from inside.

"Coming!" Tsukasa shouted.

_Interrupted again. People seem to do that a lot around here..._ The boy thought as he entered Class-B.

"Izumi! Izumi~? What is she late again?" Ms. Kuroi said, turning expectantly to the door, but there was nothing. _Huh, she wasn't on last night either. She must be really sick if she wasn't playing AND isn't here today...  
_"Well, lets get class started I guess!" She said after taking the rest of the roll.

_Interesting..._ Tony thought.

* * *

**Lunchtime**

"Hey, I'm here for lunch!" Kagami said as she rushed into the classroom. "Huh? Where's Konata?" She practically yelled at the top of her lungs, quickly covering her mouth in embarrassment and turning a light shade of red as the entire class looked her way.

"I'm assuming she's sick. Usually I wouldn't, but she wasn't online last night, and she usually gets on at least to say 'Hi'. It must be serious if she couldn't even log on to say a quick hello I mean really, sh-" By this time, Kagami had stopped listening. Her heart felt like it had dropped a couple feet. _Didn't her mom die of a serious illness? No, I've got to think logically, she was completely fine yesterday and if it was something so bad, I would have caught it too. Yeah, that's right, she must just be skipping again... Or is she... avoiding me? As much as I would hate that, it's better than her being seriously ill._ She tried to explain to herself, but that terrifying feeling wouldn't go away. She went to sit at Tony's desk since Konata wasn't there today.

"Don't worry Kagami." The boy said reassuringly.

"Wha..?"

"Konata was healthy yesterday. If this was anything too serious, we would have seen symptoms before school ended. The worst she could have is Gastroenteritis. Besides, even if she had something REALLY bad, I can tell that nothing could keep her down before she accomplishes her goal."

"And what would her 'goal' be?"

"Classified Information. Konata wouldn't want me tell you, even if I don't have much proof yet."

"... God damn it..." _Nobody ever tells me anything! But I guess he is right, we would have seen something if it were bad_. _I'll go see her after school today. Man I really hope she's ok..._

"She's ok." Tony said, reading her face_._

"Yeah... Thanks Tony." Kagami said, feeling a little better._  
_

"Yuki-chan, what's Gastroenteritis?" Tsukasa asked, a question mark appearing above her head.

"Well you see, Gastroenteritis is the scientific name for a stomach flu or a 24-hour flu. Even though it's called these, however, it has no relation to the influenza virus. Symptoms are a runny nose, a sore throat, coughing, nausea and vomiting, along with a few others as well." Miyuki explained.

"I am **SO **glad I've finished eating already." Kagami commented, noticing something different. "By the way Tony, your blazer looks different from the others. Is there something special about it?"

"Yeah, it's custom made. I made a few... modifications to it."

"Why do you make that sound like a bad thing... What modifications, exactly?"

"Classified Information. You don't really need to know, but maybe you'll find out in the future."

*Sigh*"Geez, either you or Konata is going to drive me nuts, its just a matter of which one gets to it first." Kagami facepalmed as Tony laughed. "Anyway, I had better get going, I'll see you guys after school."

"Bye Onee-chan, don't disappear on me again!" Tsukasa said cheerfully, hardly noticing she had only gotten in about three words the entire lunch period.

"Hey Kagami. Lets all go visit Konata after school today, alright?" Tony said with a calming voice.

"Yeah... I would like that." The Tsundere smiled. She would see for herself that her blue haired otaku was ok. Relieved, she went back to her class slowly.

"Oi Hiiragi! Whatcha doin'? Usually you don't come back until the lunch bell rings, but here you are ten minutes early!" Misao asked her friend as she walked in. "Not that I'm not happy to see ya." She added with a smile, her fang-tooth prominent.

"Meh, I guess I wasn't really watching the time, I just decided to come back." Kagami said, drained by all the deception suddenly in her life.

"Perhaps its just your mind's way of making up for being late yesterday?" Ayano suggested, signifying the first time she's ever talked in Luckier Star.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense... I'm just lucky Ms. Yukari was late too so she didn't catch it."

"I don't think she would have punished you, she's late quite often herself." Ayano reminded.

"You have a problem with that?" A long brown-haired lady behind her asked with a tone of death.

"No Ms. Yukari." Kagami piped up, fortunate that her teacher still hadn't heard that she was late.

"I didn't think so." Ms. Yukari made her way to the front of the classroom as she continued her class.

* * *

**After Classes**

Kagami rushed to her friends class as she had the previous day, leaving no time for a baffled Misao to question why. As she was running, it occurred to her that she didn't even have to be running, they were waiting for her anyway. So she began to walk, thinking as she did so. _Could Konata really fake something like this just to avoid me? Well I'm finding things out today. Hehe, funny. Every time I've thought that today, something's gone wrong._ She arrived at Class-B.

"Hey Onee-chan! You ready to go see Kona-chan?" Tsukasa shouted to her approaching twin.

"Yeah! Lets go!" Kagami shouted in reply.

"Otokonoko! Come clean this classroom! And yes, that includes the board and erasers!" They heard Kuroi shout from inside the classroom.

"Aw dang, I guess you have to go without me." Tony said with a depressed hang of his head.

"Well, that sucks. It's probably for the better though, Konata doesn't seem the fondest of you." Kagami said, understating quite a lot.

"You're right, see if you can find out why that is from the little faker, would ya?" He said as he smirked.

"Sure thing!" Kagami had to yell as she was already halfway down the hall.

"Onee-chan~, couldn't we slow down a little?" Shouted Tsukasa, already starting to fall behind, slow getting tired.

*Sigh* "Yeah sure I guess..." Kagami said as she reluctantly slowed to a walk. They had made it out of the school, but Kagami wanted to see Konata NOW.

"Hey Tsukasa, maybe we should call Konata to tell her we're coming?" Kagami said, not really intending it to be a question.

"Yeah, I'll call her right now!" Tsukasa started looking for her phone. "Uuuh... I must have left it at home." She nervously laughed, not finding it.

*Sigh* "You're hopeless." Smirked the Tsundere, reaching for her own phone. "..." She searched the other pocket. "Err." She started searching everywhere, sweatdropping. "Damn it... I forgot mine too" Kagami said, defeated. "How about you Miyuki?"

"I was looking myself when Tsukasa-san looked, but I'm afraid I couldn't locate mine either." Miyuki eyesmiled.

_Uhhg, We all forgot our cellphones today of all days. _Kagami thought as the upper half of her face turned to blue lines. "Well, I guess we'll just have to pop in and surprise her, right?" Kagami recovered.

"Right!" Tsukasa and Miyuki said in unison.

And they arrived at Konata's house. Kagami gulped as she knocked on the door.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira yelled as her cutesy face was revealed. "Hiya Luckies! I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami!"

"And I'm her faithful assistant, Minoru Shiraishi!"

"Luckier Channel is rolling forward with out third chapter! Can you believe it? So, any comments Shiraishi-san?"

"Yeah, I noticed Konata didn't even have a single line in this one. Apparently, the author wanted to see how such a chapter would work. And als-"

"Yeah, that chapter was pretty damn short, I guess the writer is running out of ideas, eh? Getting tired of writing characters into and out of the story yet? I mean that short chick might not even make it to the next chapter, hmmmmm?"Akira said scornfully."And what the hell is with this 'Tony' guy? He seems weird, like he's hiding something..."

"Well, he is, that's been pointed out in several situations when he's said 'Classified Information'." Minoru signed his death.

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Are you calling me stupid?"

"Wha- No Akira-sama! I'm not! I'm just telling everyone who didn't remember! I swear!" Minoru yelled, shaking in fear while bowing to Akira.

"You damn well better be..."

*Music Tone*  
"Well, I guess that's all the time we have left! I'll see you all next chapter if you decide to read it! Bye-nii~!"  
"Bye Nii~!"

"..."

"So, I sure gave the producer a "talking to". He said he'd do his best to get me some screen time, but you're probably gone for good."

"I wouldn't be so sure. I was on the show before you."

"You sure do have a fat head."

"Well that's your opinion."

"Hey, does it seem like the chapter is still going? I mean, the screen is black, there's nothing but us talking right now. Why is this still being recorded?"

"I think it might be because this was such a short chapter, the writer might just be trying to fill in the twenty-three minute time slot."

"Nice cop out kid. I guess whatever you need to do, I sure know that."

"Uuh.."

"It was back in-"

*End*

* * *

**After Section**

So, a Konata-less chapter. Don't worry, right now I do not intend on making this kind of thing a habit. I've also noticed that I seem to be leaving very little lines for Tsukasa and Miyuki, not to mention that the only time anyone has really heard from any of the other characters is in the first chapter. I guess I'll try and work on that, sorry about that. Yeah, Konata does make a lot of time go by when I'm writing these, making conversations between her and Kagami are my favorite parts of writing these, so you can imagine how weird it is not to use her. And Akira didn't blow up in this segment. Odd. Well, write a review and tell me how I'm doing so far. I realize that Kagami did jump the gun a bit with her worries, but that's Kagami. She worries about Konata profusely, even when there isn't anything wrong with her. At first she just really wanted to talk to Konata and then it turned to concern. Oh, and if you can name all the references, that would be a pretty awesome feat. Not one of the smelly ones, a good feat. And I think I've fixed my chapter name problem, I'll just make them completely random like they were in the anime if I can't think of a name. Hope I can keep you reading!


	4. Chapter 4: Discovery

**Author's Note**

Well, your still reading, undoubtedly to see where this story is going. I'm having fun writing this even though I'm just typing what I think would happen at the time. I reread these chapters a couple hundred times before actually posting them to make sure that's what I honestly think would happen. Wow, Armorblade actually reviewed my story. Dude, you are one of my favorites on the site easily, thanks so much for the review, that you said it was well-written is extraordinary praise to me. And to be honest, The man who saved Yutaka wasn't gonna be Tony, though looking back, that was kinda easily assumed, eh? By the way, does just introducing Tony make this non-canon? I suppose it must, but I would really like it to be :P Please continue to give whatever advice you see fit! And so now without further ado, here's the next chapter.

**Rating: T for mild language.**

* * *

**Right outside Konata's house**

Kagami gulped as she knocked on the door.

"Come in!" They heard Konata's dad yell from inside.

"Hey, we're here to check on Konata. Where is she?" Kagami asked, entering the house.

"Well, she's in her room but she's very sick. I wouldn't go in if I were you." Sojiro said, clearly despondent. Kagami's heart dropped again as she rushed to Konata's room. Everyone somehow knew any attempt to stop her was completely futile.

"How sick is she Izumi-san? Do you know with what?" Miyuki asked.

"Well, we had to send Yutaka out of the house. Luckily, her friend Iwasaki volunteered to let her stay at her house until Konata gets better."

"Is she going to be alright?" Tsukasa panicked, hoping the answer was a certain yes.

"I hope so, she started to feel sick yesterday when she got home from school. It's only gotten worse since then. I honestly don't know..." Sojiro said.

_Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay! _Kagami kept thinking to herself constantly as she ran towards Konata's room. She opened the door to see a very pale Konata in bed with a wet cloth on her head.

"Konata... Are you-" She stopped herself from waking her, realizing that her friend probably needed sleep more than anything.

"It's alright Kagami. I'm awake." Konata said in a hoarse voice, coughing several times.

"Konata, are you okay?" Kagami asked.

"Don't worry Kagami, I'm fine... Just a little under the weather..." Konata replied, realizing it hurt a little to talk.

"Well if that isn't the understatement of the year. Did you have a doctor look at you?"

"Yeah, its weird. He said medically there isn't anything wrong with me."

"That's a load of bull! Look at you!" She yelled, but quickly hid her face as she blushed for some reason.

"Kagami.."

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry to worry you."

"... It's no problem, just get better, okay?" _She's acting so weird, Konata never apologizes. It's like she's a different person. Maybe she changes personalities when she gets sick? I don't think I've ever seen her this ill, so it's a possibility? That would explain a few things..._ She thought, honestly scared. Konata, no matter what, never sincerely apologized.

"Sure, but..."

"What is it?"

"Could you... stay a little longer?" Konata asked, turning her head to see the Tsundere at her door. "If there isn't anything medical, you probably wouldn't catch whatever this is..." She said, wincing as she spoke.

"Sure." _I would stay even if it were sure fire I would catch this if she asked. I just wish I could help more._

"Thanks..." Konata weakly smiled as Kagami came over and sat on her friend's bed. And so they talked.

**Back in the living room**

"So there isn't really anything wrong with Kona-chan?" Tsukasa asked, puzzled.

"No, there's definitely something wrong, that doctor must have been new or something to say that she wasn't really sick." Sojiro explained.

"What do you think this is Yuki-chan?" Tsukasa turned her attention to Miyuki.

"Well, I suppose it could be the onset of the stomach flu, but it should have been affecting her at school. Usually if the symptoms are as bad as Izumi-san explained, it would be at its worst right now. However, that would have had to been either earlier in the morning or late last night. Besides that, stomach flu's don't usually get this bad. Even so, nothing I know of should be this bad when she wasn't affected at all yesterday in school..." Miyuki said, giving one of her textbook explanations, but ending in a look deep in thought.

"But Kona-chan's really good at bouncing back, she's come to school with the flu before!" Tsukasa said, confused.

"That's what makes me wonder about this..." Konata's dad said with a worried look on his face. "For a girl as small as her, she is rather resilient, ain't she?" A touch of pride entering his voice for a split second, but vanishing with the sentence.

"It's already been more than ten minutes since Onee-chan went into Kona-chan's room. I hope she isn't in there getting sick from it." Tsukasa said worried.

"Don't worry, if this, apparently, isn't medical, than your sister shouldn't be in much danger of getting sick." The Cobalt-haired man said.

"If you say so..." Tsukasa turned towards her friends room.

*Knock Knock Knock*

"I'll get it..." Sojiro went to the door wondering who this could be. _Maybe Yui brought Yutaka back early? No, she knows better than anyone that Yutaka would catch this just from being the same house as Konata. Maybe it's just some solicitor. Wrong house today, buddy._

"Who is it?" He shouted through the door.

"Is... is this the Izumi residence?" He heard a boys voice from the other side of the door.

"Yeah, who is this?" He shouted in reply. He could have sworn he could hear the boy on the other side deadpanning.

"Konata's a friend of mine from school, I just wanted to come see if she was doing okay?" Sojiro heard from the outside. "May I come in, I'm getting looks from the neighbors."

"Sure..." Sojiro opened the door to see a brown haired boy. _Since when did she get guy friends? She never told me._

"Tony! How did you know where Kona-chan lived?" Tsukasa asked her friend.

"Well, I had a pretty big feeling when I saw Kagami's reaction to where I lived. I knew that it was either next to her or it was next to Konata, and seeing as how she needed my bike to get home on time..."

"And just where do you live, kid?" Sojiro asked, suspicious.

"Next door."

"HEY! DON'T GO THINKING JUST BECAUSE YOUR LIVING NEXT DOOR THAT MY DAUGHTER IS GOING TO BE YOUR GIRL NEXT DOOR!" Sojiro yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Don't worry Mr. Izumi. The thought never seriously crossed my mind." Tony replied coolly.

"Fine, just as long as you... Wait... Never **seriously**? THAT MEANS YOU HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT IT YOU LITTLE PERVERT!" He yelled while Tony looked around him. He noticed a picture of a Sojiro and a young girl that looked a lot like Konata, but seemed different. There was no beauty mark. He also took notice of how protective her father was against things, boys especially it seemed. And her mother seemed to be nowhere to be found._ Hmmmm, Interesting._

"Ah! Don't worry, Tony is really nice, he isn't a pervert!" Tsukasa said loudly, panicking that Tony might get thrown out of the house.

*Sigh* "Fine then..."

"So, is Konata okay? I've noticed Kagami isn't out here, so I'm assuming she's visiting Konata."

"Yeah she is. Konata is very sick though, I'm really worried." Her father resumed his melancholic mood.

"Hmmm. Tell me about it. When did it start, what are the symptoms?" Tony asked the man, suddenly looking very serious.

"Well, it started about the time after she got home from school yesterday. She's been pale, her throat hurts, it seems like a really, REALLY bad flu." Konata's father explained.

_Hmmm. Time she got home, pale, sore throat, flu-like._"Don't worry, she'll be fine." Tony said with great confidence.

"I wish you were right, but why do you sound like you know what this is? I don't think you know what you are talking about. The doctor said she wasn't sick." Sojiro said with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll let you know exactly what she has in private later, as it directly concerns you. But Tsukasa, Miyuki, and the readers don't get to know yet. For now, I'll just let you know that medically speaking, if I'm right that is, she will make a full recovery. She isn't dangerously ill. It also shouldn't be contagious, but I suppose for safe measure you can quarantine her. Just in case I'm wrong, you know?" He said, even though he was quite sure he wasn't.

"Wait... Readers? What are you talking about?" Mr. Izumi asked with a confused look.

"Nothing, never mind..."

"Ooookaaay, You can tell me later I suppose." Said the clearly concerned father. "So, how long have you known my daughter?"

"Two days."

"TWO DAYS? I thought you said you were a friend of hers, you're an acquaintance at best! You probably don't even know the first thing about her!" Her father yelled.

"Actually, I would like to think I know quite a lot about her." Tony said, a confident look on his face.

"Oh really. Enlighten us."

"Well, I really don't know that I should, it might spoil a few things later on. Here, I can whisper it in your ear if you like?"

"Spoil what? Fine, go ahead." Sojiro said as Tony leaned over and started whispering. He stayed whispering in the man's ear for ten minutes.

"..." Sojiro was completely speechless.

_Holy Shit. This kid's only been here twenty minutes and he already knows practically everything about her. Konata wouldn't tell anyone she had just met about all that, no matter how well they got along. What the hell is he? _"Ehehe... You could tell all that from looking around? You're one smart kid, but that doesn't mean I like you."

"Understood. Was I wrong at all?" The boy asked inquisitively.

"Only on one count I can think of... That girl's room you saw was her cousin, not her sister." Sojiro said, still practically stunned. He was broken from it by the soft closing of a door. He looked to see Kagami leaving Konata's room, not looking any sicker as par Tony's prediction. Sojiro was officially freaked out. She would definitely at least cough a few times if she had caught it.

"Hey, Konata's asle- Tony? What are you doing here?" She almost shouted, but remembered Konata was sleeping just a hallway away. "How did you even know where she lived?"

*Sigh* "Do I really have to explain again? My mouth is tired from all the talking..." Tony said, of course making no sense to Kagami.

_Just how long has he been here?_ "Please, I would like to know."

"I could tell by your reaction to where I lived that either I lived near you or near Konata. It was obvious it wasn't you because you needed my bike." Tony reiterated, massaging his sore jaw.

"Well, she is sick. Like, **really** sick." Kagami told him.

"I heard. She'll also be completely fine. I know what she has and the only cure is time. I would, however, suggest you visit her, seeing as how it isn't contagious. It would help her."

"WELL? What does she have?" She could hardly contain herself. Tony was getting to be very helpful, but she had a feeling she could tell what was coming.

"I'm terribly sorry Kagami. I'm not at liberty to tell you. In other words..."

"Don't..."

"Classified Information."

"..." Kagami slowly walked out of the house, picking up a couch pillow on the way. They all heard a scream that, though discernibly muffled, could only be compared to the explosion of an atomic bomb. Oddly enough, Konata didn't seem to stir, as they didn't hear anything from her room. "Tony." They heard as Kagami reentered.

"Yes?"

"Don't tell me you know something if you aren't going to tell me what it is. It's annoying as hell."

"Sorry, I don't mean to, I'm used to thinking out loud, but then you ask and I realize I can't tell you..."

"Uh-huh. So you're sure you know what it is?"

"Yep."

"And you're sure she's going to be okay?"

"Yeah."

"I'd ask how but I'm sure I'd just get 'Classified Information' again, right?"

"That's right."

*Sigh* "Fine. But you better be right."

"I always am." Tony said with a playful smirk.

"I'm sure." Kagami rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, I better get going, I'm getting hungry and I still have to start dinner. I'll cya!" Tony said as he left for his home.

"Hmm, I'm surprised he came to see Konata." Kagami said puzzled.

"Why's that?" Sojiro asked.

"Konata doesn't like him."

"..." Sojiro deadpanned. "Are you freakin kidding me? He told me they were friends..."

"Odd he would say that, Konata was almost openly hostile towards him."

"I can't wait until he comes back so I can kill him." Sojiro said, pissed off. It was a shame he couldn't just walk next door and kick his ass. If it was in the Izumi household, however, he could just say it was self-defense.

"I think Konata's gonna beat you to that Mr. Izumi. Me and Tsukasa better be getting home, it's getting sorta late." The Tsundere excused herself and Tsukasa. "I really hope that Konata gets better!" She called as she left, Tsukasa once again not getting a line in before being dragged out by her sister.

"Onee-chan, you were in Kona-chan's room for a long time, what were you doing in there?" Tsukasa asked her sister.

"We talked for a while, then she got sleepy so I..." She began trying to hide her blush with her hair as she remembered that she had sang Konata to sleep at the otaku's request. "I... Left to find Tony in the living room..." Kagami came up with after a moment, merely skipping facts, not necessarily lying about them.

"What did you talk about?" Tsukasa continued the questioning.

"Stuff."

"Oh..."

"Just the usual stuff, you know? Games, anime, manga, ect." Kagami said truthfully. They had just talked about so many things, the only category big enough to cover it all was 'Stuff'. "Hey, it's getting really late, we better get home before they get worried and try to call."

"Would that be bad?" Her sister asked.

"Yes. That would be very bad because we can't pick up, remember? Then they would just get more worried when we didn't. It would just be better if we hurried." Kagami said as she broke into a light jog so Tsukasa could keep up and not get overly tired. Luckily they arrived home without incident.

"Hey, Imotos! Where have you two been?" Matsuri yelled playfully as they walked in.

_Has she just been standing there waiting for us?_ "We went to visit a sick friend and kinda lost track of time." Kagami answered.

"Well, dinner is almost ready, so go wash up! You two stink..." Their older sister walked away, fanning and pinching her nose.

_Grrrr... I guess we might be a little sweaty since we jogged all the way here, but she didn't have to be so damn blunt about it! She can be such an ass sometimes..._ She thought as she headed towards the bathroom.

"Come on Onee-Chan, don't let her get to you. That's just her, you know she doesn't mean to be mean." Tsukasa said, recognizing the look her sister always gets after such a charming chat with Matsuri.

"Yeah, I guess..." She said as she and her sister went to dinner.

After dinner, before Kagami went to do the homework she knew Tsukasa would inevitably copy, no matter the attempt, Tsukasa asked her "Hey Onee-chan? Do you think Kona-chan will be alright?"

"Yeah... Yeah, I'm sure she will be." _She has to be, I'm not sure what I would do if she wasn't..._

"Alright! If you're so sure, you're the only one to actually see her other than her dad, so you would know better than anyone."

"Yeah, don't worry, she'll bounce back soon, I'm sure."

"Okay. Good night Onee-chan!" Tsukasa bade goodbye since she likely wouldn't see her sister again before she fell asleep.

"Good night Tsukasa."

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~ Channel~!" Minoru yelled out. "Hiya Luckies! I'm your navigator for today, Minoru Shiraishi! It would seem Akira-sama has come down with a nasty cold again, so I'm going to be doing this one solo! Now what do I say..."

"Well, I suppose there's the fact that it's our fourth chapter and we're here! To! Stay~!" Minoru shouted cheerfully. "So in this chapter, Kagami and the others went to visit Konata. Kagami finally got to talk to Konata, but decided not to push Konata out of her comfort zone with an interrogation. Listen to me, you all just read this, I guess I'm just a little glad to have a carefree Luckier Channel! But what you all don't know is-"

*Music Tone*

"Aww, out of time already? Well, I hope I'll see you again and lets all hope that Akira-sama makes a full recovery! Bye-nii~!"

"..."

"Whew. That was invigorating!"

"Hey. I'm here*Cough cough*You're not doing this without me."

"Sorry, already done Akira-sama! Maybe you shouldn't have made fun of Konata's illness, eh?"

"SHU-*Cough cough cough*"

*End*

* * *

**After Section**

Ok, so what did you think of this one? This took a little while to write, but I was happy to see Konata again in this chapter. I had a review that suggested an Akira-less chapter, I'm not sure if it was a joke or if it was completely serious, but either way I wanted to see how that would go. I think it went really well, but it was kinda different without Akira XD. Bah, just tell me in a review! BTW, I did really have something that Tony said for that section, but ultimately decided against putting it in. It kinda made my head hurt reading it all(And I wrote it!) if you all REALLY want me to, I can repost it in the aftersection. It's up to you guys! Critique/Review/Comment/Compliment/Whatever! Hope to see you next chapter!**  
**


	5. Chapter 5: The Otaku Diaries

Chapter 5: The Otaku Diaries

**Author's notes**

Alrighty then, so chapter 5. This is pretty fun, I hope I'm not the only one who thinks so XD Glad to see your still reading, I promise the story will pick up. Well, story as in mood, there's hardly any plot. I guess there is sorta one, but there probably isn't going to be some big main villain or anything. I mean, it IS Lucky Star. Two in one day! That's why it took so long to get these up. That and my Beta crapped out on me. I'm rambling again, on with the chapter.

**Rating: T**

* * *

**The next morning**

Konata woke up from her slumber at about four in the morning, having fallen asleep so early the previous day. The last thing she remembered was Kagami singing a lullaby, something she had thought she would never hear. Then she remembered that she was still incredibly sick without knowing what she had in the first place. _Man, I hope I'll be okay, it gets a little boring not even being able to get out of bed to get manga... There's a notebook and pen on the table next to me from when Kagami came yesterday. I guess she must have left it here on accident._ She thought, having to consciously think even completely obvious details to let it sink in. _Maybe I should try and keep a diary of this... Wow, I must be sicker than I thought for that to actually seem like a good idea. I might as well... _and with great effort, she leaned over and picked up the journal, slowly flipping through it to see if there was anything in it. All the pages were blank, as if Kagami somehow knew she would have that thought. Trying to bring her thoughts into coherent ideas for recording, she began to write.

_Dear Diary,_

_I am sick and this is my first entry. I guess I'll have to pay Kagami back for this notebook, eh? I just need to get my thoughts out, but I don't want to infect anyone, especially not Kagamin, though I know she would listen. She came to visit yesterday and her concern seemed genuine. I'm really grateful to her, but I feel guilty that she worried about me. I wish she would come over more, but I don't want to get her sick! I want both! Well, I'm getting tired Diary. I guess I had better get some more sleep..._

_Konata~_

And with that, she put the notebook down, having actually taken a little more than an hour to write just that. As if he knew, her father cracked the door open. "Hey Konata, you awake?"

"Yeah dad, what's up?" Konata said, her throat still hurting as she spoke aloud.

"Just wanted to see if you needed anything. Do you?" Her father asked, concerned.

"Nah, I'm fine for now, I need sleep." The otaku muttered, trying not to speak much.

"Well, just ring the bell I put next to your bed if you need anything, alright?"

Konata made an affirmative noise as her only response before Sojiro left the room. _Huh, there IS a bell next to my bed..._ She thought, having not noticed it before now. She slowly drifted back to sleep.

* * *

**Hiiragi House**

Meanwhile, in the Hiiragi house, Kagami was getting ready for school extra-early, having left a note for Tsukasa to go to school at normal time without her. She intended to go see Konata before school to see how she was. As Kagami got dressed, she wondered about Konata and got the strange feeling that she was helping Konata even at the moment. _Meh, it's probably just me... Knowing her, she's here hiding and watching me get undressed from my pajamas..._ She started blushing viciously as her mind inadvertently started picturing the scene and the immediate afterwards. _Whoa whoa whoa WHOA! What the HELL was that? I wasn't trying to think about THAT! Okay, I just need to calm down and get ready for school..._ She thought as she finished getting dressed, trying to forget her previous thoughts. _Man, if Konata doesn't get well soon, she'll miss the exams! It stinks we have to retake them just because some tightwad wanted to save a few bucks. Hey! Maybe I can convince her to put the same answers as me so we would be guaranteed to be in the same class! But how would that work, I mean we aren't in the same class now so she couldn't exactly look on my paper or anything. Maybe the others will have some ideas... _She said in her head as she finished her breakfast. "Alright. Time to go see Konata." She said to nobody in particular, considering as far as she knew she was the only person awake in the house.

"Where do you think you're going at five in the morning? School doesn't start for several hours." She heard a voice from behind her. She turned around to see a folded-armed Matsuri.

"I'm going to see my sick friend. It's going to take a while to get to there and then I have to go all the way to school from there. I want to visit for more than a minute." Kagami explained, wishing Matsuri hadn't waken up.

"Well. There's only one thing you can do to keep me from telling mom and dad that you tried to sneak out to see someone without their knowing." Kagami's older sister told her.

_Oh. My. GOD! Why does she have to be like this?_ She shouted to herself. "What is it?"

"Come here." Matsuri simply said as she passed Kagami out the door. Kagami followed to see Matsuri in the driver's seat of their father's car. "Hop in!"

"Wha..." Kagami tried to find out as she got in. They weren't allowed to drive the car without their father's permission, so she couldn't understand what Matsuri was doing. "Where are we going?" She asked her sister.

"Depends. Where does your friend live?" Matsuri asked her sister, smiling and starting the car.

"A-... Really? Thank you!" Kagami yelled as she tightly hugged her brown haired sister. She then told her sister the address as the car revved to life.

"Wow, you were going to walk all the way there and then to school this early in the morning? So who's the guy?" Matsuri teased after they had gotten on the road.

"I-I don't have a boyfriend!" Kagami yelled again.

"Re-lax, I'm only teasing you Imōto! But seriously, that's a long way to go just to visit a friend. Couldn't it have waited until after school?" Matsuri asked.

"Actually, I'm visiting her again after school today if she's up to it."

"Geezy Creezy Kagami! Are you trying to catch it yourself?" A hint of concern entered her voice.

"No, I don't think it's contagious."

"It has to be, how else would they have caught it?"

"I don't know... But I didn't catch it yesterday and I was in there more than a half an hour!"

"Fine if you're convinced..." They rode in silence for a few minutes before Matsuri said "So you must really be concerned for this person. Who is it?" She asked, curious as to who could make Kagami walk across town just to see before school and then again after school.

"... My friend Konata Izumi. She's my closest friend..." Kagami stated with affection.

"I see, that would explain it I guess, but that's still a long walk, even if she IS your best friend. Ah, we're here!" Matsuri exclaimed as they arrived at their destination.

"Thank you so much for driving me Matsuri. It was an incredible help" _I guess she can be decent when she wants to be... _Kagami added in her head as she got out.

"It's no problem, I hope your friend is okay!" The older sister said. "I better get back before they realize I just took dad's car!"

"Yeah, but don't drive too fast! We don't want you getting in a wreck now, do we?" Kagami smirked, not really so much as asking a question.

"Don't worry Imōto! I'll be fine!" She yelled as she drove off, though Kagami barely heard her over the burning rubber of the U-turn.

_She's going to get into such trouble if she keeps doing that..._ Kagami thought as she sweatdropped, watching the little stunt her sister had just pulled. Kagami turned around and approached Konata's house door. She knocked to hear an exhausted "Come in..."

She went in to see Sojiro collapsed on the coach, looking quite the worse for wear.

"Oh, you're Konata's friend..." He said lethargically.

"Yeah, umm Mr. Izumi, how long has it been since you've slept? You seem wrecked..." Kagami pointed out bluntly.

"Well, I got up the morning before yesterday and haven't really slept at all since..."

"Mr. Izumi, you need to sleep!" Kagami shouted, but realized for the first time that Konata was probably still asleep. _He's so tired he hasn't even questioned why I'm here at quarter after five in the morning..._

"But what if Konata needs something? Who's going to get it for her if I'm asleep?" Sojiro exclaimed, concern for his daughter dripping on every word.

_Wow, his devotion to his daughter is incredible._ She thought as she realized that he would stay up for days without complaint if only his daughter asked him to. "Mr. Izumi, go get at least a few hours sleep, I'll take care of Konata until I have to leave for school, then I'll come wake you up, okay?" Kagami offered gladly.

"Are you sure?" Sojiro asked, still concerned for his daughter.

"Yeah, go take a rest. God knows you deserve it..."

"Bless you..." Was all the man got out before he fell asleep, not bothering to move to his bed.

Kagami went back to Konata's room to see if she was indeed sleeping. She creaked the door open quietly to see Konata fast asleep. _I guess I'll just wait out here until she calls. I don't have to leave for a few hours anyway..._ She thought as she took a seat in the living room. She sat there patiently for twenty minutes before she heard a bell. _I guess that's Konata's way of saying she needs something. I'll go see whats up. _She said to herself as she got up to go see Konata. She was a little surprised her dad hadn't waken up at the sound of the bell out of sheer concern. She arrived at her friend's room and opened the door.

* * *

**POV Change**

Konata woke up only half an hour after she had fallen asleep, realizing she was incredibly hungry. She hadn't had any kind of appetite yesterday so she hadn't eaten anything since the choco-coronet she had eaten at lunch the day before last. Her thoughts of lunch led, not only to more hunger, but also to the conversations they had had that day. _Why don't I like Tony anyway? I mean, he hasn't really tried to come on to Kagami or anything... Maybe I'll talk to him if I get better. That's what I'll do, I'll talk with him. I wish Kagami were here to see this hehe, I'm actually being what she calls "Mature"... I really need something to eat or I'm gonna die! I didn't eat at all yesterday. Stupid move on my part..._ This entire internal monologue took the span of about ten minutes with how tired Konata was. Then she remembered her way of summoning her dad as she reached over and, with a bit of effort, rang her bell. She only waited a minute before she heard footsteps right outside her door. Looking, she saw the door beginning to open to reveal... Kagami?

"Kagami!" Konata yelled as she quickly sat up. As she did though, she suddenly got very dizzy and her throat hurt immensely from the yelling. She collapsed back into the bed, coughing hoarsely for a minute. Kagami intervened before Konata had the chance to hurt herself again.

"Hey, I came to see if you were alright, I'm assuming you needed something?" Kagami asked, smiling.

"Kagami, you came so early..." Konata simply said as she felt a warm feeling welling up inside. "It must have been really early if you're already here..." Her voice trailing off as she expected her throat to hurt. It didn't.

"Well, It's not like I got up real super early or anything, Matsuri gave me a ride and I left a note for Tsukasa and-" Kagami blushed lightly as she started to explain in a hurried voice. She was stopped by the pure joy Konata seemed to have on her face. It made Kagami feel really good about having come.

"Did you ask Matsuri to drive you here?" Konata asked, already knowing what her Tsundere's answer would be.

"Well no..."

"That means you were intending to walk all the way here. That's what counts Kagamin." Konata said smiling, but not her usual catgrin or some kind of weird, perverted smile. This smile seemed... just plain happy. It practically paralyzed Kagami.

"Well... I..." Kagami tried to form a coherent sentence, not understanding why she was being so affected by Konata. This seemed like one of those rare times where Konata wasn't looking for something to pick at or thinking something perverted. She looked and sounded so... serene. And, Kagami had to admit, pretty cute. Kagami was blushing even more than before at this point, wondering why she was thinking of Konata like this.

"Kagami~? I'm hungry." Konata's words were emphasized by the growl of her stomach.

"Oh, right, I guess you didn't eat much yesterday, did you?" Kagami asked, full knowing that sickness usually ruined one's appetite.

"If that isn't an understatement, I didn't eat anything yesterday." Konata said as if Kagami should have already known this. "I felt like I couldn't stomach it, you know?"

"You didn't eat at ALL yesterday? Konata, you have to keep up your strength! Here, I'll make you some breakfast!" Kagami shouted as she quickly turned and ran towards the kitchen.

"... Thanks Kagamin..." Konata whispered, even though Kagami was easily out of earshot by now.

* * *

**Back to Kagami**

Kagami made her way to the kitchen. She was determined to make something yummy for Konata. She may not be the best cook in town, or even in that house, but she would do her best. Pancakes sounded good. She did her best to try and remember how she had made it in any previous times. She remembered a recipe her mother had taught her. _Alright, so I'll need flour, baking powder, salt, white sugar... How much milk did I need? Crap! I guess I'll just have to wing it..._ She thought as she gathered the ingredients. She mixed the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a bowl, making a slight indent in the center of the mixture. She then poured in a good-looking amount of milk, part of an egg and some melted butter and kept mixing. She thought for a minute and decided to add a bit of vanilla. It became very smooth soon and she sprayed a frying pan with cooking spray. She poured the batter onto the pan and let it cook. She wondered how she could make this one extra-large pancake special, getting the perfect idea. She started using the spatula she was using to flip it to give it form. As she finished, the entire process taking about twenty minutes, she decided to include some butter and syrup. She opened the pantry door and there is was. Pancake Mix. _... You have to be kidding me..._ She thought as she realized that would have reduced the amount of time Konata was going to be hungry by half. She slunk back to Konata's room with her sick friend's breakfast.

* * *

**Konata's Room  
**

Konata sat up slightly as she heard Kagami's footsteps coming to her door almost twenty minutes later. Kagami opened the door and came in with a sort of sick-tray used to eat in bed and a plate on it.

"Here you go, I'm sorry if it isn't very good, but I worked really hard on it..." Kagami said as she set the tray into Konata's lap, blushing slightly and avoiding eye contact.

"Kagami this is..." Konata started. The pancake was in the shape of a heart with the words 'Get well soon' written in butter on it. The O's were the eyes of a smiley face as well. "Really cute." Konata finished, smiling widely. This made Kagami blush even more.

As Konata took a bite, she was practically flattened with the taste. "KAGAMIN~!" She yelled, not even thinking of worrying about her throat. "THIS IS DELICIOUS! This is so much better than the pancakes I'm used to, did you even use the pancake mix?" Konata asked, wondering how her Kagami could come up with such ambrosia. Was she always so talented in the kitchen?

"Well... No, I made it from scratch, don't forget you have syrup." She said, gesturing towards the Maple that was also on the tray.

"Ih doefn't nee ih!" Konata said through a mouthful of pancake. Realizing she would be out of pancake shortly if she kept up this pace, she slowed down.

"Is it really that good?" Kagami asked in amazement. She didn't remember anyone ever reacting like this to her cooking before.

Konata swallowed before saying "Yeah, totally! This is better than I've ever made! Kagami must have put a lot of love into this!"

"Lo-Love? It isn't that good, really!" The Tsudere yelled out, absolutely flustered.

"This pancake says something quite different Kagamin~. I can tell you put a lot of effort into making it. Thank you so much Kagami..." Konata said, her voice quieting down as she finished, the same smile on her face as before and something Kagami had never seen on Konata before. Blush. It was slowly melting Kagami.

"Well... I better be getting to school soon..." Kagami turned towards the door out.

"Oh yeah, Kagami!" Konata yelled, halting her friend. "I decided that when I get better, I'm going to talk things over with Tony. You're right, he hasn't really done anything yet."

"What? Oh right!" Kagami had forgotten about him completely. "I'm glad to hear that, that's really mature of you Konata."

_ I totally knew she was going to say that._ Konata thought with a smile. Now all that was left was for her to get better. She decided that she would bring up the notebook she had borrowed later.

"Mind if I drop by after school?" Kagami asked.

"I would love if you did. Actually, that would be ideal, bring everyone along, then I can talk to Tony in private." Konata said, her face lightening up with the fact that Kagami still wanted to see her more.

"Sure thing. I'll see you later Konata. And..." She turned to leave before adding "I really hope you get better."

"Me too. Thanks again Kagami-sama!" Konata called to Kagami.

"... Don't call me that." Kagami said blushing before going to the living room. By this time it was half past seven. "Mr. Izumi. Mr. Izumi?" She said quietly as she shook him gently. He woke up quite suddenly, shouting "Is Konata okay?" frantically.

"Yeah, she's okay Mr. Izumi, calm down. She's still sick, but she seems to be getting better."

"Alright, Thanks again for taking care of her, I needed that nap. You had better get going!" He said as he saw the time.

"Don't worry, I can probably still make it..." Kagami reassured herself, wondering if she would have to run.

"You can borrow Konata's bike as long as you bring it back after school." Sojiro offered.

"No I... Actually, I was intending on visiting again after school anyway, I might as well... Thanks!" _Why do I have an eerie feeling of Deja Vu?_

"Well, you're always welcome back!" Sojiro called as Kagami left. She had a feeling that this offer might be less than honorable, but immediately dismissed the feeling given the circumstances. So she got Konata's bike.

_Really..._ Kagami thought as she saw the bike she had just agreed to ride. It had a plastic cover of Haruhi Suzumiya's face on one side of the front tire and Mikuru Asahina performing her signature "Mikuru Beam" on the other side, with a Yuki Nagato theme painted along the metal part. On the back tire was a face-palming Kyon and a shrugging Itsuki Koizumi. *Sigh* "I guess I have no choice though..." She thought as she mounted the bike and rode off.

* * *

**Back to Konata**

Konata heard a knock on her door. "Come in." She said as she noticed her throat ached slightly.

"Hey Konata, just wanted to know if you needed anything." Sojiro said as he poked his head in the door.

"Nope, Kagami took really good care of me!" Konata shouted, wincing slightly as her throat pounded. She dizzily laid back into her bed.

"Well, just let me know if you need anything."

"Well... Is it okay if my friends come back after school?" Konata asked hopefully.

"Yeah sure, but that reminds me. There was a boy named Tony here to check on you. Is he your friend?"

"Well, I wanted to talk to him." She responded, wondering what nerve that kid had to come to her house. How did he even know where she lived? Had Kagami or Tsukasa told him? _No, they wouldn't do that..._

"Alright then, sure they can all come over!" Her father shouted in an effort to cheer Konata up. It wasn't needed, as he saw his daughter smile widely at hearing it.

"Thanks dad, I think I need to sleep a bit more now..." Konata punctuated the statement with a loud yawn, her hunger sated.

"Sure, just ring if you need anything, alright?"

"Alrighty." The Otaku said as her father closed the door. She turned and picked the notebook back up.

_Dear Diary_

_I know I'm only really suppose to write in you once per day at most, but I'm really happy right now! Kagami, as if she heard me, came over this morning and made me a delicious pancake! Imagine that! Not only that, she's coming after school today too! I really hope I can get over this bug soon so I can see her some more at school, though I wouldn't mind her still coming over more..._ At this point, her catgrin was returning _I really can't wait until she comes back, but I only got half an hour of sleep before. I figure I can sleep during school time and then wake up for them to come! I'm so excited! Bye Diary!_

_Konata~_

And with that written, she laid back completely and surrendered to her sleepiness._  
_

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~ Channel~!" Akira yelled in her cutesy voice. "Hiya luckies! I'm Akira Kogami, your navigator!" As Akira winked a star.

"And I'm Minoru Shiraishi, her faithful assistant!" Minoru chimed in. "I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say 'Welcome back Akira-sama!'"

"Thank-you, Thank-you! This chapter was kinda weird, wasn't it Shiraishi-san?"

"Yeah, the entire chapter was only the morning, usually they take place over an entire day! I guess the writer must have gotten a little carried away, eh?"

"You're damn right they did, shouldn't he at least TRY to have some consistency?" Akira said, her cuteness being replaced with utter disgust. "Really, and the only four characters were those two girls and a couple of side characters. I mean, have a little creativity, will ya?"

"Well, I guess I see where you're coming from Akira-sama..."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure they-"

*Music Tone*

"Wow, done already? That wasn't long enough! Akira's sad now..." Akira said truthfully, but picking up her cutesy act. "Well I hope to see you again in the next chapter and I'm super happy to be back! Bye nii~!"

"..."

"Well that was short."

"I think it's because this chapter was pretty long."

"That doesn't give them the right to cut us off like that. I just got back and this is what I get? Bastards..." Akira said as she shuffled off.

"A-Akira-sama!"

*End*

* * *

**After Section**

Ok, so I got VERY carried away writing this chapter. It was the most fun one since I wrote the first chapter, mostly because it was almost all Konata and Kagami. These usually happen over a day, but I went a little crazy and had a lot of fun with it, so much in fact that this is kinda the longest chapter LOL A fun fact: That recipe for Pancakes is actually a recipe I was taught myself a long time ago! Please tell me what you think!**  
**


	6. Chapter 6: School

Chapter 6: School

**Author's notes**

Alrighty, so how am I doing so far? I hope I get to write more stuff like the last chapter, I can't wait until Konata gets better :3 I hope all of you have as much fun reading this as I do writing it!

* * *

**Shortly after Kagami left**

As Kagami sped towards school, her mind wandered back to Konata. _Man, she sure was energetic. Clearly still sick, but she was looking better. And she said she would talk to Tony so I guess it must have been the illness._ She figured with herself. _This is twice I've borrowed someone's bike, but this one is so much more embarrassing... How can she ride this thing?_ She thought as she arrived at school. She started to lock the bike in place, desperately trying to keep her face hidden from view.

As she ascended the stairs, she heard "Hi Onee-chan!" from behind her. She turned to see a very sloppily dressed Tsukasa, clearly fatigued.

_She totally overslept..._ Kagami thought, unsurprised. "Hey Tsukasa, your clothes are really messy, lets go to the restroom and fix you up real quick." She shouted back to her sister as she waited for the latter to catch up.

"Thanks Onee-chan, nobody woke me up this morning..." Tsukasa said arriving at her sister, embarrassed, but eliciting raised eyebrows from Kagami.

_Wow, she got up by herself? I've gotta admit, I'm surprised..._ She thought, a little frustrated that she didn't have more faith in her little sister. _I hope Matsuri didn't get caught. If she did, I'll have to tell Dad that she did it to help me out. Not looking forward to that..._ She thought as the two walked to the restroom.

As they arrived at the restroom, Tsukasa asked "So how was Kona-chan?"

"She's still sick, but not nearly as much as yesterday. I think it's passing." Kagami stated. Directly after, however, she realized her note had only told Tsukasa that she was to leave without her, not why. "Wait! How did you know I went to visit Konata?" She yelled, her voice reverberating off the walls of the restroom, hurting her ears slightly. _Lucky no one's in here but us..._ She thought after her outburst, rubbing her ears.

"Because you care about her Onee-chan, I could tell. It was a pretty good guess, huh?" Tsukasa nervously giggled as she said the last part, unnecessarily afraid she might have upset her sister.

"Yeah, no kidding. There! All done!" Kagami exclaimed, her sister once again presentable.

"Thanks Onee-chan!" Tsukasa chimed, admiring her sister's handiwork.

"No problem, we should probably get ba-" She was about to say before being cut off by the First Bell. "... Exactly." was all that needed to be said as she and her sister left for their respective homerooms.

* * *

**Class B**

Tsukasa walked into Ms. Kuroi's class, slightly after the bell and took her seat in front of Konata's desk.

"Hey Tsukasa, did you see Kagami by any chance?" Tony asked as Ms. Kuroi called roll.

"Yeah, I was just talking with her!" Tsukasa whispered in reply.

"So how's Konata?" Tony asked, causing Tsukasa to jump a little in surprise.

"Wait, how did you know Onee-chan visited Kona-chan?" A question mark appearing above Tsukasa's head.

"Konata is the only person I can think of that would have the bike Kagami was riding. I assumed she went super early to see Konata and borrowed her bike. You just confirmed that." He smirked at the last part, but said it as if explaining a simple concept.

"But how did you-"

"Something you would like to share with the rest of the class you two?" Ms. Kuroi interjected with a smile that was riddled with triumph.

"N-No, Ms.-" Tsukasa started to deny.

"Actually, I was merely asking Konata's condition Ma'am. May I?" Tony interrupted.

"Oh, well you can find out during lunch." The teacher said, a hint of concern in her voice for her favorite punching bag.

"As you wish." Was all the boy said before turning his attention to class.

* * *

**Class C**

Kagami walked into her homeroom and walked to her seat as Ms. Yukari called her name for roll.

"Here!" She shouted at the call of her name.

"Oi Hiiragi, what was that bike you were riding this morning? It was ridiculous! Is that REALLY yours?" Misao asked, obviously trying, and failing miserably, to stifle a laugh.

"No, it... it's a friend's." She blurted out, embarrassed that any of her friends had seem her and angry at the ridicule. _Oh man, I hope Misao was the only one who saw..._

"I don't believe you Hiiragi! Who's was it then? Shorty McBlue hair?" Misao asked, an annoyed look on her face. _Every time we talk, it goes back to her! Why is Hiiragi so interested in her? I'm WAY more interesting than that squirt! Not to mention my 'features' are much more impressive! _She ranted in her head._  
_

"Yeah, her name is Konata. What's with the look?" Kagami asked, only to have the answer cut off by the teacher.

"Hey you two, we're having a test on this so quiet!" Ms. Yukari shouted.

"Yes Ms. Yukari..." Kagami said before turning back around.

* * *

**Lunch**

"Hey, I'm here for lunch!" Kagami shouted as she entered Class B.

"Hi Onee-chan!" Tsukasa shouted in response, moving to Tony's desk.

"Hey Kagami, how's Konata?" Tony asked as she and the others sat down.

"Wait... How did you know I went to visit Konata?" Kagami asked, wondering just how many people knew. Then she realized that he might have seen her on Konata's bike, suddenly getting a little scared of reliving the ridicule of one Misao Kasukabe again.

"Well I-" He started, but caught himself as he realized she might be embarrassed of the bike. He decided to lie, just in case. "I live next door to Konata. I saw you arrive."

"Oh really? And how do you know what my Dad's car looks like? Are you lying to me?" Kagami asked, causing Tony to jump a little. He hadn't thought about her being driven.

"Uh.. I saw you in the passenger side of the car. I swear." He said as Kagami gave him a look so skeptical, it made him look away.

Kagami was still unconvinced. "I was driving." She lied, testing him.

"Alright, you got me. I saw you on Konata's bike this morning, alright? The way you hid, it seemed like you didn't want to be seen with it." Tony admitted.

"It's scary that you know that Tony, you know that?" Kagami said, satisfied that she had finally caught the boy without an answer, but still embarrassed at having been seen by him, Misao AND Tsukasa. At least Tsukasa hadn't said anything. _You kinda made him say that though..._

"So this is the second time I've asked about Konata today and not gotten an answer. I'm getting concerned." Tony said, obviously disappointed at people seemingly avoiding his question. They weren't really, he just hadn't gotten used to the fact that they can get side-tracked VERY easily.

"It's not that, bu... Hang on a second? Who did you ask before?" Kagami asked.

"Tsukasa. And that's three." Tony said, his expression turning from disappointed to annoyed.

"How would Tsuka-"

"Four."

"Alright, alright. Konata's still sick, but she's getting better. She was really energetic when I visited her this morning, despite the time. Happy now?"

"Yes." _I figured that would be the case._

"Alright, now you answer my questions. How would Tsukasa have known?" Kagami asked, irritated at being interrupted.

"I asked if she had talked to you and when she said yes, I knew she must have asked about Konata. Anymore questions?" Tony asked as if giving a class.

"Yeah. Why did you lie to Mr. Izumi?" Kagami asked, not liking the tone he was taking with her.

"What? I never lied."

"Yes you did, he told me you said you were Konata's friend. Obviously she didn't like you, and why are you even concerned about her if she was so rude to you?" Kagami interrogated. She realized after that her second question was incredibly rude to ask, she had really blurted it out without thinking. Tony answered before she could retract it, however.

"I have reasons for being concerned. And like I said, I never lied. I told Mr. Izumi that SHE was a friend of MINE. I consider her a friend because she seems like a nice person to everyone but me. After all, that was a pretty mean look you gave her when she requested I call her Izumi. He only assumed the feelings were mutual, it isn't my fault." He smirked, shrugging like this was common practice. Kagami raised an eyebrow, impressed by how he had played Sojiro.

"On a similar subject, Konata invited us over after school today!" Kagami said cheerfully, changing the subject as she was reminded that Konata was going to talk to Tony.

"I really wish I could go, but I'm afraid I have a dentist appointment. Please give Konata-san my best!" Miyuki tried to say it with enthusiasm, but couldn't hide her depression of yet another visit to the terrifying dentist.

"I don't think I should come either, her father is undoubtedly mad if he ended up figuring out my little trick." Tony added. "Tell me how she is la-"

"Actually, she asked for you in particular to come. She said she wanted to talk to you." Kagami interrupted.

"Uh-oh. I wonder what I did this time..."

"Don't worry, Konata said she was giving you a chance. She also admitted I was right, which she actually never does..." She added under her breath. _She also apologized yesterday. That was sure a surprise..._

"Curious... This is an unexpected development..." Tony muttered, closing his eyes and rubbing his chin.

"What?"

"Nothing." He added after realizing he had actually spoken aloud. "Tsukasa, you're quiet." After which he added almost inaudibly, "The writer must still be a real noob if he can't even write some lines for Tsukasa..."

"Well, I really didn't have anything to add, I was going to ask why you lied to Kona-chan's dad, but then Onee-chan asked so..." Tsukasa trailed off, not thinking of anything else to say.

"Unfortunately, It seems lunch will be over soon." Tony observed.

"Yeah, I better be getting back. See you all after school!" Kagami called as she headed back to class.

"Bye Onee-chan!" Tsukasa said, getting in the last word for once.

_Hmmm, I wonder what Konata wants. I guess I'll find out._ Was the last thought in Tony's head before lunch ended.

* * *

**After School**

Kagami started to pack her things as she heard a loud voice from behind her.**  
**

"Oi Hiiragi! Come study with Ayano and me!" Misao emphasized with the books in her hand, though Kagami knew she wasn't going to be studying for long.

" I can't, I'm going visit Konata, sorry." Kagami answered, though not really sorry. She was incredibly excited to see her little Otaku again. _What's wrong with me? She isn't mine, why do I keep thinking that!_ She scolded herself in her mind.

"Bah! Blow her off and hang out with us! We're WAY more fun to hang out with then that stupid little squirt!" Misao shouted happily unaware of what she had just done.

"..."

"Hi-Hiiragi?" Misao stuttered, suddenly very afraid for her life.

"Misao. Don't ever. EVER. Insult Konata like that again. Understand?" Kagami said, death salted through her voice. She punctuated the threat with a very hard knock to the head.

"OW! Hiiragi, you're mean!" Misao cried out as she rubbed the giant lump on her head in a vain attempt to stop the pain.

"You deserved it." She said as she left the room, going to meet her friends who were waiting to go see Konata. As she walked, she began to regret what she had just done. _Why did I react like that? I guess that was really over the top, but she shouldn't have insulted her like that. ARG What's going on? Why did I get so angry with Misao, it was nothing different I guess..._

"Onee-chan~! Where are you going?" She heard her sister ask from behind. She had been so lost in thought, she had walked right by them without noticing. Embarrassed, she turned around.

"I-I-I was going to see Konata, that's what we're doing today, right?" She said, scratching the back of her head and laughing nervously.

"Thinking of Konata?" Tony said, not really meaning it as a question as him and Tsukasa caught up. Miyuki had already left, wishing Konata good health and apologizing again that she couldn't accompany them, clearly distressed about her own fate.

"Why do you always assume that?" Kagami asked, annoyed.

"Am I wrong?" Tony put on his smirk, cocking his head slightly.

"... Let's just go..." Kagami quietly said as she slouched, defeated.

_I knew it. _The boy smirked victoriously. "So, Konata asked for me, eh? Now I can finally figure a couple things out."

"I'm not even going to bother asking."

"Wise decision."

"So why can't you ever tell us anything? It seems most any question we ask, we only get 'Classified Information'. I appreciate a good Haruhi reference as much as the next girl, but it's getting really annoying." Kagami asked angrily.

"Merely because while I COULD tell you, it's more interesting if I don't." Tony said, matter-of-factly. It only served to piss Kagami off even more.

"You can't be serious." Kagami said in disbelief, teeth grinding.

"Not in the least." He said with a chuckle.

"Then why answer?"

"Because you asked."

"Well that's annoying."

"I know."

"I...'m out of comments..." Kagami sighed, once again defeated.

"Don't worry, you held up longer than most." Tony tried to console, however vain it might be.

"Right~ Gary..." She sighed under her breath.

"What?" Tony asked, for once not hearing something clearly.

"Nothing." Kagami said, taking her turn to smirk.

"Onee-chan, how are we getting Kona-chan's bike back to her house?" Tsukasa asked, as they were already half way to Konata's house.

"..." Kagami started seething. _Damn it! How could I forget? I even promised I would bring it back after school!_

"Don't worry Kagami, I'll go get it." Tony said, taking off for the school.

_He's... fast. Maybe as fast as Konata. When she gets better they'll have to have a race..._ She thought, sweatdropping.

"Should we wait for him Onee-chan?" Tsukasa asked.

"Nah, he'll be on a bike, he can catch up." Kagami said, smiling that he had to share in her embarrassment of riding it. _Come to think of it, I've never seen Konata riding it... Why does she even have it?_

They walked in relative silence for a few minutes before Tsukasa asked "Onee-chan, are you sure she's going to get better? Her dad said it was really bad..."

"Don't worry, she was much better this morning. It's not the time to worry." She said as she looked reassuringly at Tsukasa. It seemed to help.

At that moment, they heard from behind, an extremely quickly said, as if with no pauses, "Hi-Kagami-Hi-Tsukasa-See-you-at-Konata's-House!" as Tony rushed by at amazing speeds on Konata's bike.

_Whoa! How the hell was he going so fast? So much for being embarrassed... I guess if no one sees you..._ _Hang on, how did he get the lock off that fast? That was a combination lock!_ She thought to herself as she realized that it was unlikely anyone would be able to discern any feature of the bike at that speed.

"Wow, he was going fast..." Tsukasa said, standing on her tip-toes and shading her eyes to improve her vision.

"Hey Tsukasa, let's run!" Kagami said as she broke into a sprint, dashing for Konata's house.

"Wait Onee-ChaAaAan~! Tsukasa called after her sister, struggling to keep up.

"You can rest when we get there!" Kagami called back. It didn't take five minutes to reach their friend's house. Oddly enough, Tony was standing at his own home seemingly unfatigued, looking at Konata's house. "What are you doing?" Kagami asked him.

"I figured I should probably wait here for you guys to catch up. As you said, Konata isn't the fondest of me, not to mention her father. He's probably talked to her and gotten that she doesn't like me. I have a feeling if I go in alone, I'm not coming back out." He laughed.

"Yeah, he was pretty pissed..." Kagami said between huffs of breath.

"You guys wanna sit down for a minute?" Tony offered, gesturing to the lawn chairs he had placed outside.

"Nah, We can sit inside..." Kagami said as she approached the door. She knocked on said door.

"Come in..." They heard. As they entered, they saw Sojiro with a doctor's mask on, disinfecting things here and there. His eyes suddenly got dark as he saw Tony walk in. "Tony. My daughter wants to speak with you apparently. Care to enlighten me as to why?" He said, sounding like he would kill the boy at any moment.

"Actually, I'm as confused as you for once." Tony replied, not intending it to be an insult. Unfortunately, that's how it was taken.

"Hey. You're already on a very shaky boat. Don't rock it." Sojiro said grimly, intending it to be a threat. This was a boy he didn't know, coming into his house, insulting him, and his daughter was supposed to be friends with him. Sojiro would kill him if he thought it best for his daughter.

"Calm down. You're not thinking right, fatigue must be affecting your judgment. I can tell by the bags under your eyes. Please, go take a rest, either me, Kagami or Tsukasa can take care of Konata until you wake up. Take a long nap." Tony offered, but to Sojiro, in his sleep deprived state, it was an order.

"Don't presume to order me in my own house!" Sojiro lunged at Tony, causing Tsukasa to shriek and Kagami to take a step back. She couldn't believe that he was acting like this! She figured the combination of barely any sleep, his sick daughter, and his heightened paternal suspicion of Tony had taken its toll.

Tony didn't miss a beat, however. He grabbed Sojiro by the arm, twisting it behind the man's back. He found the two pressure points behind his neck and, right before pressing them only enough to knock the man into unconsciousness, said "Sleep." At that point, he knocked Sojiro out, and carried him to the man's bedroom. He laid Sojiro on his bed before returning to the living room.

"He needed a nap. He was so concerned for his daughter that he neglected one of the very necessities of life. A man has to sleep. I hope he won't be too mad, I'll stay until he wakes up." Tony said, looking none the worse.

"T-Tony, How did you do that?" Tsukasa stuttered, still in shock from what had happened.

"Don't bother Tsukasa, he'll only say-"

"My brother was trained. He was a... soldier in the US military... My brother, after he got back home, trained me mercilessly until I was as good as him. He was a very good trainer, I learned quickly and eventually mastered what he taught."

"Wow, I thought you were going to say 'Classified Information' again..." Kagami said, surprised at his sudden openness.

"Well, I see no reason to keep this from you. I only 'Classify' information that I either can't tell, shouldn't tell, or isn't important at the moment. My brother is the kind of guy you don't want catching you doing something wrong. Unless you apologize and right the wrong, he'll beat you within an inch of your life." Tony continued, shocking them with his sudden bluntness. "But... aren't we here to visit Konata?"

"She'll call us when she needs something. Listen for a bell, she's probably still sleeping." Kagami answered.

"Ahh~" Tony started to understand why Kagami hadn't run to Konata's room instantly like he had originally figured she would.

"So what was your brother in the military anyway? Army, Navy, Marine..." Kagami started listing off, partially out of curiosity, and partially to pass the time until Konata woke up.

"He was a Green Beret." Was Tony's simple answer. Though Tsukasa didn't know what that meant, she could tell it was something big by the expression of pure awe on Kagami's face.

"Onee-chan, what's a Green Beret?" Tsukasa asked.

"Well, from what I heard, they're supposed to be some elite group of the US military that were specifically trained to handle practically any combat situation..." Kagami barely managed to choke out.

"Mostly right, they basically are trained to be able to survive on rat meat and be able to kill with almost scientific precision." Tony explained.

"...And you said you were trained to be one...?" Kagami said, seeing this boy in a new light.

"Yeah. That's why you'll probably never see me too serious. Complimenting my apparent natural knowledge, he trained me at a young age to be able to interpret things, find their meaning, pretty much anything I need to be able to do at any given moment, at a glance. I'm also pretty damn strong. That comes from being made to carry 23 Kilos when I was 5." He smirked. Before Kagami or Tsukasa could inquire further, they heard a bell ring. It was less of a ring and more like someone was violently trying to choke the bell to death and it was screaming bloody murder.

"Konata!" Kagami yelled as she ran at breakneck speeds to Konata's room, worry covering her face.

"She's sure quick to answer that..." Tony remarked at her speed.

"That's because Onee-chan really cares about Kona-chan, you know Tony-chan..." Tsukasa informed him of the obvious, still a little confused as to what exactly a Green Beret was. Tony jumped at the "Chan" after his name.

"Hey Tsukasa, lets talk about that nickname there..." He started.

* * *

**POV Konata**

As Konata woke up from her nap, she looked over at her alarm clock. It was three in the afternoon. _Man, still a while before Kagami and the others get here. That's alright, I need to think of what to say to Tony..._ She then focused on said subject, only to be interrupted by her own hunger. That pancake, while rather large, wasn't enough to take the place of an entire days worth of food. _At least I'm hungry..._ she thought, taking it as a sign that she was getting better._ I guess the first thing I need to ask Tony is how the hell he knew where I lived... I really hope none of my friends told him, that would be tantamount to betrayal..._ She thought as she listened to her stomach rumble. At that moment, she heard violent yells coming from her living room. She then heard Tsukasa shriek in terror. Silence. Konata began to panic. _What's going on? Who's here? I hope Kagami is okay..._ She laid in a terrified silence as she heard nothing but heavy footsteps outside her door. She waited, praying that Kagami or her father or ANYONE would walk in and tell her everything was okay. She laid there, too scared to call out. It was several more minutes before she remembered her bell. She grabbed it and shook with all of her diminished strength. She kept ringing until her arms hurt. She heard footsteps hurriedly approach her door.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~ Channel~!" Akira yelled out. "Hiya Luckies! I'm your navigator Akira, Kogami! How are you all today? I hope you're all happy, cause I sure am!"

"I'm the assistant, Minoru Shiraishi! You sure seem happy Akira-sama!"

"You bet! The producer promised me a roll in the next chapter!" Akira shouted with genuine joy.

"That's great Akira-sama! Now I'm really happy too!" Minoru yelled with equal intensity.

"I just want to thank all my fans who supported and rooted for me! You all are the best! This never would have happened without all of you!" Akira yelled again.

"So who gave you the part Akira-sama?" Minoru asked.

"The producer of course, silly~!" Akira said, still very happy.

"Uhh.. Akira-sama.." Minoru stammered.

"What is it Shiraishi-san?"

"The producer can't do that... It's up to the writer..." Minoru said, knowing full well that he likely caused his own death.

"Wh...Wh...What." Akira said, completely losing her cute voice.

"You could always ask the writer himself if you could be included in the sto-"

"WHAT THE HELL! YOU JERKS, HOW COULD YOU LIE LIKE THAT?"

"Akir... *Sigh* There's no point now..." Minoru realized.

*Music Tone*

"Well, I guess we're out of time for today. Please, please, please, I really want to be in the story, root for me to get in if you all want it! I know you do~! I'll go ask the writer if I can have a roll! Bye nii~!"

"Bye Nii~!"

"..."

"Well that's disappointing. Not that I'm not used to it by now, they always like to bend me over and f-"

"Ah! Please Akira-sama, please don't say something like th-"

*End*

* * *

**After Section**

Alrighty, so this ended up being longer than my last chapter lol Regardless, this is getting to be a long day. So far, it's taking the span of three chapters. And I made Tony's brother a Green Beret simply because I don't know the Japanese equivalent. If any of you know, please tell me so I can correct it! Please tell me what you think! I'm always glad to hear from you all, I really hope you like it!**  
**


	7. Chapter 7: Meetings

Chapter 7: Visits

**Author's notes**

Alrighty guys, up to chapter 7! Please, if you've read this far, keep reading, I'll try to at least get this day over in this chapter XD. Please please please tell me what you think! And btw, Akira did ask me if she could have a part in the story, let me know what you guys think of a cameo!

**Rating: T**

* * *

**Konata's room: Kagami  
**

Kagami ran into the room in a hurry, worried as to why Konata had seemingly panicked. "Konata are you okay?" She shouted in concern. She saw Konata visibly relax.

"Kagami..." Konata let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding, "I heard yelling and Tsukasa screaming... I was really, really worried..." She huffed.

"It's okay Konata, don't worry. Everyone's fine." Kagami said with a sigh of relief. "It was actually me who was worried about you when you rang so hard." She added, her cheeks warm with blush.

"Thank you Kagami..." Konata trailed off a little. The two spent a moment in silence before Konata spoke again.

"So who's here?" Konata asked.

"Me, Tsukasa and Tony. Miyuki had to go to the dentist so she couldn't come." Kagami explained as she went to sit next to Konata.

"Aw, poor Miyuki-san. Well at least you three could come. Now for the million-yen question."

"What's that?"

"What the hell was the yelling about?" Konata yelled, her throat oddly not bothering her.

"Don't worry about it Konata." Kagami said with a smile.

"That you have to tell me not to worry about it makes me worry about it Kagami. It sounded like my dad." Konata pressed the subject further. At this point, Kagami couldn't find a way out of telling her.

"Well... Your father hadn't slept since the day you got sick, other than a little break I gave him this morning. Between that, and his extraordinary suspicion of Tony, he went a little crazy for a minute." Kagami said, skipping the fact that his concern for his daughter had probably been a factor. She didn't want to make Konata think it was her fault.

"What did he do?" Konata asked, worried about what he might have done.

"He... kinda attacked Tony..." Kagami reluctantly informed her.

"..." Konata gave a blank stare for a second. "PFWAHAHAHA!" She laughed. She laughed for a good minute before she saw how irritated Kagami looked. She quieted down quite a bit. "So what happened?"

"Tony knocked him out with some sort of neck pinch. He's very... fast... Then he put your dad to bed." Kagami figured she could fill Konata in on the details later.

"Well that's..."

"Yeah..."

"So how long can you stay?" Asked a hopeful Konata.

Kagami smiled. "How long would you like?"

"Forever?" Konata suggested.

"Fo-fo-for... Ummm, I'm not sure I could do that!" Kagami shouted, completely flustered with a face the approximate color of a tomato.

"Sure! We can just ask my dad if you can move in!" Konata shouted, throwing her arms into the air.

"N-n-no! I mean my parents would never allow it!" Kagami hurriedly replied, her face continuing into it's red hue.

"Awww~, Kagami doesn't want to live with me..." Konata sniffled in fake sorrow.

"I-Its not that! It's just my parents are very traditional and..."

"Yay! Kagami DOES want to live with me!"

"Ah-You-Ga-... *Sigh* Well at least you're making jokes again... That proves you're getting better..." Kagami sighed. "Well, do you want to see Tony now?" Kagami asked, trying desperately to hide her blush in any way, even leaving.

"Yeah, I guess... Send him in..." Konata took a deep breath as she prepared for the person she had no reason to dislike, but yet still did. Kagami left the room.

* * *

**The living room**

"Alrighty, so do you know what you want to call me now, Tsukasa?" Tony asked, having had to tell her exactly why 'Chan' wasn't a very viable name for him.

"Yeah!" Tsukasa shouted excitedly. At that moment, Kagami came out of Konata's room.

"Hey Tony, Konata would like to see you!" Kagami shouted.

"Ah, Alright then, I guess I'll go have a talk with her." Tony said as he went to Konata's room.

"Bye Kan-chan!" Tsukasa yelled after him. She could have sworn she saw him cringe a bit. Kagami was the one to jump this time.

_That's not what she said before..._ Tony thought as he entered Konata's room

"Kan...chan... I thought his name was Tony?" She asked Tsukasa.

"Oh that's right! You weren't there when we heard his real name!"

"His... real name?"

"Yeah, his real name is Kanpeki Otokonoko." Tsukasa informed Kagami, though she could only remember it in full because she and him had just gone over it.

"Ahhh, I see... Why does he go by Tony then? That makes no sense..." Kagami gave a confused look.

"He said he just likes being called Tony is all." Tsukasa reiterated.

"Ahh... It still doesn't make any sense..." Kagami mumbled under her breath.

* * *

**Konata's room: Tony**

As Tony entered the room, he could feel the animosity before he even turned around. He turned slowly to see Konata staring intensely at him. "I understand you would like to talk to me?" Tony stood near the door, making no attempt to close the distance between him and Konata without permission.

"Yeah, come sit down." Konata simply said, referencing the chair next to her bed. Tony complied.

"So what's up?" He asked, sitting beside the sick girl.

"Tony, you've given me no reason to dislike you but... I still do. Please, tell me I'm wrong. Tell me I have no reason to suspect you of anything. Kagami told me I'm just being paranoid. Am I? Or is there some explanation as to why I get so sad and angry every time I see you?" Konata looked incredibly serious. Tony looked thoughtful for a moment.

_Well, this supports my theory_. _She's only ever seen me once without Kagami being present as well. Maybe she recognized me as an OC...  
_"Don't worry Konata. I have no bad or harmful intention for you, our friends, or anyone undeserving." Tony vowed with unquestionable sincerity.

"Okay... I guess I'll trust you for now, you sounded really sincere."

"Yeah, if I could just find a good pumpkin patch, I could meet the Great Pumpkin!" Tony smirked. Konata started to laugh, but her throat pounded in protest.

"Okay, that was good." Konata admitted.

"Why, thank you very much." Tony quickly stood up for an over-the-top bow before seating himself again.

"So I heard my dad had a really crazy moment." Konata said, remembering what Kagami had told her.

"Yeah, he **really** needed sleep. I could also tell by the rumbles in his stomach he hadn't eaten in a while."

"That's really strange, how OOC of him..."

"Yeah, but that's what happens after days without sleep and a mysterious boy you don't know comes to your house."

"Oh yeah, that reminds me. How the hell did you know where I live?" Konata asked, having forgotten the question completely in her panic.

"Well, when Kagami found out where I lived, she had a rather... deadpanning reaction. I figured that I either lived next to her or you and she ended up needing to borrow my bike to get to her home before curfew."

"You let her use your bike when you had only known her for one day?" Konata raised an eyebrow, impressed with his trust.

"Yeah. She returned it the next day like I figured she would. I could tell she was the trustworthy type."

"Thanks a lot for that."

"Hehe no problem."

"And another question."

"Shoot."

"Why did you lie to my dad? He said you said you were my friend, but I treated you so badly. I didn't exactly consider you my friend."

*Sigh* "I never lied to your father. I said YOU were a friend of MINE, he only assumed it worked vice-versa. I could tell you were a nice person by the look Kagami gave you when you insisted on 'Izumi', though you didn't show it to me." Tony stated before adding almost inaudibly, "Wow, this much be boring as hell for the readers... I've already explained all of this!"

"Did you say something?"

"Yes, I said I never lied to your fath-"

"I mean after that."

"Meh, don't worry about it."

"Well, I'm just glad my dad didn't hurt you. He didn't, did he?"

"Nope, I'm pretty tough to hurt."

"So I hear."

"Konata, I know your throat is sore, it must be pounding by now with all the conversation. Would you like to continue this later? I think you should be well enough to go to school tomorrow."

"You think?"

"I'm pretty sure."

"Cool..." Konata slouched back, relieved that she was almost past this.

"May I stay in the house until your father wakes up? I kinda put him to sleep and I don't want you to be by yourself if you need something."

"Yeah sure, if you want..."

"Thanks, I'll leave you alone so you can actually stop talking and hurting yourself. Or would you like to see Tsukasa now?"

"I guess I should let her come see me if she wants. Tell her she can come in if she wants to."

"Alrighty, ring the bell if you need anything." Tony said as he made for the door.

"Thanks..." Konata quietly said to avoid putting her throat in any more pain.

"Oh hang on, here use this instead of talking so you don't have to hurt yourself with Tsukasa." Tony said, pulling out a smart phone. "Just go to messaging or something and type instead of talking."

"Really? You're letting me borrow this?" Konata asked, accepting the gift.

"Yeah sure, just try not to lose it." Tony said with a smirk.

Konata rang the bell slightly as Tony turned to the door. He turned back to her. "Yes?"

Konata began typing out something. 'Hey, wanna scare Tsukasa?'

"Sure, how do we do it?"

'Here's the plan...'

* * *

**The living room**

"Man, I guess something like that would get that stinky, huh?" Kagami said, surprised at such a twist.

"Yeah, it can get really stinky, almost like-" Tsukasa was interrupted by Tony coming out of Konata's room. "Oh Kan-chan! How's Kona-chan?" Tsukasa asked in a cheery mood.

"She isn't good. Her health has really taken a bad turn. She really wants to see you before anything... bad happens Tsukasa." Tony said, his expression grim.

"N-No! Kona-chaaaaaan!" Tsukasa yelled, running into Konata's room, Kagami hot on her trail. Kagami felt a sudden pressure on her arm, halting her from moving any further. She turned to see what DARED stop her from seeing her worsening friend. What she saw was Tony with a large smirk on his face.

* * *

**Konata's room: Tsukasa**

"Kona-chan! Are you okay?" Tsukasa shouted, seeing her friend covered in a blanket, a wet cloth on her head. She had a phone next to her. Tsukasa ran to see her fallen friend to check if she was still awake.

'Hi Tsukasa.' The phone chimed when she typed it in. 'I am glad I got to see you this time.'

"Yeah, Onee-chan pulled me away as soon as she came out last time. Please! What's wrong? Can I help at all?"

'Do not worry Tsukasa. Let's just talk like normal.' The robotic voice sounded.

"Su... Sure Kona-chan."

'So how is everything in Miss Kuroi's class?'

"It's been really weird without you Kona-chan. Ms. Kuroi seems worried about you."

'Am I going to be in trouble for missing school?'

"I don't think so. We haven't really done much, just a few things like she's told us that we are going to be taking college level courses now and that our exams are soon." Tsukasa said with a tear in her eye, her voice trembling. Konata hadn't suspected or intended for her to actually cry. Now that she thought about it, that seemed a very real possibility.

"Tsukasa, don't worry, I'm really fine. I was just trying to scare you a little bit."

"Kona-chan! That was really mean!" Tsukasa yelled with tears starting to flow. "You're sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm still sick, but not as much as before. No need to worry."

Tsukasa sighed in relief as she realized Konata had, in fact, been kidding. "Please Kona-chan... That was in really bad taste."

"I promise not to do something like that again."

"I think I'm gonna go now, I've gotta calm down..." Tsukasa said as she got up, wiped the tears from her cheeks, and walked towards the door.

"Cya Tsukasa!" Konata shouted, her throat still throbbing.

* * *

**The living room**

"You. Did. **WHAT**?" Kagami yelled after Tony explained his and Konata's deception to Kagami.

"Well... She wanted to give Tsukasa a little fright, you know? That's how she is."

"How would you even know how she is? This is the first time you've really even talked to her!"

"If this wasn't how she was all the time, would she have asked me to do it?"

*Sigh* "I suppose not... Still that's really bad to do. You realize that Tsukasa probably broke into tears in there? That's terrible."

The thought had occurred to Tony, but Konata had reassured him she would just be a little scared. "I hope we didn't cause too much trouble..." He said as he hung his head.

"I'm sure she'll be okay... but still..."

"Still what?"

"You and Konata working together is a scary thought..." Kagami said as Tsukasa left Konata's room, her cheeks puffed red. _I told him._

"Hey Tsukasa, are you okay?" Tony asked quietly, knowing what was to come.

"Kan-chan... Did you lie to me to scare me?"

"I suppose I did, I'm really sorry. I had no idea it would affect you this much. Konata assured me that you would only have a little scare..." Tony explained. "I'm sorry I caused you such strife." He apologized with a bow.

"I guess it's okay since you apologized, I'm just glad that Kona-chan's okay... Please just don't make me worry like that again, it's really mean." Tsukasa said as Kagami thought.

_Wow, she's really forgiving sometimes, I would have hit him a few times really hard if he pulled that crap on me AND Konata went along with it. _"Tony, I'm really disappointed in you for doing that."

"I'm really sorry."

"That's not good enough."

Tony thought for a minute before saying his next line. "Super mega special mecha awesome chocolate-dipped shining flaming glowing incredible apology!" He yelled out, thinking afterward, _Wait, did I just reference the anime that this is a fanfiction of? Holy crap! Pime Taradox!_

*Sigh* "I guess that's fine if that's all. Just don't do it again." Kagami scolded, but cooled off remembering that Konata had used nearly the exact same line once to describe her Volleyball serve. She looked at the time to see it was getting late. _But I really don't want to leave!_ She thought. _Oh, I have an idea!_ "Hey Tsukasa, would you be opposed to asking our parents if we could spend the night here? Then we could take care of Konata!"

"Sure Onee-chan, if you want." Tsukasa said, still a little irked at Konata for scaring her so badly. Putting a mask on and scaring her on the way back from the bathroom was one thing, pretending to be dying was QUITE another.

"Yes!" She cheered as she dialed her home phone number, having made sure to remember her cell phone today.

"Hiiragi residence." She heard Miki on the other side of the phone.

"Hey mom, Konata invited me and Tsukasa to stay at her house tonight. May we?" Kagami asked, certain that Konata wouldn't mind her inviting herself.

"Sure Kagami! Be sure to thank Mr. Izumi for letting you stay over!" Her mom said from the other end.

"Thanks mom!" Kagami cheered as she hung up. "I'll go tell Konata we can stay." She said as she rushed down the hallway to her friend's room.

"She sure is excited." Tony smirked as he saw Kagami nearly click her heels.

"Yeah, she is, isn't she Kan-chan." Tsukasa agreed.

"Hey Tsukasa, I thought you were going to call me Kan-'san'?" Tony asked, confused.

"I think chan is okay. I like the name," She said, taking her turn to smirk for being able to get back at Tony "I don't know why."

"Ahh, using my words against me." Tony smirked at the irony. "Very well, Kan-chan it is."

* * *

**Konata's room: Kagami Redux  
**

Kagami entered Konata's room with a wide grin on her face. Konata saw this and instantly smiled herself for some reason. Kagami was the first to speak.

"Hey Konata, I might not able to heck forever, but, if you're willing, me and Tsukasa can stay for tonight."

"Yay! Slumber Party!" Konata cheered, throwing her arms into the air as happiness radiated from her in the form of little white lines.

"Not a slumber party!" Kagami yelled, but the seriousness of her yelling was vastly diminished by the fact that she was giggling at Konata's cuteness the whole time.

"Kagami! You're giggling! And this is totally a Slumber Party! We'll talk about the people we like, have naked pillow fights and eat sweets all night long!" Konata shouted, her arms once again reaching for the air.

"IT IS NOT A SLUM... All night long?" Kagami asked as her brain processed the last bit of Konata's sentence.

"Mmmhmmmm~" Konata chimed as she found the kink in Kagami's armor. "All. Night. Long."

Kagami gulped. _Damn it! _"Well... I guess we could do that part..."

"Slumber Party!" Konata reiterated.

"... Fine Slumber Party. But we're only doing the last thing from that little list of yours. No naked pillow fights."

"Aw~, but you know you want to Kagamin~!"

"I don't."

"You do!"

"Maybe I'll just go home..." Kagami mumbled as she looked at Konata's door.

"No please don't! No naked pillow fights!" Konata said, reaching her arms in an attempt to stop Kagami.

"Well, if you insist." Kagami smirked, knowing she had won.

"Oh, and could you tell Tony that I appreciate his offer, but it isn't necessary anymore?" Konata asked.

"What did he offer?"

"To stay until my dad woke up and take care of anything I needed."

"Well that was nice of him. I'm glad you saw that he's a nice guy."

"Hmmm~..." Konata hummed, putting a checked hand on her chin.

"Uh-oh... Why don't I like the look you have?" Kagami asked, worried about what Konata might suggest.

"Why don't we let him stay in the living room and he can cook and clean and anything else we need!" Konata laughed, again her throat had stopped it's throbbing.

"That's kind of a lot to asked from someone you've just stopped hating. Or have you?" Kagami raised an eyebrow.

"I have! He hasn't really done anything. I'm sure he'd do it if we asked him!"

"Still. Can you say 'extortion'? Say it with me. 'Extortion'. Good~." Kagami said with mock satisfaction. "At least give him something if you're going to make him stay."

Konata instantly developed her notorious Catgrin, something Kagami hadn't seen in a while. "Well, we could let him watch us have a naked pillow fight..." She suggested, knowing Kagami would instantly turn it down.

"WE'RE NOT HAVING A NAKED PILLOW FIGHT DAMN IT!" Kagami yelled a little louder than she meant to.

"Well, you wanted him to get something." Konata cat-smiled.

"Fine. Lets have a naked pillow fight and let him watch." Kagami bluffed. Konata grinned as she started taking off her shirt, Kagami's bluff having backfired. Kagami started blushing as she covered her eyes. "WHOA WHOA WHOA! Hang on here, we're not really doing that!" Kagami yelled, getting seriously tired of being out bluffed.

"Well, don't say what you don't mean Kagamin~!" Konata said, elongating every vowel in the girls name. Kagami didn't know Konata had bluffed herself, and she was glad Kagami didn't call her on it even IF Konata knew she wouldn't.

"Shut up." Kagami smiled as she placed affectionate knuckles on the otaku's head. "I'll go let everyone know what's going on."

"Okay, I'll see you when you get back Kagami!"

"Cya in a little bit."

* * *

**The living room**

"Yeah, it gets pretty stinky, doesn't it?" Tony shouted as Tsukasa retold her story.

"It really does when you mix it with that much Balsamic Vinegar! I'm just glad I didn't accidentally mix Turpentine with it..." Tsukasa said as she thought what the results might have been.

"Yeah, that can be... quite volatile." Tony commented as he recognized a recipe for make-shift napalm. "I'm curious as to how you know how to make napalm with vinegar..."

"Well, you see, around two years ago-"

"Actually, it's probably better you not tell me, we're getting dangerously close to plagiarism as it is."

"Wh.. What?"

"Nothing, don't worry about it." Tony replied. Kagami reentered the living room.

"Alright, Konata said me and you can stay Tsukasa! And she said that you don't have to stay if you don't want to... Tony." Kagami hesitated calling him 'Tony' since it wasn't even his real name.

"I can feel your doubt. Kagami, I'm the same person, I just like Tony. Call me what makes you comfortable."

"I'm comfortable with Tony I guess... Yeah, Tony's good." Kagami nodded.

"It's more than good. It's grrrrreat~!" The boy yelled as he pointed a finger skyward and held it above his head. Tsukasa started to laugh while Kagami smiled, appreciating the reference.

"So first you're a boy, then you're a droid, then a Green Beret, and now you're a tiger?" Kagami snickered. "So what are you going to be next?"

_I wish your boyfriend._ "... God?"

"I'm sure." Kagami rolled her eyes.

"Hey, I've trained enough that I'm as much the God of Fighting as Keima is the God of Conquest."

"Keima... Who's that?" Kagami asked, confused as to the seemingly random name.

"I could have guessed..." Tony sweatdropped. "Well, if I'm not wanted, I'll go on home I guess." Tony said before turning towards the door. "Have fun at your slumber party!"

*Sigh* "It's not a slumber party." Kagami sighed.

"Oh, by the way, Konata is still sick, so maybe you should do what makes her happy."

"What are you getting at..." Kagami said, a pit forming in her stomach.

"Why not have a naked pillow fight? Konata seems to have insisted on it a few times. Not like anyone but yourselves and maybe Sojiro, if he wakes up any time tonight, will see you..." Tony smirked over his shoulder. Kagami blushed ferociously.

_Oh god, he heard me? This is all Konata's fault! How embarrassing..._ "Oh... you heard that..." Kagami choked out, a feeling of horror developing along with overwhelming embarrassment.

"Yep."

"Well... you should probably get going about now, shouldn't you?"

"That's my cue." Tony said as he left the house.

"Onee-chan, we're not really having a naked pillow fight with Kona-chan, are we?"

*Sigh* "No Tsukasa, no we're not."

"Okay, that would have been weird."

"Tell me about it... Well, let's go see Konata!"

"Right!"

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted with joy. "Hiya Luckies! I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami!**"**

"And I'm the assistant, Minoru Shiraishi!"

"So this is getting old. They really should end the freakin' day already. This is making the writer look like a noob." Akira said, wasting no time in dropping her cutesy act.

"Well, the writer is having fun. Isn't that the point of writing these?"

"No, it's all for the fans."

"You seem bitter, Akira-sama."

"Oh course I am! Not one reviewer asked for me to get a part! What the hell am I even doing here?"

"Akira-sama, it isn't your fault! The writer posted these at almost the same time, they haven't had a chance to review much yet!"

*Nch* "Whatever..."

*Music Tones*

"Looks like we're out of time again! I'll see you all next time and I REALLY need your support! Bye-nii~!"

"Bye-nii~!"

"..."

"This is starting to piss me off."

"Well Akira-sama, they're having fun, isn't that what matters?"

"Now you sound like a noob too."

"Please Akira-sama-"

"Don't even."

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

Yeah, this is getting to be a little much. I'm having fun writing this, let me know if you're having fun reading it! BTW, the next chapter WILL end this day, it's going to be super super long! Bye Nii!**  
**


	8. Chapter 8: Sleepover

Chapter 8: The last chapter to take place in this day.

Okay. I'm having fun with this day, but this is getting ridiculous. Alrighty, so this is DEFINITELY going to be the last chapter of this day, no matter how long it ends up being. I'll post in the after section if it ended up being way over the normal amount XD. There was a review asking whether this is a Konami or Kagami/OC. All I'll say is to read until chapter 10, if you don't know by then I'll tell you. Please let me know what you think about these last few chapters, maybe I'm giving too much detail, making them long.

* * *

**Slumber Par-**

"It's not a god damn slumber party!"

**Sleepover**

"Hey Konata!"  
"Hey Kona-chan!" Kagami and Tsukasa shouted in unison as they entered Konata's room. They were surprised to see Konata up and moving about.

"Hey guys! Great news, Tony said I'll probably be good for school tomorrow!" Konata cheered, sitting back on her bed.

"Well that's good, exams are going to start soon. My class is already discussing test material." Kagami recalled.

"I really, really hope we can all be in the same class together this year Kagamin~." Konata chimed, her catgrin reappearing.

"Yeah, me too. I wonder if we could get it so that we were guaranteed to be in the same class... If only you could put the same answers as me..."

"Why can't I?"

"Because we're not in the same class now, how would you know what I put?"

"Kagami~, this is the first time you ever WANTED me to cheat off of you, ya know."

"Sh-shut up!" Kagami turned red slightly.

"You're so cute when you get all flustered like that Kagamin!" Konata shouted, her grin widening.

"Cu-cu- Be quiet or I'll go home now... I thought we were going to eat sweets..." Kagami's red hue only darkening, her voice getting a quiet, timid tone near the end.

_!Shock!_ "Kagami! You just looked even more cute just now!" Konata shouted, eyes sparkling.

*Sigh* Kagami breathed deeply, regaining her composure. She had no clue how this Otaku could get to her so easily. "Let's just go find some cake or something, huh?"

"Oh, we'll get to that..." Konata said, her grin widening still. It gave Kagami an uneasy feeling. "First lets run a few 'experiments'."

"Ex...Experiments?" Kagami asked reluctantly.

"Yeah! First Kagami, put your hands behind you head and jump up and down! Up and down!" Konata continually said.

"Wah! What? Where do you think we are?" Kagami yelled.

"The third rock from the sun?" Konata suggested.

"What?"

"Aw~ Kagami! You didn't get it!" Konata whined. "You're telling me you never saw that?"

"Saw what? What are you talking about?"

"3rd Rock from the Sun! It was really popular back in 1996!" Konata whined that she was the only one to get the reference.

"I was 9 years old! Why the hell would I be watching American Sit-Coms?"

"Oh-ho-ho~, how would you know it was an American Sit-Com if you'd never seen it Kagamin~." Konata catgrinned.

"Gah!" Kagami gasped in surprise. Konata had gotten her.

"So what do you guys wanna talk about?" Tsukasa asked innocently.

"I like the current topic." Konata said, wanting to prolong her victory over her Tsundere as long as possible.

"Nah, lets talk about something else." Kagami said, wishing to prevent what she knew Konata was trying.

"Aw~ alright Kagami." Konata said, thinking of exactly how she could get her Tsundere to blush hard. "So, Tony asked you out yet?"

"Wa-What? N-no, it's not like that!" Kagami shouted, giving Konata the satisfaction of victory again.

"Would you reject him if he did?" Konata said, her voice suddenly more serious.

"Could we just not even go there?" Kagami sighed. "I said we were doing the last thing on your list."

_Does that mean the first one applies? Or am I just over thinking this? GAH! I wanna know!_ "No, we have to go there! It's required of a sl-"

"Don't say it..."

"-eepover!" Konata gave a smug grin.

"Oh.. Well, I guess- Wait! It doesn't matter what you call it, we're still not doing it!" Kagami yelled, not realizing the implications of her avoiding it. She REALLY wanted some sweets after the stress of Konata's sickness and a new kid who constantly gave her headaches with his answers for everything. _These two will drive me nuts...  
_"These two will drive me nuts..." Konata said in unison to Kagami's thoughts.

_!_ "How did you-"

"Need I say it again? I know my waifu!" Konata said with a rather large catgrin.

"BE QUIET!" _How did she know what I was thinking?_ Kagami shouted and thought.

"I can hear your internal monologue. I AM the Goddess of Conquest after all..." Konata giggled.

"What does that... Wait a minute..." Kagami interrupted herself, thinking back a chapter. _**I'm as much the God of Fighting as Keima is the God of Conquest. **__Huh... I wonder... _"Hey Konata, who's Keima?"

"Wah! Kagami, you actually got that!" Konata shouted. "Keima's the God of Conquest! I can't believe you've seen it!"

"Uhhh, I haven't really, Tony said something about Keima being the God of Conquest or something..."

"Ah~, so he's the one..." Konata thought aloud. "So, is he staying? Cause I'm getting hungry."

"No, he couldn't stay." Kagami lied, she hadn't wanted to ask him to stay at their slumbe- Sleepover. She wouldn't bother him with something like caring for the lot of them, whether he would have or not. And he probably would have.

"Aw~, But I'm hungry!" Konata emphasized these words with a rumble of her stomach. "Maybe I could have another pancake?" Konata looked hopefully at Kagami.

"Well... Sure, I can-" Kagami started.

"I can cook something up for you Kona-chan! What would you like?" Tsukasa interrupted. Kagami's head dropped down, defeated. She knew Tsukasa was a better cook by far, but she had still wanted to see if she could cook something yummy for Konata again.

"Hey Tsukasa, would you like some help with dinner?" Kagami asked, hoping that she would get the chance.

"No." Konata said before Tsukasa could even open her mouth. Konata got frantic for an instant, wondering why she had just denied Kagami access to the kitchen. _I know she usually isn't a good cook, but Tsukasa would have been there as well! She couldn't screw up too bad..._

"Huh? Why not?" Kagami asked, feeling confused that Konata would ask her to make something, then deny her access to the kitchen.

"Well-I-Uh... I'll get lonely! Yeah, I need someone to talk to or I'll die of boredom!" Konata thought quickly.

"I guess I can see how you would, you're alone in here and stuff. Besides, I would just end up burning something or mixing some very bad things..." Kagami reminisced. "Remember Tsukasa, two years ago with the Balsamic Vineg-"

"Tony said we shouldn't talk about it, something about plagiarism..." Tsukasa said, still a little confused about what she had been plagiarizing.

"That doesn't make any sense though... Why would tha- Look! Falling Stars!" Kagami shouted, excited to see such a rare sight.

**Meanwhile in Tony's house...**

Suddenly, Tony looked up. _Hmmmm, I have a curious feeling that one of our references might have gone too far... Odd... Hm?_ He saw a shooting star outside his window. _I might as well..._

* * *

**Meanwhile, at the plot**

Konata clasped her hands together, knowing full well that even if she wished fast enough, her wish probably wouldn't come true. She had to try.  
Tsukasa closed her eyes as she voiced her wish in her head. _I wish Kona-chan would be okay, I wish Kona-chan would be okay, I wish Kona-chan would be okay.  
_Kagami thought for a second and decided to try. _I wish me and Konata were in the same class, I wish me and Konata were in the same class, I wish me and Konata were in the same class. _She looked up to see the star still falling. Her heart began to flutter as she realized her wish might come true.

"Fu-fu-fu Kagamin, I thought you said it was silly to try and wish for something. Didn't you say 'No one could possibly make their wish three times fast enough for it to come true'?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess I did..."

"Did you get your wish finished in time?" Konata asked, knowing she would have to tease Kagami if she said yes.

"Yeah, I did..." Kagami smiled with such happiness, Konata couldn't bring herself to spoil it.

_I wonder what she wished for... Maybe the same thing as me? No, there's no way_,_ and no point in asking either I'm sure. _Konata thought.

"What did you wish for Onee-chan?" Tsukasa asked, happy her own wish was sure to come true, this being the first time she actually wished fast enough.

"I can't tell you Tsukasa, or it won't come true!" Kagami said enthusiastically, confirming Konata's suspicion.

"Oh! Maybe that's why none of my wishes ever come true..." Tsukasa said, thinking of every birthday wish that might have been if she hadn't said anything about them.

"Well, just don't tell anyone this one!" Kagami said, smiling. It only made Konata wonder what she had wished for all the more.

"Cool! It looks like we all got our wish off in time!" Konata cheered. Konata had wished fast enough herself.

"Hmmm, I'm curious as to what your perverted little mind wished for..." Kagami smirked. Konata smiled, making Kagami start to get a feeling that she was right. Oddly, she wasn't really angry about it.

"Actually, my wish wasn't all that perverted..."

"From my point of view or yours?" Kagami asked, knowing that there was a VAST difference between Konata's idea of perversion and her own.

"From yours." Konata said quietly. Her stomach rumbled loudly, as if by que.

"Oh right! I was gonna make you something Kona-chan!" Tsukasa shouted as she sprinted for the door.

"Thanks Tsukasa!" Konata shouted as Tsukasa was already out the door.

"Does she even know what she's going to make? How does she know what you have?" Kagami asked rhetorically.

"She can't know what's in the kitchen, I don't even know! I wouldn't be surprised if my dad didn't know either, if I've eaten anything but that pancake, it was some sort of fast-food." Konata said, not really remembering if she had eaten much at this point. All she could remember on the subject was Kagami's pancake.

"How can you not remember what you've eaten?" Kagami asked, surprised that Konata was suddenly so forgetful.

"Well, I only bother to remember really, really important stuff... I guess that's why I'm not so good in school..." Konata said, her tone dropping for a second. She recovered nearly instantly.

*Sigh* "School IS important, how can you think it isn't?" Kagami facepalmed, but she was relieved. Konata was being Konata again.

"Well, I don't need that stuff for my future!" Konata said, her hand in the air and pointing.

"Of course you will. What future, other than a bum, could you possibly have planned that you won't need an education for? And before you say anything, no. You're not going to be a bum."

"Of course not, silly Kagamin! I've actually planned my future!" Konata said happily.

"Well? What is it?" Kagami said with a raised eyebrow, surprised to see Konata thinking ahead.

"Well, I'm can do housework in general, I like staying indoors, but I have enough strength as it is, and I want to use my time freely so... I'm gonna be a housewife!" Konata shouted.

"Don't underestimate housewives Konata, it can be some pretty hard labor..." Kagami said with more than a hint of skepticism in her voice.

"I bet I could do it! And what would I need all this stuff they're teaching anyway?" Konata asked, sure she had won yet again.

Kagami said nothing as she got up and walked over to her books. She reached down and picked up her math book. She walked back over to Konata, crouched down and said in a high-pitched voice, "Mommy, I don't understand this. Can you explain it to me?"

"Kagami, what are you doing?" Konata asked, perplexed at her friends sudden behavior. _Man, she's really cute..._

"Who's she? Please Mommy, I don't understand any of this!" Kagami continued. She resumed in her normal voice, "Well? What if your child asks you how to do something and you don't know? You'll embarrass yourself in front of your kid!"

"I doubt they'll be teaching college level math to a girl that talks like THAT Kagami..." Konata giggled.

"You're ignoring the point. And who knows? Some of the stuff they teach us now used to be taught in fourth year college!"

"Grr... I hate when you're right... PUNISHMENT!" Konata shouted as she leaped up, narrowly missing Kagami.

"What are you doing?" Kagami yelled.

"I am the Tickle Monster who punishes young girls!" Konata shouted back happily as she pursued Kagami around the room, Kagami avoiding her.

"Hey cut it out! Quit it! Sit back down!" Kagami shouted as she ran in the confined space. They ran for what seemed like hours, but was only about half of one. She heard heavy panting behind her. She looked around to see Konata breathing hard, hands on her knees. Her face was beet red. "Konata! Are you okay?" She shouted in concern, having forgotten that such an excursion could prove VERY taxing on one so sick.

"Yeah... I just gotta rest for a minute..." She replied as she slowly walked to her bed, laying down on it. "Hey, could you get me my Ker*ro Gu*sō?" She said, pointing without looking up, knowing exactly where the manga was opposite the foot of her bed. "I need something to relax with..." Her voice trailed off in exhaustion.

"Sure..." Kagami said as she grabbed the manga. As she was walking back, she slipped on some of the wreckage that had been the result of their chase. As she flew, she started panicking about where she might land, knowing she had actually **flown**, not merely slipped. She felt relief as she landed on the softness of Konata's bed on her hands and knees. She looked down to see Konata looking straight back into her. They held that position for what seemed an eternity, though it was only a few seconds before fate would take over. Kagami was blushing as Konata's head seemed closer... and closer... and closer... Kagami didn't seem to be in control of her body anymore. Her heart was pounding when suddenly... they heard the door open.

"Kona-chan~, it's read-" Tsukasa entered with a tray of food and a sing-song voice. She was quickly silenced as she saw the position her sister and friend were in. *Gulp* "Sorry... Enjoy yourselves!" She shouted in a panic, dropping the tray as she shot from the room. It was only now that Kagami looked to see exactly how she had landed. Her hands were on either side of Konata's neck so that her face was right above Konata's, one knee in between Konata's legs. Her hair had messily cascaded next to Konata's own messy hair. Konata was incredibly red and panting hard, staring into Kagami the whole time, her hands limp and almost submissive looking on either side of her head. Kagami suddenly blushed the hardest she ever had, leaping off of the bed. She landed hard next to her friend's bed on her back, knocking the breath out of her and dazing her.

_Oh my God! Me and Konata... We were so... and Tsukasa... OH GOD! _Was all she could think, her thoughts erratic from the sudden closeness and impact of her back on the ground. She started getting up, cheeks ablaze, to go and explain things to Tsukasa. As she stood, her knees were noticeably shaking. She began to take a weak step towards the door when she felt a small frame grip her and help her to walk correctly. She looked under her left arm to see Konata with one arm around her waist, helping to support the weight her shaky legs almost couldn't. Kagami smiled at her friend, who smiled back. Oddly, her face was still red though she seemed to have rested. Kagami could feel her face burning even as she noticed the same about Konata. "Shall we?" Kagami asked, her smile small but meaningful.

"Lets." Konata said as they both walked out of the room together.

* * *

**POV: Tsukasa**

"Oh right! I was gonna make you something Kona-chan!" Tsukasa shouted as she sprinted for the door. _I can't believe I forgot so easily!_

"Thanks Tsuka-" Was all she heard as she arrived at the kitchen. She looked around to see what she could find.

_Hmmmm... I wonder what she has..._ She went to the refrigerator/freezer and opened the door. She wanted to try something she never had before. _Lets see... Tater Tots, a block of cheese, chop meat, milk, eggs, bacon, ha... I'm getting out of the dinner section..._ She went to the pantry and continued her search. _Noodles, rice_, _Cream of Mushroom soup, condensed milk, pancake mix... Wow, there really is no consistency here..._ She thought as she washed her hands, realizing that they must not have shopped in a long time. _Challenge Accepted!_ She grabbed the hamburger meat, Tater Tots, Cream of Mushroom soup, condensed milk, cheese, a bowl, two frying pans, and the largest oven pan she could find. _I better make a lot in case Kona-chan's Dad wakes up..._ She though to herself.

She preheated the oven to about 375 degrees and turned two burners on. She then put the meat in the frying pan to brown, opening the soup can at the same time. Having open the soup and the meat only being half cooked, she grabbed a cheese grater and started to slice the cheese into the regular bowl. By the time the entire block was grated, the meat had thoroughly cooked, acquiring a nice, brown look. Tsukasa opened the condensed milk can, poured it and the soup into the other frying pan, putting it onto the other burner and mixing it slightly. She took the first pan off of the burner and opened the bag of Tater Tots. She drained the meat of all the grease that had escaped in a strainer and put it into the pan. She sprinkled some cheese over the meat. She set the Tater Tots in a layer that covered the top and used the bag. By this time, the CoMs and the milk had mixed together quite smoothly. She poured half of it over the tots and sprinkled the rest of the cheese over. She poured the rest over that, stepping back to admire her work. She only stood for a few seconds before the oven finished preheating. She grabbed some oven mitts and opened the oven door, making sure to keep her face away to prevent catching a large amount of heat that was escaping the oven in her face. She waiting a couple seconds to let said heat to dissipate and put the dinner in.

_Hmmm, how about Tater Tot Casserole! _She thought of a name. _It will probably take a while to cook, I'd say about 45 minutes._ She thought as she looked at the time, also setting the timer for 45 minutes. The whole thing had taken her about 5 minutes to prepare. Had anyone else seen all of this, it would have looked like she was doing most of it simultaneously, her hands mere afterimages, but to Tsukasa, this was normal when she wanted to cook quickly. She went into the living room, sat on the couch and blinked. The timer went off. _EH? What happened? Did I fall asleep?_ She wondered, looking at the clock to see that 45 minutes had, indeed, passed. This, unusual as it might seem, was also normal when she cooked at that speed. It still confused her every time though.

She rushed back to the kitchen, grabbed the mitts again, and opened the door, keeping her face away from the door again. She grabbed the casserole out of the oven and set it on top. She turned the oven off and found a sick tray, ladle, and the plates. She scooped a full ladles worth onto the plate, pleased to see that there was still a LOT left. She picked the tray up and started towards Konata's room.

"Kona-chan~, It's read-" Tsukasa entered with a tray of food and a sing-song voice. She was quickly silenced as she saw the position her sister and friend were in, Kagami above Konata, their faces mere inches from each other. Konata was incredibly red and panting heavily. It's easy, even for Tsukasa, to assume from there. *Gulp* "Sorry... Enjoy yourselves!" She shouted in a panic, dropping the tray as she shot from the room. _What's going on? What were they doing? This is confusing, I knew they were close but-..._ Her thoughts were cut off as she recalled something.

**"The shapes tell me... You'll find love soon?" the short-haired Twin said, sounding uncertain.**

**"Why does this sound familiar? Even if I would, who would this 'love' be?" Asked Kagami rhetorically.**

**"Uuuuh, I don't really know..." Tsukasa said as her yellow hair bow drooped down.**

_What? Ko-Kona-chan and Onee-chan? No way, they're two girls! Could they really be... I better go... _She thought as she made for the door, still uncertain of exactly what was going on. It had seemed that they might want to be alone right now and at this point, Tsukasa would be happy to oblige. She opened the door and slowly started to make her way home.

"Tsukasa! Where are you going?" She heard Tony ask from behind, him having come out seeing Tsukasa leave without Kagami.

"Ho-Home, I think Kona-chan and Onee-chan might want to be alone..." Tsukasa said, still in a daze. It never registered in her mind that she had just said something that could potentially be really, **really** bad if it got out. What snapped her out was what she saw next. For the first time since she had met him, Tony completely lost his composure.

"Wha-what? Are you sure? Maybe you misunderstood somehow? You had to!" Tony said, looking more panicked than surprised by this revelation. "Perhaps you could go check and see what, exactly, is going on?"

"I-I'd rather not!" Tsukasa said, panicked about what she had just done.

"If you don't, I will." Tony said, knowing she would probably volunteer for the job as soon as he said it.

"Going!" Tsukasa shouted, preferring her going to see it rather than Tony going and more than likely embarrassing them all.

"Be sure to tell me what's going on. I understand if you don't want to include any details, just what the situation is." Tony turned back to his house and slowly walked in, not waiting for a response.

*Sigh* "Alright..." She walked back towards her friend's house.

* * *

**Back in the house**

They left Konata's room to find Tsukasa, but failed in the attempt. They entered the kitchen to find there was still more than enough dinner for them all to eat. _I wonder what this even is?_ Kagami wondered. W_here is she?_ She thought as her legs regained their strength. "Thanks Konata, I... I think I can walk again..." Kagami said.

"Are you sure?" Konata asked, reluctant to let go.

"Yeah..." Konata removed herself from the larger girl and stepped back a few steps. Kagami stood fine, both of their blushes settling. They went back to the living room to see Tsukasa standing just inside the door. "Tsukasa-"

"It's... It's okay Onee-chan... I... I accept you and Kona-chan!" Tsukasa shouted out, still confused, but she sincerely meant it.

"Tsukasa... Thanks but..." Kagami was almost at a loss for words, her blush returning as she realized that even if there hadn't been a misunderstanding, that if her and Konata had really been... that her sister would still accept and support them. She felt tears forming in her eyes. "Thanks, but there's been a misunderstanding... I slipped and fell like that... Me and Konata aren't... you know..." Kagami said, her throat closing from emotions, preventing her from talking anymore.

"Really?" Tsukasa asked.

"Yeah..."

"Alright... Well, lets eat!" Tsukasa said, changing the subject. "You guys go eat, I'll go clean up the mess I made in your room Kona-chan."

"Don't worry about it Tsukasa!" Konata beckoned her toward the kitchen to eat with them.

"No, I'll feel bad if I don't, I made the mess I should clean it up!" She shouted as she started walking towards Konata's room.

"Okay, well I guess come in and eat when you're finished..." Konata said, reluctant to let Tsukasa clean up, even though she HAD made the mess.

"Alrighty!" Tsukasa said, halting until Konata was in the kitchen and out of eye sight. She sprinted quietly to the door and ran to Tony's house. She knocked quickly.

"Tsukasa, what's going on?" He asked as he opened the door.

"Kan-chan, it was just a misunderstanding! She just slipped, I got the wrong idea." She explained quickly, wishing she had never told him in the first place.

"Whew." He noticeably relaxed. "Still, lets not mention that you told me, it would really, REALLY embarrass Kagami and Konata. And don't tell anyone else, not even Miyuki. Understand?" Tony said with a serious look.

"You read my mind Kan-chan. I have to go now, bye!" She shouted, realizing that she still had to clean up and eat before Kagami and Konata got suspicious.

"See ya!" Tony yelled after her. _Man, this day is full of surprises. If I'm to have any chance at having Kagami, I'm going to HAVE to ask her out soon. I just hope I'm not too soon or too late..._ He thought as he reentered his home.

Tsukasa rushed in, closing the door quietly, relieved that neither Konata nor Kagami had heard her. She ran to Konata's room and cleaned up quickly. She then walked to the kitchen to eat, out of breath from all the running.

"Hey Tsukasa, what took you so long? And why are you so tired?" Kagami asked in concern as she noticed her sister was breathing heavily.

"Well, I... Um... Had to move some furniture to get all of it up." Tsukasa hated to lie, but it was the only way without telling her sister the mistake she had made.

"Oh, okay then, come here and eat! This stuff is really good!" Kagami said, not knowing exactly what she was eating, but liking it.

"Thanks, I tried something new! It's called Tater Tot Casserole!" Tsukasa said happily as she scooped herself some and sat down.

"You only made one mistake Tsukasa." Konata said seriously, looking at Tsukasa.

"Eh? What?" Tsukasa asked confused. She had just come up with this meal, how could she have made a mistake!

"When you walk in on two people like that, you have to say 'Wa wa wa'!" Konata shouted, dropping the serious act.

"Wa wa wa?" Tsukasa asked, confused as ever.

"Konata. Do you ever stop with the jokes?" Kagami facepalmed. "But I guess I should just be grateful that you're back to normal." She smiled.

"Yeah! Tsukasa, you have to tell me how you made this! It's really good!" Konata shouted, shoveling more food into her mouth. "Kagami is already on her second plate!" She giggled, pointing to the half-eaten plate Kagami was consuming at the moment.

"Hey! Don't make fun of me!" Kagami shouted angrily. _Konata will be Konata._ Inside, she was smiling.

"Kagami's scary!" Konata flinched in a false fear, having thought of a much better comeback, but decided save it for later.

"Sure, I can tell you how it's made! First you start with hamburger...(INSERT TSUKASA SECTION HERE)... and then let it bake for 45 minutes!" Tsukasa finished, smiling the entire time she was talking, only taking breaks to breathe and eat.

"How long does it take to prepare?" Kagami asked, trying to soak in every detail for future reference.

"It took me about 5 minutes!" Tsukasa chimed, happy to be in the spotlight.

_Holy crap! It took her longer to explain how to make it then it did to actually prepare it! _"You'll have to make it again sometime and let me watch so I can make it too! But wait... Doesn't the meat take 10 minutes to brown? How did you do it all in 5 minutes?" Kagami smiled, leaning back completely stuffed, but confused. Three plates was WAY more than enough.

"Ummm... I'm not really sure..." Tsukasa said, just as confused as her sister now.

"Wow Kagami, you sure ate a lot..." Konata stared, having only eaten a plate and a half herself.

"Yeah, what's your point? I liked it a lot." Kagami said, staring daggers back at Konata.

"Fu-fu-fu~ Kagamin. Did you save any room for dessert?" Konata asked with her catgrin.

"..." _DAMN IT!_ Kagami yelled in her head.

"Don't worry, there will be of time later for that. It isn't going anywhere." Konata reassured her Tsundere.

"Alright then..." Kagami breathed happily. She REALLY needed something sugary now... Kagami yawned loudly.

"Uh-oh Kagami, you ate too much! It might be beddy bye time!" Konata giggled.

"No, I'm fi- *Yawn* I'm fine..." Kagami said drowsily.

"Come on Kagamin~. Lets go to bed! You can sleep with me if you want~." Konata said, grinning.

"Like I would ever!" Kagami yelled. _How can she joke like that after... _Kagami began to blush from merely remembering what almost happened in the bedroom. Konata saw this, and began to blush slightly herself, this being one of the few times she couldn't explain why. Poor Tsukasa was completely clueless as to the cause of the tension, not thinking of them like that.

"Actually Kagami... I only have one futon, Yutaka took the other one when she went to Minami's house. And it's only big enough for one person..." Konata stated, regaining her composure and grinning at Kagami.

"Then Tsukasa and I can take your bed and you can sleep on the futon." Kagami continued staring at Konata, daring the Otaku to challenge her.

"Um.. Onee-chan, it would probably be better for Konata to sleep in a real bed... She IS still sick, isn't she?" Tsukasa said, unknowingly condemning Kagami to her fears.

"Then I'll sleep in Yutaka's room!" Kagami's voiced raised in desperation.

"Is sleeping with me really **that** revolting an idea Kagami?" Konata asked, looking completely and utterly unwanted and unloved. In that instant, she could have asked Kagami to deconstruct the Great Wall of China, deliver it to her on a silver platter, and reconstruct it and she probably would have with a smile.

"It's not that! It's just..." Kagami's words were stopped by the change on Konata's face from a catgrin to puppyeyes. "I... I... Fine. I'll... Share a bed with you... But if I feel so much as ONE hand, so help me I'll-"

"YAY KAGAMI AND ME ARE SLEEPING TOGETHER!" Konata shouted, dropping the look like a sack of dirt. While she had been honestly sad, the thought of sleeping with Kagami made her feel overjoyed. Probably because she was.

"Hey! Don't yell that so loud! For all we know, Tony could have heard you!" Kagami shouted in response to Konata's slight lack of tact.

"He would probably enjoy hearing something like that!" Konata laughed. "It's not too often you mistake two of your new friends as les-" She was quickly silenced by a pair of hands covering her mouth.

"That's it. I'm sleeping in Yutaka's room." Kagami said tersely. Inside, she didn't want to but she knew Konata would probably try something perverted if they were in a bed together. She didn't want something like that to happen in front of Tsukasa. _Wait! I don't want something like that to happen at all! What am I thinking?_

"Mrph mrph mrph..." Konata's comments were muffled by the hands on her mouth. She fell back, barely catching herself before she hit the ground, much to the terror of Kagami and Tsukasa.

"Konata! Are you okay? I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking about actually hurting you!" Kagami shouted, at her friend's side before Tsukasa could even stand up.

"Whew! I was starting to suffocate!" Konata gave a few way over-the-top breaths before attempting to continue, having faked the entire incident.

"YOU IDIOT!" Kagami yelled, hitting Konata over the head. "I WAS REALLY WORRIED ABOUT YOU!" She yelled again.

"Ouch! Kagamin, what I was trying to say was 'I was just joking, don't worry!' but you covered my mouth before I could say it. You didn't have to hit me though..." Konata said, crouched down and trying to message her now aching scalp. It had little effect. Kagami, seeing that she had just actually caused Konata pain when she had just shouted about not wanting to hurt her, instantly regretted her actions.

"Hey Konata, I'm sorry I hit you like that. I guess I must really be tired or something... I don't know what came over me..." Kagami said, regret almost visibly dripping off of every word.

"Aw~, Don't worry Kagami, I'll be alright!" Konata said, getting back up and stopping herself from attempting the sooth her head. "You know what would REALLY make me feel better though?" Konata said, her catgrin returning.

*Gulp* "What..." Kagami asked, afraid of everything the girl could ask for now. She was at Konata's mercy.

"Well, if you REALLY want me to feel better, just sleep in my bed with me tonight. I promise no funny stuff." Konata said, giving a look that told Kagami she really meant it.

"Ah...Alright. I guess if I have to..." Kagami timidly muttered, looking away and blushing. She had shared a bed with Tsukasa before, but this was different somehow.

"Yippi!" Konata shouted in joy, quieting quickly as her head throbbed in protest of the sudden noise.

"Yeah, whatever... Just go take a bath so we can take one too."

"You can go first Kagami!" Konata waved her hand in the air.

"No, I couldn't! Please, you can go first."

"But... Going first is really boring..." Konata admitted, looking absolutely bored with the idea.

"Well then don't try and force it on your guests!" Kagami shouted.

"I guess there's only one way to settle this, eh Kagamin~?" Konata said, her grin widening. Kagami had a funny feeling she wasn't going to like this.

"What?"

"Why don't we just take a bath together!" Konata threw her arms into the air, shouting in enthusiasm for the idea.

"No! No! No! A thousand times NO! I'm already sleeping in the same bed with you!" Kagami yelled back, blushing ferociously.

"But didn't we all get in the same bath at the beach?" Konata insisted, staring with stars in her eyes.

"That was different! They didn't have separate baths there! I had no choice!" Kagami shouted in reply.

"Aw~, if you really don't want to... I guess I'll simply have to go first..." Konata said, looking a tad dejected. Kagami almost lost her nerve, but remembered what Konata was asking her so suddenly.

"Yeah, go first." Kagami said, turning her head away so as to not look directly at Konata's pleas.

"Alright! I'll see you guys in a little while!" Konata shouted as she made her way to the bathroom.

*Sigh* "That girl sometimes..." Kagami sighed.

"Are you mad at her Onee-chan?" Tsukasa asked, having taken a back seat in the conversation yet again.

"What? No, she can just get a little annoying sometimes. It's alright, that's just how she is..." Kagami smiled warmly, looking at the hallway Konata had just disappeared down.

"Onee-chan?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you really slip and fall like that onto Kona-chan's bed?" Tsukasa wanted to make sure.

"Yeah, why would I have told you otherwise if it wasn't so?" Kagami asked, turning her vision onto her sister.

"Hehe, I just wanted to make sure. It's a good thing you didn't land several inches lower or you would have kissed her!" Tsukasa said, starting to laugh.

"Yeah... Good thing..." Kagami said distractedly. Luckily, Tsukasa's eyes were closed as she laughed, preventing her from seeing or hearing Kagami's halfhearted reply. They sat in relative silence for several minutes, starting conversations about nothing in particular when Kagami got an idea. "Hey Tsukasa, maybe next time you cook at your fastest you could record it so I can see! It was really weird to hear that you could do ALL of that stuff in five minutes... But then again you were only gone for about 55 minutes and you said it took 45 minutes to cook..."

"Sure thing Onee-chan!" Tsukasa cheered happily. _Something that I can actually beat Onee-chan in! She's always been better at almost everything, but finally something that's mine..._

"Thanks Tsukasa!" Kagami shouted, happy to have such a wonderful cook as a sister. She could only hope that Tsukasa could teach her to cook as well.

As they finished their chat, they heard the water turn off. _She's done already? It couldn't have been 15 minutes!_ Kagami thought to herself. Konata, however, was seen emerging in her nightshirt and shorts. "Hang on, how are you done already? It hasn't been long at all!" Kagami shouted.

"Well, I have a lot less to clean then you do Kagamin~." Konata grinned, bringing her hand from the top of her head to the top of Kagami's to show their size difference. "And besides, I don't spend a lot of time soaking my bo~dy~." Konata put extra emphasis on the last word. Kagami could easily discern that it was directed at her.

"Gah- Bo~dy~, why do you say bo~dy~ like that, what do you know about other people's bo~dy~s?" Kagami asked hurriedly, putting the same inflection on the word each time. She was a little scared to know the answer.

"What are you talking about Kagami~? I'm just saying that I don't spend a lot of time in the bath is all." Konata said with a grin that made it easy to tell she was lying badly on purpose to get a rise from Kagami. It was to no avail this time.

"Come on, we both know what you were... You know what? Forget it, I'm going to go take a bath..." Kagami said with irritation as she headed for the bathroom.

"Wait Onee-chan!" Tsukasa shouted, catching Kagami before she walked into the bathroom.

"What's up Tsukasa?" She asked, turning towards her.

"We didn't bring any spare clothes!" Tsukasa shouted back.

_Damn, she's right! We weren't expecting to spend the night here so we didn't pack anything! _"Oh... That's right..."

"Not to fear! I, Konata Izumi, have outfits that will fit you!" Konata shouted as she struck a pose for no apparent reason.

"Really? Cool, let's see them!" Kagami said as the three went to Konata's room.

"Hmm... Where are they... They must be here..." Konata muttered while digging through her closet, manga and games flying everywhere. "Ah-HAH!" She yelled as she pulled out the outfits she had been referring too. Kagami deadpanned.

"No." Was her simple reaction at the costume that laid before her. "I am not dressing in this."

"Come on Kagami! You would look so super cute as Miku Hatsune!" Konata shouted.

"Absolutely not."

"I know you want to cosplay!"

"Konata. Nothing you can say will get me to cosplay."

"What if I gave you 100 yen?"

"No."

"200!"

"No."

"What if I made you president of the student council?"

"No."

"What if I made you president of the WORLD?"

"No."

"What if I stopped calling you Kagami-sama?"

"No."

"What if I gave you my manga?"

"No."

"What if I told you I loved you?"

"N- Wait WHAT? Now I'm DEFINITELY NOT cosplaying!" Kagami yelled.

"So cold Kagami..." Konata sniffled. "It's okay though, I don't mind if you don't take a bath for a day!"

"But I'll feel so... dirty..." Kagami said, wishing she hadn't seconds after.

"Just wait until we get in the same bed Ka~gamin~." Konata's grin widened.

"... Yutaka's room."

"Just kidding! Just kidding! Geez, you always take things so seriously Kagami."

"Yeah yeah, just remember, you promised no funny stuff." Kagami said as she set out the futon for Tsukasa. She started making her way over to Konata's bed.

"Wait Kagami, you're not going to sleep in uniform, are you?" Konata asked.

"Well, what else am I going to sleep in? None of your clothes fit me, even your night clothes would be skin tight and uncomfortable!"

"Sleep in your underwear! Just panties and a bra!" Konata yelled. "I'll even join you so you don't feel self-conscious!" She shouted, throwing her night shirt off to reveal a completely bare chest. Kagami blushed profusely as she beheld her friend.

"... No bra?" Kagami asked, having prepared for Konata to do exactly this so she wouldn't turn away and yell. She was planning on bluffing Konata until she stopped in embarrassment.

"Those are for girls with chests, silly silly Kagami!" Konata said shamelessly. "Now you!" Konata shouted as she tackled Kagami, trying to wrestle her uniform off.

"Get of- GET OFF!" Kagami yelled, flinging Konata back onto her bed and blushing. "I can undress myself!" She proceeded to do so, her actions slowed out of sheer embarrassment. She wasn't going to fold first again though.

"Oooooo~, Nice features Kagamin~." Konata said, a shine in her eye.

"Shut up! You sound like a perverted old man!"

"Come on Kagami!" Konata patted the spot in bed next to her, ignoring Kagami's last statement completely.

"Re-remember Konata, you pro-"

"Yeah yeah, I know Kagami! Come on~!" Konata said impatiently.

"Ah-alright..." Kagami tucked Tsukasa in. It really was barely big enough for Tsukasa, the two of them would never have fit on it. She made her way over to an awaiting Konata, shutting the light off on the way, and climbed in bed. She didn't feel anything but bed and blanket. She sighed in relief.

"Good night Tsukasa! Good night Konata!" Kagami said in the dark.

"Night Onee-chan! Night Kona-chan!" Tsukasa chimed back.

"Good night Tsukasa! Good night Ka~gami~." Konata whispered in Kagami's ear.

"You promised..." Was the last thing heard through gritted teeth before they all fell asleep.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted out. "Hiya Luckies! I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami! I-"

"And I'm the assistant, Minoru Shir-" Minoru started from habit, but stopped as he felt a searing pain in his leg.

"I wasn't finished. I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami! I'm the girl that NONE OF YOU FREAKING CARE ABO-"

"Yo Akira. We got a letter for ya." An anonymous person shouted from off camera.

"Who's it from?" Akira asked, disinterested.

"Does it matter?"

"Give me the damn letter. Probably from some fan wanting an autograph or something... 'Dear Akira Kogami, it is my duty to inform you...*Mumbling*... Sincerely, Acsuperman..." She finished, her hands trembling and eyes invisible behind her salmon hair as her head was lowered.

"A-Akira-sama? What does it say?" Minoru asked, concerned about what havoc she might wreck from whatever news she had gotten. Her head whipped around as she looked at him.

"Hey. What's the name of the writer?" She asked.

"Umm... Acsuperman I think..." Minoru said, now concerned about what fate he might have doomed me to.

"YES! BOO-FREAKIN-YEAH!" Akira continued her chants of victory.

"Good news Akira-sama?" Asked a hopeful Minoru. Maybe he HADN'T just been an accessory to murder.

"Totally! The writer said that a whole sixth of ALL of the reviews were asking that I get a part in the story. He said he'll overlook what happened in the last episode and give me a chance to play someone in Chapter 10! He even said that he won't make me play myself since this part isn't going to be big unless I want it to be me!"

"That's awesome Akira-sama! I bet you're excited!" Minoru shouted.

"Oh yeah! I'm so excited I could platz!"

"I do have one question Akira-sama, if I may." Minoru started, hoping not to ruin Akira's moment.

"What's up Shiriashi-san?" Akira smiled a genuine smile.

"How do you know the writer is a guy? I always thought it was a girl! Is it in the letter?"

"Hmmm..." Akira hummed as she reread the letter. "You know what? It doesn't say, I honestly don't know! I have an idea! Let's ask what the readers think! They heard me last time~!" Akira chimed.

"Good idea! Hear that guys? Why not settle this for us, we here at Luckier Channel are curious as the what you think the gender of our writer is! Meanwhile, we'll send a letter asking them ourselves so we'll know!"

*Music Tone*

"It looks like we're out of time today! I'll see you next time and again, Thank you so, so much for rooting for me everyone! I promise to give it 150%! Bye nii~!"

"..."

"That was actually great! So I'm curious, why do you think it's a girl?"

"Well, I think the writer has a great understanding about how the girls react, I thought that only a girl could achieve that! Why do you think it's a guy?"

"Acsuper**man**. Not woman, man."

"Ahh, but remember that Izumi-san had a male character on her game and even when you were playing your character was male with a male name, right?"

"Oh yeah... Man, now I don't know! Better send that letter out ASAP..."

"Right!"

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

It's over EIGHT **THOOOOUSAAAAAND!** *Crushes scouter*. That upped my previous biggest chapter by ALMOST 4000 words. For all intents and purposes, I could have split this chapter into 2 and both would still be normal length. No, this is not going to be the new normal, but I really wanted to end the day already, ya know? I was thinking about making it so each chapter is one day, regardless of length, how about that? Please let me know what you guys think, I really want some reviews please! Tell me what you think about these super long chapters and days!


	9. Chapter 9: Awakening

Chapter 9: Awakening

Hillo everyone! I finally ended the day! It's now the morning, and I'm wondering if that day was just way too detailed, if that was actually good, or if that's the kind of stuff that I make all in one chapter? Cause that one day ended up being well over 20,000 words, and that's with me rushing to end it in chapter 8! I'm wondering if I should just make it so that each chapter takes place over a day each, the length of the day is the length of the chapter? XD Please, share some opinions with me, and please, if you don't like what's happening in the story, keep reading for the next chapter at least, I have some twists packed away that may or may not be obvious! Onto the chapter!

**Rating: T for safety**

* * *

**Awakening**

As Kagami awoke from her slumber, she felt something clutched around her waist very tightly. She felt oddly secure and warm in whatever it was and... happy. She turned her head to see that Konata, in her sleep, had snuggled into Kagami and was right now holding onto her with uncommon strength. Kagami, seeing her restraint, blushed a deep red as those same feeling spiked exponentially. Scared of her sudden emotions, she screamed and shoved Konata out of the bed, having forgotten everything except for the fact that her and Konata were in the same bed _together_! Needless to say, the scream and shove woke both Konata and Tsukasa up.

"Kagami! Are you okay?" Konata leaped up quickly to see what had scared her friend so badly.

"Is everything okay Onee-chan?" Tsukasa asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Ye.. Yeah..." Kagami stuttered as memories of the previous night flooded back. She suddenly got infuriated. "Konata! I told you no funny stuff!" She yelled.

"Kagami, I promise I didn't do anything! Why?" Konata asked, confused. Konata put her shirt back on.

_Oh... of course, I pushed her and woke her up, she wouldn't know that she had cuddled up if she honestly didn't... _"Never mind Konata, musta been a dream..." Kagami trailed off to make it seem as though she was trying to remember. What she was really thinking about was something quite different. _Why did I feel so nice when Konata held me? I just felt so... safe... Is that just how friends feel when they hold each other or... Could she possibly... be.. No! I can't have feeling for Konata! She's Konata! Man, I have to get this insane notion out of my head..._ She tried to ignore it, but the thoughts she not only had just had, but of what she had thought when dressing herself the previous day and after she had slipped wouldn't leave her alone. She blushed. _Why am I thinking of THAT again? What's wrong with me?_

"Hello~? Earth to Kagami~." Konata said, trying to bring her friend out of her daze, but to no avail. "Ka~gami~..." Konata poked Kagami's tummy a few times. No response. "Hmmmm, this is going to take drastic measures!" She thought out loud, closing her eyes and putting her hand to her chin in thought. She got an idea that was just suicidal enough to work. She crept up, Tsukasa watching the entire time, and poked Kagami in the center of her left breast, still covered by the bra. It worked.

"KYAAAA! KONATA, WHAT THE HELL?" Kagami screamed at the top of her lungs.

"I wanted to snap you out of it, as soon as you mentioned that dream you went off into a trance! Do you want to talk about it? If you do, I promise I'll listen and not make fun of you." Konata asked, a look of genuine concern crossing her face that made Kagami forget her anger instantly and half consider tell Konata what was on her mind.

_Idiot! I can't tell her! She'd only tease me anyway..._ "Nah, but I'll keep that in mind. Thanks Konata." She said, managing a smile despite the melancholy brought about by her previous thoughts.

"Alright, if you want to talk just let me know!" Konata chimed. Her stomach rumbled along with everyone else's. "Hey, is anyone else hungry?" Konata inquired.

"Meh, not so much..." Kagami said.

"Well of course not you, you ate twenty seven plates of food last night!" Konata shouted over-dramatically.

"Shut up! I didn't have that many!" Kagami retorted, looking to Tsukasa for support. She, however, was giggling at the banter between them, glad her sister was alright.

"Want me to make some breakfast, Kona-chan?" Tsukasa asked, eye-smiling.

"Awesome Tsukasa! Thanks! I'm famished!" Konata shouted, her stomach rumbling even more at this point.

"Yeah, maybe we can watch you cook? Let's see how fast you can make something!" Kagami said, pumped to see the master at work.

"Hmmm..." Tsukasa thought back to what Konata had in the house at all. _I could make pancakes... No, they want to see me cook, that would only be adding water... Lets see... I think there was still some cheese left, I could make scrambled cheesy-eggs with bacon! Yeah, that'll be good... _She concluded, the three making their way to the kitchen. "How about scrambled eggs with cheese and bacon?" She asked, more to Konata since Kagami wasn't hungry.

"That sounds wonderful!" Kagami exclaimed, her stomach rumbling.

"Wait a minute, weren't you not hungry just a minute ago?" Konata asked, looking at Kagami's growling black hole.

"True... But that sounds so good, I wanna try it!" Kagami said with passion.

"Okay, I'll make enough for all of us then!" Tsukasa confirmed, having planned to anyway.

"Thanks a lot Tsukasa!" Kagami thanked before letting Tsukasa get to cooking.

"We're lucky you woke us up Kagami, now we get to witness the Mastah~!" Konata grinned.

Tsukasa closed her eyes for a moment, focusing on cooking as fast as she could like she always had to when she wanted to cook full speed, having gotten the ingredients while her sister and friend had talked. She felt a surge of energy as she looked around. She turned two burners on and sprayed non-stick spray on the frying pans she had placed on them, letting it sit for a moment. Tsukasa cracked the eggs while starting to grate the cheese. Having cracked all of the eggs, she placed the bacon on the pan, flipping it occasionally. Mixing the eggs in a bowl, she poured milk and added salt and pepper until it was well blended. She dumped the mixture into the other frying pan, sprinkling the grated cheese throughout. She stood there, flipping both pans simultaneously, much to the awe of the onlooking Konata and Kagami.

"Tsu...Tsukasa? You... looked like you had several more arms..." Kagami commented while Konata thought.

_Focusing for a minute, superhuman speed, doing many thing at the same time, afterimages... Perhaps..._ "Tsukasa! You're the God of Cooking!" Konata shouted suddenly while pointing at Tsukasa, startling the girl and her sister.

"Konata? What are you talking about? You almost made Tsukasa drop the bacon!" Kagami shouted, annoyed.

"It's like how Keima is the God of Conquest and how Tony claims to be the God of Fighting! She's, like, the best of the best of cooking!" Konata excitedly chimed as two plates were set in front of her and Kagami, filled with eggs and bacon. "Tsukasa, I swear you're going to be a magnificent wife one day!" Konata yelled out, clearly happy with her friend.

"Th-Thanks Kona-chan!" Tsukasa blushed slightly at the high praise Konata had given her. _Me married someday? That seems so... weird..._

"This is really good..." Kagami said, having taken a bite.

"You really think so Onee-chan?"

"Yeah, it's delicious, thanks Tsukasa."

"Do-don't worry about it!" Tsukasa shouted, unused to being thanked so much.

"So are you SURE you don't wanna talk about that dream Kagami? It seemed to shake you up quite a bit, you even blushed!" Konata said, a serious look despite her playful words.

_An odd combination..._ Kagami thought as she observed the ever-so-rare playfully serious Konata. "No thanks, it would bore you..." Kagami said, trying to change the subject. Konata would have none of it.

"No it wouldn't! I'm genuinely interested in my Kagami's welfare!" Konata grinned, seeing serious apparently wasn't getting her anywhere.

"Well, there's no need to worry your cute little head, Konata. My welfare is doing well." Kagami said, completely unaware of her fatal mistake. Konata sure caught it.

"Kagami! You just called me cute!" Konata halted her eating to give an utterly shocked look.

"... I did, didn't I..." The upper half of Kagami face faded into blue lines as she realized she had just spoken her mind without restraint. What scared her is that she had meant it. She had focused so hard on NOT thinking about it, the thoughts had manifested themselves in speech. She began to eat more to try and make it seem she wasn't thinking. _Damn it! What is WRONG with me? Gotta think quick... _"So... Everyone thinks you're cute! Tsukasa, Miyuki, Tony, everyone! It isn't just me!" Kagami hurriedly explained.

"Kagami, you're lying." Konata said, adopting a serious look again and looking Kagami straight in the eye. "You always talk like that when you are." She added, her gaze unmoving.

_Crap, I can't fool her! I have to think of something..._

"It's okay Kagami. I'll get it and that dream out of you yet." Konata relaxed and laid back in her chair, having finished her breakfast. Kagami sighed in relief as she realized Konata was ready to move to a different subject.

"Hey Konata, shouldn't you get changed? We have to leave for school within half an hour and you're still in your nightshirt and shorts." Kagami commented, seeing the time.

"Yeah, I guess." Konata pouted. She shuffled back to her room.

"Onee-chan, are you sure you're okay?" Tsukasa asked, concerned about her sister but not having gotten in a question before Konata could ask it.

"Yeah Tsukasa. I'm fine." Kagami said, obviously wishing that the topic be dropped.

"Well if you say so..." Tsukasa trailed off. They continued talking about relatively nothing until Konata poked her head out of her room twenty minutes later, her uniform half on.

"You guys go on without me! I'll catch up!" She shouted, knowing that Kagami hated being late.

"What's taking so long? Do you need help?" Kagami shouted back.

"No no, don't worry! Go on, there's still something I need to take care of!" Konata replied. She closed the door quickly.

"Okay... Let's go Tsukasa!" Kagami shouted as she grabbed her sister and made for the door.

* * *

**Meanwhile in Konata's room**

Konata finished her diary entry, rereading it to make sure it accurately conveyed what was happening inside her.

_Dear Diary,_

_Yesterday was so much fun, I wanted to tell you about it but I had already written in you twice! When Kagami and the others came over, Kagami and Tsukasa ended up staying for a slumber party! It did get really weird at one point though. I was chasing Kagami and got tired so I laid down and asked her to get some manga. But when she did, she slipped and fell above me! It happens I know, but then it got... different. She started to lean in really close, she almost kissed me! Thing is... I don't know that I would hate it... I don't know what I'm feeling right now Diary but I really need to find out soon. I think I have feelings for Kagami... I've always joked about how cute she was and everything, I guess that's coming true. I don't know... I'm sorry you're getting stuck with all my problems Diary, but that's what you're for, right? Well, I gotta go now or I'll be late for school! Bye Diary!_

_Konata~_

She concluded that this was indeed an accurate portrayal of her thoughts as she placed her diary next to her bed. She finished putting her uniform on and headed out to see that Kagami had taken Tsukasa and left.

* * *

**Meanwhile outside the house**

Kagami was pulling Tsukasa along to get to school. "Onee-chan! I can walk myself!" Tsukasa said, getting a little agitated that she kept getting pulled everywhere.

"Oh, sorry Tsukasa. I guess I'm just a little use to it, my bad..." Kagami realized that she was still treating Tsukasa like the little sister she hardly was. There was only a slight time difference between them, not even an hour.

"Hey Kagami! Hey Tsukasa!" They heard the by-now familiar voice of Tony behind them. "Kagami, can I ask you something in private?"

"Sure! Tsukasa, go on ahead, we'll catch up!" Kagami said to Tsukasa.

"Alright Onee-chan, just don't be late!" Tsukasa shouted as she walked off.

Kagami waited until her sister was out of earshot before asking, "Okay, so what's up?"

"Look, Kagami... I know we've only known each other for a short time, but would you consider going on a date with me? Like, maybe after school?" Tony asked nervously. He decided straight forward would be the best way to go.

_Perfect, now I can prove to myself that I'm not a lesbian! I'll go out with a guy and have a great time and not think of Konata! I know Tsukasa would support me either way but my father... _Her thoughts trailed off as she realized that Tony would be waiting for an answer. "Sure, we can try a date... Besides, we had a great time the other day when I showed you around, didn't we?" Kagami smiled.

"We sure did!" Tony replied. They both heard a door slam as they looked and saw Konata at her door, looking for her bike to catch up with her friends. She spotted Kagami and Tony as she looked and ran over.

"Kagami! What are you doing here? Where's Tsukasa?" Konata asked. Kagami felt REALLY bad about telling her about her date for some reason.

_Maybe I'm afraid I'll hurt her feelings somehow... She would probably find it funny and tease me or something... I should probably tell her but I really don't want to... Well, here goes._ "You see-"

Don't you know that Tony was so sly, so slick, that he thought up a lie, and he thought it up quick.  
"She waited for you and told Tsukasa to go on so that she wouldn't be late. I happened to come out at about that time and decided to wait for you as well to see if you needed any help, seeing as how you're sick."

*Gasp* "Kagami! You waited for me!" Konata shouted, latching onto Kagami by the waist. Kagami blushed suddenly and pushed the Otaku off.

"Ye-yeah, I waited for you..." Kagami said, looking at Tony with a raised eyebrow for an instant. Luckily, Tony was the only one to catch it.

"Shall we go? You could take your bike and I could piggyback Kagami so she doesn't fall behind." Tony smirked.

"No way! I wouldn't do something so embarrassing as that!" Kagami shouted in frustration.

"I know you wouldn't, I just wanted to see that face." Tony laughed. "Anyway, here you go! You can use this again." The boy offered, bringing his bike out.

"Oh, thanks! Sure, it would be the only way I could keep up with you two!"

"What, you think you can run as fast as I can cycle?" Konata challenged Tony, having not seen his speed earlier.

"Why, I do believe I can." He smirked. "Challenge Accepted."

"Alright Kagami, you're going to have to pedal hard to keep up with me!" Konata shouted as she got ready. "Go!" She shouted, cycling at a moderate speed. She looked to her left to see Kagami riding behind her and Tony keeping close to Konata.

"Let's kick it up a notch!" Tony shouted, running faster. Konata pedaled more to keep up.

"Full throttle!" Konata shouted, one upping Tony and accelerating past him. What she saw next was what really pissed her off.

"Come on, you can do better than that!" Tony said, having turned, folded his arms and was now running at the same speed as Konata _backwards_. Konata had had enough.

"What the-! How can-! Alright, I like Sonic X as much as the next girl, but that's going too far!" She shouted, pedaling her hardest. To her relief, Tony did not match her speed backwards. She started to pull away. _Hehe, that's right! He can't keep up with m-_

"Ride, ride, ride as fast as you can, you can't beat me, I'm a FREAKING HEDGEHOG!" Tony shouted as he took off past Konata, much to her dismay. As she reached the school, she looked to see him looking hardly fatigued.

_You're kidding! Was he playing with me? Where did he come from? _She thought to herself, unaware of the truth.

"You're pretty fast! But I think we may have lost Kagami..." Tony commented. Truth be told, he was tired. He had just become adept at hiding it.

"Aw man! She waited for me so I'll wait for her!" Konata reasoned. "So how the hell can you run so fast?"

"It helps to be used to having weights on. Just the other day, I was running around with about 140KG on my back. Not to mention my uniform."

"What's your uniform have to do with anything?"

"Well you see-" Tony started to explain. He was swiftly interrupted.

"Hey! What the hell was that?" Kagami yelled as she pedaled hard to catch up. They had REALLY left her behind.

"That was me showing off I think." Tony replied.

"Yeah, no kidding..." Konata mumbled, locking her bike into the rack. Kagami caught up and did the same, the two taking the opportunity to catch their breath.

"I guess Tsukasa must have made it already." Kagami figured, as she hadn't seen or heard her on the way. "Come on, let's hurry!"

"Right!" Konata and Tony both shouted as the three departed towards their classes.

"Well, have fun in class you two!" Kagami shouted as they entered the class, her walking to her own before the bell rang.

"Thanks Kagamin! You too!" Konata waved back.

"Bye Kagami, see ya at lunch!" Tony shouted before entering the class. As they arrived at their seats, Ms. Kuroi came over.

"Ah~, Izumi, you've decided to grace us with your presence, have you?" The teacher asked with a smile, her fang prominent.

"Yeah teach, I was really sick! I still am kinda, but I- ... What are you doing?" Konata asked as Ms. Kuroi backed away slowly.

"I don't wanna catch whatever it is that could keep you away from your games!" She shouted, speaking rather informally since the bell hadn't rung yet.

"Don't worry Ms. Kuroi, it isn't contagious." Tony testified. "If it was, I would have caught it myself." He added, not thinking of the implications.

"Oh~, I see~, so you two are~..." Kuroi started, her intentions rather obvious.

"No we are not." Tony said, not missing a beat.

"Alright... Whatever you say..." Their teacher teased just before the bell rang.

_You know, I didn't think to see if Tsukasa arrived okay..._ Tony thought to himself. He looked behind him to see Tsukasa preparing for the school day, oblivious to the fact that they had entered. _Cool, glad to see she made it._

* * *

**Class C**

"Oi Hiiragi! You look like you just got out of bed, what happened?" Misao shouted the second Kagami walked in.

"Hm? What do you..." Kagami cut herself off as she remembered. _Oh. That's right, I was so shocked about Konata this morning that I forgot to brush my hair or teeth... I must look awful, the only thing I did was put my hair into pigtails, and THAT was out of sheer habit... _"Um.. I accidentally slept in late and didn't have time to fix myself up..." Kagami lied.

"Ah yeah, I know how that is Hiiragin." Misao nodded her head knowledgeably.

"Not that I... Hiiragin? What's with the 'n' all of the sudden?" Kagami asked, a question mark appearing above her head.

"You know, the same way the squ... Konaka calls you 'Kagamin'! From now on, your new nickname is Hiiragin!" Misao shouted happily, her only detriment the fear of living another punch from the "Squirt" comment. Luckily, this fear would not come to pass.

"Her name is 'Konata', but I appreciate you making the effort this time. If you must call me Hiiragin, I suppose you may." Kagami sighed, knowing her resistance to the new name was as futile as her resistance to cake. *Rumble* _Oh great. Now I want cake. _She thought as the bell rang.

* * *

**Lunch Time**

"Hello everyone, I've come for lunch!" Kagami said as she entered the class. She sat at Konata's desk, happy that things were back to normal. As Tsukasa, Miyuki, and Tony all sat down, a thought passed her mind on seeing the boy. _Well, almost normal..._ She thought, curious as to what headaches her new friend would give her today.

"Hi Kagami!" Konata shouted, waving her arm in the air. "Anything new or exciting happen in class today?" Konata asked in such a way that everyone could tell she wasn't expecting a serious answer.

"Not really, Misao told me I looked like a mess. Why didn't you tell me?" Kagami asked.

"Because you looked cute all ruffled up like that!" Konata replied.

*Sigh* "Back to normal so far, but how are you? Are you feeling okay? Does your throat hurt?" Kagami continued asking such questions until interrupted.

"Kagami! I can't answer if you don't stop asking!" Konata shouted, waving her arms in front of her to tell Kagami she couldn't find an opportunity to speak.

"Oh... Sorry, well answer already!"

"Geez Kagamin~, you sure are worried aren't you? Yes, I'm feeling okay. A little bit after the bell rang, my throat itched a bit, but nothing too bad. Happy Kagami~?" Konata catgrinned as her Tsundere blushed, realizing that said Tsundere had worried a LOT for no particular reason.

"Yeah, could we just move to a different subject..." Kagami requested, flustering from being exposed.

"Hmmmm..." Konata attempted to think of a subject they could breach, but was cut off before she could think of one.

"So Miyuki, how did your dentist's appointment go?" Tony asked, smiling that he remembered.

"It's a little embarrassing, but the dentist said my teeth were very bad, despite the fact that I brush in the morning, night, and after every meal. I even brushed and flossed my teeth for fifteen minutes before I came to school yesterday..." Miyuki sighed, putting a hand to her cheek.

"Oh~~, I so understand! Even when you take good care of your teeth, they somehow manage to get worse! How bad is it Yuki-chan?" Tsukasa asked, concerned for her friend.

"Well, one of them may need a root canal and crown and another definitely needs one. Thankfully, we have enough money to have both preformed." Miyuki said, at least a little relieved.

"Yuki-chan, what's a root canal? And why do you get a crown at the end?" Tsukasa asked, a picture of a royal crown appearing in a thought bubble above her head.

"Well you see, a root canal is an operation that is preformed when a tooth has an excessive amount of damage to it where the tooth is filled with a material to help build a fake tooth. The standard filling material is gutta-percha, a natural thermoplastic polymer of isoprene. The crown is what you call the porcelain glass they put on to make it look and act like a regular tooth. Even though the procedure is supposed to be relatively painless, it would appear that it isn't for me..." Miyuki defined, her tone darkening as she finished.

"That's our Miwiki, always with the textbook explanations! Man, I missed that!" Konata shouted happily.

"You were only gone for two days..." Kagami scolded, smiling at how over-dramatic Konata was being.

"Besides, I think poor Miyuki only got a couple lines in while you were gone Konata. Like, maybe three." Tony said, commenting way below his breath, "Man, I guess the writer is SORTA getting better, Tsukasa has had a slightly bigger part in the story, but he's still focusing a lot on me, Konata and Kagami... I wonder if that's going to change..."

"Hey, what are you mumbling over there?" Kagami asked.

"Oh, nothing. Don't worry about it." Tony said, dismissing the subject.

_Well, at least he didn't say Classified Information again, that would have been annoying, even though I still didn't get an answer... _Kagami thought to herself.

"At least I didn't say Classified Information again, eh?" Tony remarked, unknowingly simultaneous with Kagami's thought. He only saw what had happened as he saw Kagami's expression change to shock.

"How... did you..." Kagami started.

"Muffin Button." Tony simply replied.

"...Wha?"  
"Huh?"

"...Okaaay..." Kagami confusedly said, not knowing what the hell a 'Muffin Button' was. Tony chuckled to himself before Konata interjected her thoughts.

"Guys! I think I'm actually all the way better, let's go to a bar after school and celebrate!" Konata shouted, her arms thrown in the air for emphasis. Tony and Kagami exchanged an uneasy glance.

"Sorry Konata, I have... plans..." Kagami stated, looking away.

"AWWW~! Kagami! It won't be as fun!" Konata shouted, dropping her arms as her bones seemed to lose structure.

"My apologies, I also have a prior commitment." Tony said.

"Oh~, I see how it is. You two are totally seeing each other, aren't you?" Konata said, slightly losing her cheery disposition. Tony looked over to Kagami for an instant.

_She isn't gonna be able to answer this one without saying something she doesn't want to... Think, Think, THINK!_ He started trying to think of a way to dismiss the subject before Kagami said anything. _Brain blast!_ He shouted in his head. "Yeah, we're hanging out together! Her and Misao are getting married and I'm the bridesmaid!" He said, seeing Konata's reaction to the name 'Misao', he pressed further. "She was going to ask you, but she knows you don't like Misao." He finished. The entire table deadpanned for a minute.

"PFWAHAHAHAHAHA!" Konata threw her head up, unable to contain her laughter anymore. Kagami, however, was not so enthusiastic.

_How does he know Misao? That's one more thing I need to ask him..._ She questioned herself as the new bell that signaled the end of lunch in five minutes went off. "Crap! I gotta go guys!" Kagami said as she ran to the door.

"Bye Kagami!" Konata shouted as her friend hurried back to her class. "So Tony, are you two hanging out?" She asked, turning towards him, completely ignoring the fact that there was a new bell. Tsukasa and Miyuki had moved back to their seats at the sound.

"Don't you think she would have told you if we were?" Tony replied, an eyebrow raised. "Doesn't she tell you everything important?"

"Yeah, but I'm still not sure..." Konata said as she turned forwards. The rest of the time before lunch ACTUALLY ended was spent in silence.

* * *

**Class C**

"I'm here! Sorry I'm late ma'am!" Kagami shouted as she saw that Ms. Yukari was in class already.

"Hm? Hiiragi, you're not late. The bell for lunch to end hasn't rung yet." The teacher looked over at her.

"But... but I just heard it!" Kagami said back.

"No, there's a new bell that rings five minutes before the end of lunch so everyone knows to get back to class. It helps for certain people who leave class during lunch..." Yukari said, giving Kagami the eye.

"Well I like eating with my sister!" Kagami shouted back, unintentionally raising her voice.

"Yeah I know!" Yukari laughed, dropping the serious act before adding, "And since you scored high on the last test, I'll forget you just yelled at me. I'll pass them back now, since everyone is here." She said as she did so. The bell rang about half way through. She walked over to Kagami, muttering happily, "Good job Hiiragi." as she passed.

_100%! Yes! All those hours of studying are paying off!_ Kagami cheered in her head.

"Oi Hiiragin! How'd you do?" Misao asked, trying to look around Kagami at her paper.

"I got a hundred!" Kagami cheered outside her head.

"... 30%!" Misao shouted.

Another girl with shoulder length hair ran over quickly, shouting "31%!"

Yet another with longer hair that ran about to the middle of her back seemingly floated over, yelling "42%!"

They all started shouting in unison "TOGETHER, WE ADD UP TO 103%! TEAM IDIOT WINS!" before laughing triumphantly.

"Oi, Hiiragi! Come up here for a minute! I forgot something." Yukari shouted.

"Yes Ms. Yukari!" Kagami said back.

"And bring your test paper!"

"Alright!" Kagami shouted as she grabbed her paper and made her way to the teacher's desk.

"What do you think the teacher wants?" T*mo asked.

"I hope we didn't get Hiiragin in trouble!" Misao whined. Kagami walked back, an expression of joy on her face. "Oi Hiiragin, what's up?"

"Ms. Yukari forgot to grade some extra credit I did! I got 105!" She shouted in joyful excitement.

"..." *Sniffle*

"Whoa! What's with that reaction?" Kagami asked, taken aback.

"Even all three of us can't beat you Hiiragin..." Misao moped as the three walked back to their desks. Kagami sweatdropped.

_Geez, I didn't know it was that important to them... Well, I'll have to worry about it later! I got a 105!_ Kagami shouted to herself, ecstatic.

"Now everyone sit down and take out your books..." Yukari managed to say before the end of the section.

* * *

**Afterschool**

"Oi Hiiragin! Whatcha doing after school today?" Misao asked as the bell rang.

Kagami grinned as she said, "I have a marriage to attend." and with that, she walked out of the class.

_Hmmm, I know Konata will probably ask what my plans are and why they can't come with me... What do I tell them... The truth?_ The thought gave her a pit in her stomach. _I never thought how Tony must feel about me not telling them... but he did help come up with something before... Maybe I can tell them my mom has me running an errand? No, Tsukasa would see through that, mom would have asked us both. Maybe I'll stick to the joke and marry Misao... I wonder how he knows her..._ She thought as she arrived at Class B.

"Hello Kagami! We waited for you so we can walk you out of the school!" Konata shouted upon seeing her Tsundere walking closer.

"Thanks!" Kagami shouted back, catching up with her friends.

"So where are you going after that?" Came the inevitable question from Konata.

"Told you, to my wedding." Kagami said with her best attempt at a serious tone.

"Can I come?" Came the inevitable followup that Kagami had predicated.

"Sorry, my dad can only afford one bridesmaid, and Tony asked first." Kagami said, failing to suppress a grin at how utterly ridiculous the words sounded.

"Then I'll be the flower girl!" Konata shouted. Tony spoke before Kagami could retort.

"But my little sister was going to be the flower girl! She was so excited when I told her she could have an important job, I simply hate to take that away from her." Tony said, coping a sad tone.

"I'll be the ring bearer!" Konata shouted desperately, trying to find some way to show Kagami how much she wanted to be around her.

"Ayano is the ring bearer, Misao's request." Kagami said, trying not to sound like she was lying.

"I... Fine, I'll just go have fun with Tsukasa and Miyuki at the bar then... If you get bored with your wedding, you know where to find me!" Konata shouted as they parted ways, Tsukasa and Miyuki going with her, Kagami and Tony going different ways. Tony knew that Kagami wanted to be a little secretive right now, and he knew what was going on in her head. They met about a minute later.

"So where do you wanna go?" Tony asked.

"I dunno, surprise me?" Kagami replied, unsure of exactly what was supposed to happen on a date.

"Alrighty!" Tony shouted as they started heading off.

"By the way, how do you know Misao?" Kagami asked.

"I don't know him, I just heard you mention his name before you sat down." Tony explained.

"... Misao's a girl."

"Oh..."

* * *

**POV: Konata  
**

"Hmmm, those two are definitely doing something together..." Konata said, her eyes closed as she walked towards the bar with her friends.

"But Onee-chan and Kan-chan were headed in different directions, wouldn't they just leave together if they were up to anything?" Tsukasa asked.

"True, but I just can't shake this feeling..." Konata mumbled suspiciously. "Hey Tsukasa, could you do me a favor?"

"Sure Kona-chan, whadaya need?" Tsukasa asked.

"If we get checked for age, could you..." Konata started whispering.

" Sure thing!" Tsukasa confirmed.

"Awesome, thanks Hii-chan!" Konata shouted, surprising Tsukasa with her seldom used nickname.

"Kona-chan, we're here!" Tsukasa shouted as they arrived at the bar. They entered and sat at the bar.

"Grape Nehi please." Miyuki ordered.

"Grape... whatnow?" The female bartender asked, confused.

"Oh Miyuki-san, you're so old fashioned! She means a grape soda ma'am. I'll take sake, Tsukasa?" Konata explained, sure that she wouldn't get carded.

"Can I see some ID?" The bartender requested, holding her hand out. Konata began to tear up and buried her head in Tsukasa's chest.

"Ma'am! My friend has a disorder that affects her height! Please don't treat her like a little kid! There, there Konata-sempai... It's okay..." Tsukasa comforted the faking Konata in a soothing tone, though feeling a tad weird with the name she was using.

"... called me short..." a muffled voice could be sorrowfully heard from Tsukasa's chest.

"Oh! I'm sorry miss! Here, first round is on the house!" The bartender shouted in a cutesy voice, putting out a bottle of sake and grape soda. "And for you ma'am?" She asked, referring to Tsukasa.

"Nothing for me thanks." She refused, patting the seemingly recovering Konata on the back. "Are you okay Konata-sempai?"

"Yeah... I guess so..." Konata sniffled, pouring her sake into a small glass. "Cheers..." She said. A pang of genuine misery attacked her as she wished Kagami was there. And the night continued on.

* * *

**Later**

_I wonder how Konata and the others have been doing..._ Kagami thought to herself. She had been lost in thought about Konata for what seemed a good five minutes. She suddenly came to her senses and started paying attention to her surroundings. She was walking. It was dark. She looked to her side to see Tony staring at her, as if studying her. As soon as he saw her looking, he started to laugh.

"Wasn't that movie hilarious? I have to say, my favorite characters were the penguins." Tony said, laughing again. "I'm glad we got to see it so soon after the release."

"... Um.. Yeah!" Kagami hesitated. Had they seen a movie while she was lost in thought! She... couldn't remember... it seemed obvious the date was over already, seeing as how late it was. However, she remembered seeing a commercial for a comedy that released recently named "Madagascar" that had penguins in it. She tried to think of a scene from the trailer. "Yeah, I liked the lion the best though, he was cool!" She said as she started to laugh. It was a moment before she realized that she was the only one. She stopped and looked over at Tony to see a sad, defeated, yet smiling face.

_So I've already lost, eh? Damn, the writer was pretty cruel to make it look like I had a chance to begin with..._

"Tony, what's wrong?" Kagami asked, worried if she had gotten the wrong movie.

"Kagami, we went to a cake buffet. You had three plates. We haven't been within a mile of a movie theater." Tony stated, his smile sad but unfaded.

"Re-...Really?" _GOD DAMN IT! I came on a date and I STILL thought about Konata the whole time! I can't even remember my first date... He must feel so bad..._

"Yep."

"I'm... really, really sorry... Do you want to go out again some time? I promise to pay attention!" Kagami shouted, desperate for another chance and for her friend not to feel so dejected. Tony seemed to think for a moment.

"Naw, I fear the end result wouldn't change either way. Don't worry though Kagami. You'll find love soon, I'm sure of it." Tony said, practically echoing Tsukasa. Without waiting for Kagami to say anything, he turned and started to walk away. He looked over his shoulder and waved, the same sad smile etched on his face the whole time. "I understand! See ya later Kagami!"

"..." *Sigh* _What's wrong with me?_

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted, sounding happier then usual. "Hiya Luckies! I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami!"

"And I'm her vigilant assistant, Minoru Shiraishi!"

"Guys! Guys! Guys! Did you all see me? I made a cameo in chapter 9 too! I love this writer~!" Akira was practically bubbling with excitement.

"Yeah, you were the bartender, right Akira-sama?"

"Uh-huh! Uh-huh! What did you think? Pretty neat, huh?"

"Akira-sama, I bet the writer has an even bigger role for you if you do as good in 10 as you did in this one! You barely got any lines in this one, but I bet EVERYONE could tell it was you!" Minoru shouted.

"Thanks so much Shiraishi-san! I'm mega-happy~! So I wonder if the longer chapters ARE here to stay after all? This one is over 7000 words!"

"I don't think so, the next one is probably going to be REALLY short."

"What makes you say that Shiraishi-san?" Akira asked.

"It's in the letter we got back from them, 'the next chapter is probably going to be really short, as the whole thing is going to be one big reference, Signed, Acsuperman.'." Minoru read.

"Ooh~, does it tell whether they're a boy or a girl?"

"Yes it does Akira-sama, but no one has reviewed about it! Maybe we'll just keep it a secret since people seem so disinterested!"

"Well at least tell me! And it kinda sounded like you were trying to guilt the readers into reviewing about it..." Akira commented as Minoru leaned over and whispered in her ear.

"Ohh~, so it's a-"

*Music Tone*

"Well I guess that's all the time we have! I hope you'll all see me in chapter 10 and keep reading! Bye Nii~!"

"..."

"Yay! I'm going to get a bigger part! I can feel it!"

"I'm happy for you Akira-sama!"

"We should ask him if you can come in too! Maybe you can play a janitor at the bar or something?"

"Think we should? You think he would?"

"Totally! I even bet-"

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

Well, what did you think? Yes, I had that twist with the date planned since I started the story. And yes, I was telling the truth in that the next chapter is either going to be incredibly short or really long since I'm making the longest reference in the story thus far. What is it? You'll have to read to find out! Don't forget to review, I'd like to know if this little plot twist was incredibly obvious or if it was any good at all! So review!

**(A/N) **Just realized how redundant this and other beginning and end notes are now that Konami is specified in the summary XD Glad to see you're still reading, from reviews, it's supposed to get better from here on!


	10. Chapter 10: Kan chan

Chapter 10: Kan-chan

Well here it is, the super reference! Let me know if you all like it, I have a few more written, it's a Disney reference! Tsukasa will show just how lyrical she can be! Hopefully, this will be obvious which song I'm parodying here, if it is, then I won in my eyes! Let me know if it's in your eyes too! (BTW if there is anything that's suppose to symbolize singing in the FF, it's when the quotation marks and the first and last words are bolded and if there's an uncalled for comma, that's where there's a pause of some sort. Oh yeah, and if an entire line is bolded, more then one person are singing it! I'm trying to make it so it would sound alright if it was sang to the song I'm parodying!)

* * *

**Kan-chan**

As Konata was on her second bottle of Sake, completely and fully intoxicated due to her small stature, they all heard a slam at the door. They all looked around to see Tony, clearly upset over something. He went to sit at a table.

"Yo~! Tony-boy! What's shakin! Hii-chan, another bottle for him!" A drunk Konata shouted.

"Konata, you're too drunk for more. Go home." Tony tersely said, not looking away from the spot on the table he seemed to be fascinated with.

"I'm not so think as you drunk I am! I intend to prosecute, the MINUTE I'm sober!" Konata shouted, laughing wildly at her own joke.

"I'll take Konata-san home and put her to bed, my mouth is turning purple as it is." Miyuki eye-smiled as she helped Konata off of her stool and start walking out of the bar.

"Mi... Miyuki-san... Sorry, *Hiccup* you'll have to marry me first." Konata mumbled, laughing again as if the world were an obscure joke only she could understand. The second she left, Tony's mood changed dramatically.

"Ignored! Rejected! **DAMN!** It's almost more than I can bear..." Tony shouted, bringing a fist down at the table he was at. The table shattered with no visible resistance. Grumbling, he moved to the bar and sat unknowingly next to Tsukasa.

_! ! ! _"Ka-Kan-chan, what's wrong?" Tsukasa asked, extremely concerned for her friend.

"I was just completely ignored on a date with the first girl I've gotten close to since..." Tony started, his throat closed, no longer allowing speech for a moment.

"Who was it? Was it Onee-chan?" Tsukasa asked in disbelief that her sister was capable of such cruelty.

"That is-..." Tony started, but stopped to think about what might happen if Tsukasa was told by him instead of Kagami that the two had gone on a "date". "... Classified." He finished, deciding he wouldn't curse Kagami for something he knew she had no control over.

"Well... Would you like some Sake? Kona-chan couldn't drink it all, she got too drunk." Tsukasa said, unsure of what to say in this situation. She knew drinks like that were supposed to help calm down angry or sad people. Look at what it had done to Konata!

"Thanks, but no thanks. It wouldn't help. I'm disgraced." Tony moped, looking thoroughly depressed.

"You? Never! Umm..." Tsukasa looked around the bar, spotting four gorgeous women in a booth. "Come here!" She shouted as she pulled Tony towards them.

*Sigh* "What?" Tony asked, disinterested.

"Hey girls, based on first impressions, would you date my friend here?" Tsukasa asked them, pointing to Tony. The answer was quick and unanimous.

"Yes!" With one even asking "Is that an offer?"

"No." Tony tersely said, pulling from Tsukasa's grasp and walking back to the bar.

"Umm... What do I do? I hate seeing people so miserable..." Tsukasa thought aloud. _Maybe I should just tell him that and how great I think he is? They say music soothes the savage beast!_ She continued the thought in her head.

**"****Gosh** it disturbs me to see you Kan-chan, looking so down in the **dumps."** Tsukasa started, hoping for a reaction. Tony merely turned away and grunted.  
**"Any **girl here'd love to date you Kan-chan, even when you've got the grumps!  
There's no guy in here half as strong as you are,  
You're every girl's dream of a guy,  
No other guy is as fast as a car,  
All of this, there's no way, to **deny~."**She sang, hoping to cheer him up. She could see it would take more.  
**"No~ **one~'s quick like Kan-chan,  
No one's slick like Kan-chan,  
No one's muscles are so very thick as Kan-chan's,  
For there's no man in here half as awesome,  
No one who's nearly as great~,  
You can ask any Bubbles or Blossom,  
And they'll tell you who they would all prefer to date~!  
No~ one~'s built like Kan-chan,  
Has great lilt like Kan-chan!  
No one's personalities gilt like **Kan-chan's!"** Tsukasa continued, trying to think up more lyrics.

**"As **a specimen, yes, I'm **intimidating****!"** Tony shouted in a deep singing voice, cracking a small grin. _I wonder where all this is coming from. Well, wherever it is, Tsukasa's a good liar. I almost believe what she's saying._

**"****My** what a guy that **Kan-chan!"** Akira commented with a smile at the fact that her bar was turning Disney.

**"For** you, there is,  
no clear respite,  
Kan-chan is the **best!"** Tsukasa shouted, but her mind drew a blank.

**"And** the rest can suck **it****?"** Akira offered. Tsukasa smiled for the help, but sweatdropped at the lack of a better rhyme.

**"No**~ One's~ Smart like Kan-chan,  
Good at heart like Kan-chan,  
No one practices martial arts like **Kan-chan!"** Tsukasa continued.

**"For** there's no one who seems to have his **strength!"** The four women from before sang.

**"As** you see, I have muscles to **spare!" **Tony shouted, picking the four's booth up, them included.

**"You** can hold these four up at great **length!"** Tsukasa shouted, seeing her friend regain confidence.

**"That's** right, I think I'll forget that whole sordid **affair!"** Tony smirked, making a decision.

**"No **one hits like Kan-chan!  
Matches wits like Kan-chan,  
If you're fighting him, you'll always quit to **Kan-chan!"** Tsukasa pressed on, happy for the assistance from everyone.

**"Though** it's true, those two will soon begin, their **dating..."** Tony commented, much to the confusion of Tsukasa, putting the four women and their booth down.

"What did you say there Kan-chan?" She asked.

**"Before **I was made to carry 23Kilos day and night in hopes I'd gain mass!  
And now, at my best, I carry 300Kilos, so I can kick most any-one's **ass~!"** Tony laughed, flexing his muscles under his school blazer.

_Eeeer..._ Tsukasa was starting to run out of rhymes...  
**"No~** One~ cares like Kan-chan,  
Unimpaired like Kan-chan,  
No one has quite the same flare like **Kan-chan!"** Tsukasa sang, trying to make it sound like she had many more.

**"Of** what I must do, there is no **debating!"** Tony shouted. _If I can't have Kagami, I'll do whatever it takes to make her happy at least._

**"Boy** what a guy~, **Kan-chan~!"** Tsukasa shouted in reply and sat down next to Tony, satisfied that she had cheered him up.

"Thanks Tsukasa." Tony smiled. "You've helped me realize what I really want to do."

"What's that Kan-chan?" Tsukasa asked, happy that Tony was happy again.

"That's classified." Tony smirked as he thought,_ Man, it sure is amazing that no one said anything about the random singing... This bar really did go Disney!_ At that moment, a man came in the bar, looking thoroughly despondent. While Tony didn't recognize him, Tsukasa sure did.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Tsukasa cried out.

_Her father, eh? Hmmm..._

"Tsukasa? What are you doing here?" Tadao asked, though they could tell the only reason he asked was through sheer obligation as a parent.

"I was here with Kona-chan celebrating that she got better! I didn't drink any though!" She said, looking around for support.

"It's true, she didn't have anything to drink." Akira stated.

"Alright... Good girl..."

"What's wrong dad?" Tsukasa repeated.

"Nothing, don't worry about it Tsukasa..." The man mumbled unmoving, as if deciding what to do.

"Come! Sit and drink, you're among friends here!" Tony shouted, having formulated a plan.

"No thanks, I left without my wallet..." Tadao mumbled miserably.

_Am I going to have to do a song for him too?_ Tsukasa feared. She could NOT come up with much more. Luckily, this fear would not be realized.

"Don't worry friend, it's on me! I even have Sweet Sake here if you want it! It's all yours." Tony shouted to the man, gesturing to the bottle.

"Maybe a drink..." Tadao walked over and sat next to Tony, unaware that this friendly boy even knew his daughters.

"Here you go, have as much as you want, it's on me." Tony said gently, passing the bottle to the senior Hiiragi. "Anything you want to talk about?" He pressed.

"You ever hear of a girl named Kagami Hiiragi?" The man asked, looking over at Tony.

"Someone told me she's a pretty smart girl, but not much more than that." Tony said, once again not lying. He had heard that, but no more from that particular person.

"She's my daughter." Tadao said, looking into his glass of Sake.

"Oh is she? You must be proud." Tony said, keeping the illusion that he didn't know her.

"Yeah except... I have a feeling something's on her mind. Something... nonacademic-wise... I think she might have feelings for some guy." Tadao explained, unknowingly to the person who had just, in a way, dumped her.

"Oh? And what makes you think that?" Tony asked, keeping his own thoughts under control.

"I don't know... She just gives off this... feeling that she's distracted by someone... You know?" Tadao said, looking to Tony for confirmation that he did, indeed, understand what he was saying.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Tony replied before lowering his voice considerably so that only he and Tadao could hear. "Allow me to pose a question."

"What's up, friend?" Tadao asked, feeling comfortable and lowering his own voice to match his new friend's.

"What if this person your daughter likes... was a girl?" Tony asked, his plan reaching where he hoped it would pay off. Tadao visibly stiffened.

"You mean a-a lesbian? My daughter would never commit such actions! It's not acceptable! How could you suggest such a thing?" Tadao asked angrily, barely keeping to a whisper.

"I'm not suggesting anything. I'm merely curious as to what the consequences of such actions would be for her? What would you do, my friend?" Tony asked in reply, keeping calm.

"I... I would have to disown her I suppose..." Tadao mumbled even lower, seemingly at war with his own head. It was Tony's turn to stiffen.

_As I feared. I'm not sure about Mr. Izumi, but Mr. Hiiragi doesn't approve. To go so far as to disown his daughter though? Damn. He's making me mad._ "Well, if that's what would need to be done, that's what would need to be done." Tony said before returning to a normal voice. "But let's not dwell on such thoughts, I'm sure your daughter will be completely fine! Her grades must be important to her if she makes straight A's, I doubt anything will stop that. It's my own opinion that maybe you should just talk to her, you know?" Tony smiled, turning to the man.

"Yeah... yeah maybe I will... Thanks friend!" Tadao shouted as he left the bar. Tony's expression turned sour.

"Hey Tsukasa, what's your father's name?"

"I think it's Tadao, why?" Tsukasa asked, finding the entire conversation weird. And there was the fact that she had just used her father's name. That was weird feeling too.

"Old fashioned Tadao, hmmmm? Old fashioned Tadao..." Tony said, starting to think.  
**"Hii-chan**, I'm afraid I've been **thinking..."** He started singing again.

**"A** dangerous **pastime..."**

**"It's** tough.  
But an old fashioned man is her father.  
And his tolerance isn't enough.  
Now the wheels in my head have been turning,  
Since I looked, at that young, precious dove.  
You see, I've promised myself I would make her happy,  
And from her father, she'll require **love~!" **Tony shouted, hatching a plan.

"If I..." He began whispering to Tsukasa.  
"Then you..."  
"And Miyuki..."

"You think he would?" Tsukasa asked, now sure she could help Tony's friend, who he's insisted remain anonymous until such a time that the plan came to fruition.

"Yes."

"If you think so... Let's go!" Tsukasa shouted, happy to help, but not putting two and two together to figure out that he was talking about her sister and father.

**"No**~ One~ plots like **Kan-chan,"** Tony started again. For the sake of the lyrics, Tony started referring to himself in the third person.  
**"Takes **cheap shots like **Kan-chan."**

**"Plans** to help people tie the love knot like **Kan-chan,"**

**"Yes**, I'm endlessly, wildly **resourceful!"**

**"As** for your affair you **amend!"**

**"I **wont even be mildly **remorseful."**

**"Just** as long as we can help out your lady** friend!"  
**

**"Who **has brains like **Kan-chan?" **Tony continued.

**"Entertains **like **Kan-chan?"**

**"Who** can make up these endless refrains like **Kan-chan?"** Akira shouted. Tony and Tsukasa paused for a moment to look to her in amusement.

_Mehehehe... Fourth wall? What fourth wall?_ Tony thought quickly.  
**"So** a couple we soon will be **celebrating..."** Tony said quietly.

**"My what a guy~! Kan-chan~!"** The three shouted, laughing.

"Thanks a lot you two." Tony smiled as he sat back at the bar. "By the way, I think I recognize you from somewhere..." He said, looking at the bartender.

"Oh do~ you?" She asked playfully.

"Aren't you Akira Kogami, the girl who plays in Luckier Channel?"

"Yay! I was hoping someone would recognize me! Yeah, that's me! The super idol!" She cheered.

"Idol?" Tony said with a cock of the head and a raised eyebrow. "No. Not idol."

"What do you mean?" Akira asked, a sad tone in her voice.

"Idols are generally very cute and very young." Tony started.

"Whacha tryin to say there?" Akira said, her tone switching from sad to death.

"I'm saying that while you fit these descriptions, there's a third one that you do not meet."

"And what's that?" Akira asked, her tone lightening _slightly_.

"Well, of all the idols I've seen, the longest lasting single one was about four or six years. Now when was Lucky Star created?"

"... 2004?"

"Correct. What year was this fan fiction created?"

"2011."

"Very~ good~. Now, use your brain for this one, how long is that time difference?"

"... 7 years?"

"Right. And people are STILL writing fan fictions with you in them, right?"

"Right. So what you're saying is..."

"That you've lasted, and will continue lasting, too long to be considered a proper idol. You're more of a star." Tony said. Akira's mood pulled an about face, from pretty angry to almost speechless.

"Yo-yo-you really think so?"

"It might just be my opinion, but yes."

"Thank you so much!" Akira jumped up and threw her arms in the air.

"Well, it's true as far as I can tell. Who knows though? But I have a question."

"What is it?" Akira shouted happily.

"Why are you working here? I thought you would be rehearsing for the Luckier Channel at the end of this chapter."

"Well you see... My mom and dad are divorced and dad stopped sending money to my mom, so now she takes a lot of money from each of my acting paychecks... With the little money I got to keep, I saved until I could buy this bar. So this and whatever other jobs I can find are the only ways I can really get by..." Akira stated sadly.

"Damn, that's too bad. I wish I could help." Tony said somberly.

"But I just met you! We don't really know each other inside the fourth wall!" Akira shouted in surprise.

"Yeah, but if your character's anything like it is outside the fourth wall then I would be happy to help you!" Tony smiled. "You're really nice when you're not working."

"Well that's because I don't get annoyed as easily when I'm not working..." Akira trailed off. "We're getting way off topic here _Kan-chan_." She commented, saying the name with a friendly mocking tone before giggling.

"Well, it IS Lucky Star... But I suppose you're right, this was suppose to be a short chapter, but here we've gone and prolonged it at least five hundred words! Without so much as a tendril of advancement in the story!" Tony laughed. "I wonder if the fourth wall can even be repaired now? We've broken it down so badly!"

"I bet our writer~ can do it!" Akira winked. Indeed I can.

"It seems like you two are becoming fast friends!" Tsukasa shouted as the wall was reconstructed.

"Yeah, the bartender's nice! You don't see that all too often outside shows." Tony commented.

"Don't I know it..." Akira mumbled.

_Wait, did she just break the fourth wall AGAIN? I can't even tell anymore... _Tony thought. After all, why would go to anyone else's bar if you have one yourself?

"So Kan-chan, do I REALLY have to do that?" Tsukasa asked, the reality of her friend's plan hitting her.

"Well, I suppose not, but you're the only person who my plan would have enough potency with. It would REALLY help my friend a LOT. I don't mean to sound like I'm trying to force you into doing it, if you don't want to then you don't have to, but it would work best with you. I realize that it is difficult for you if you don't know the girl. I AM asking a lot." Tony finished speaking, he started,  
**"Are** you in or out?  
Gotta know without a **doubt!"  
(A/N No Tony, I'm not writing two of them in one chapter. Maybe later.)  
**"Fine..."

"Who was that?" Tsukasa asked in a panic.

"Don't worry about it Tsukasa." Tony said in a calm voice.

"So when does your 'plan' have to start? How will I know who it is?" Tsukasa asked.

"I'll tell you when it's time and at that time, you'll have to act on the one I say. Thank you so much Tsukasa, you're helping more than you know." Tony turned and smiled a smile of genuine happiness. Now all he needed to do was convince Miyuki to go along with it. He wasn't sure if he could, the two hadn't had more then ten lines of dialogue. But then there was Miyuki's nature, she always loved to help in anyway possible. _This will take a bit of strategy, I think._

"I'm glad to help Kan-chan!" Tsukasa shouted, a little distressed about whether or not she could go through with it when the time came.

"Well, we'll just have to see if Miyuki will agree. The plan MIGHT be able to work without her, but it would be truly difficult. Hey Tsukasa, do you know Misao?" Tony asked, remembering the name Kagami had mentioned.

"Well, Onee-chan told me a couple things about her, but not much. Why?" Tsukasa wondered what her sisters friend had to do with it. She suddenly got a thought. "Kan-chan, am I going to... have to..."

"Hm? If you're wondering, it's not you and your sister, why wouldn't I disclose such information? I doubt you would have any problem if that were the case."

"I guess not... It would just seem kinda weird, you know?"

"Yeah, but don't worry. Kagami will not be your target."

"Okay... But what if-" Tsukasa started, but was swiftly interrupted.

"Hey you two, are you trying to spoil the plan? I thought the writer wanted it to be a secret, that's why you whispered in the first place!" Akira scolded.

"Writer?" Tsukasa asked, a question mark above her head.

"I suppose you're right. This chapter has dragged on longer than the first four did already. And it was supposed to be a short chapter!" Tony laughed. "I suppose we really should end this soon, before the wall takes any more damage."

"I agree!" Akira chimed.

"Okay then, we need a good joke to end on." Tony said as he started thinking.

"Wha- What are you talking about?" Tsukasa asked, completely unaware as to the direction this conversation had taken.

"Hmmmm..." Akira hummed in thought. "Dragon Ball Evolution."

"PFTAHAHAHA!" Tony started to laugh as Tsukasa remained clueless. "Hahaha, Ah~... Highschool."

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted out. "Hiya luckies! I'm Akira Kogami, your navigator!"

"And I'm the assistant, Minoru Shiraishi!"

"So how did you guys like this chapter? I bet you all loved it! It was so much fun!" Akira shouted, hardly able to contain her joy at getting a part.

"I'm sure everyone liked it Akira-sama! So tell us, are there any secrets to you acting skills?" Minoru asked.

"Yup yup! Almost all of that was ad-libbed! There were only a couple parts I was in that was actually scripted, but the writer thought it was funny and decided to keep it in!" Akira stated excitedly.

"Yo Akira, we got another letter for you." The unnamed staff yelled onto the stage, putting a letter in front of Akira.

"Oh~, I wonder what it is..." She mumbled as she opened it. "Dear Akira, *Unintelligible* from Acsuperman. Yes! They're keeping me in for more cameos! I'm so so-"

*Music Tone*

"-so happy!" Akira continued, paying no mind whatsoever to the tone.

"Akira-sama, they're about to cut us of-"

"..."

"-f! Oh..."

"No worries! I'm still hap-"

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

Alrighty, so this short chapter was normal sized. Sue me XD well, that was my third attempt at a Disney parody in this story (Technically first, but I have already written two others for different things I intend to happen) The bad things with doing stuff like this is that you would have to sing it a certain way for it to fit the song. If you don't, it sounds terrible. I tried to make it so that the syllables matched up. Please let me know how it was and if you think I should keep making these kinds of things. Oh, and I promise my others are a lot better then this one, this one proved more difficult then I originally thought, but I had already set everything up for it! I couldn't set it back now! I suppose I could have but I didn't want to! As promised, if you don't know by now, this is Konami. OCXKagami story? Sure, I can write it. It might even be good. But, as a legendary poet and author once said, "It doesn't matter if it sounds good, it doesn't work." I'm rambling again. And starting to make references in the aftersection. See you next chapter!**  
**


	11. Chapter 11: Day and Night

Chapter 11: Day and Night

Hey guys, I'm here again, asking for more reviews! I like that people are reviewing it so far, but please, I'm greedy on this matter! I want more! And I've noticed that I forgot to put ratings on a few of the chapters. So to correct this in the laziest way possible, just remember this. Unless otherwise stated, this fanfiction will be rated T throughout. I will tell you if it takes a turn upward. I find it hilarious that my idea of a short chapter is longer then the first few chapters now... I'll probably just make it so I'll finish a chapter when I feel it is a good time to finish. If it's a day and over 10,000 words, that's how long it will be. If it's a lunch and 200 words (HIGHLY unlikely) that's how long it will be. Either way, enjoy~! Oh, and sorry these are taking so long, my beta is now juggling something like 5 different fanfics he wants to work on and he forgets about this a lot hehe...

* * *

**On the way home**

As Tony walked Tsukasa home, he constantly thought of various ways to approach Miyuki with his idea. _Hey Miyuki, ever wanna... No... Miyuki, I know we haven't talked much, but... No... Maybe I can just straight ask her... I'll have to come up with something by tomorrow..._ He concluded. "So Tsukasa, where IS your house, anyway?" Tony asked, walking beside Tsukasa.

"It should only be a little while until we get there from here Kan-chan." She stated. "Thanks a lot for walking me home, but you didn't have to you know!" Tsukasa said.

"I know, but it's the least I can do for you helping me out with my friend. Besides, the streets are dangerous at night. This one time, I saw a woman almost get kidnapped right off the street! I don't wanna think of what might have happened if I hadn't been where I was at the time..." Tony replied.

"Really? I've never seen anything like that! It's a good thing I guess, that would be really scary... I don't know what I would do..." Tsukasa started looking to ground as her ribbon drooped.

"It is a scary situation. If you ever find yourself in such a predicament, I want you to call the police, and then call me. Tell me and them where you are. One of us will handle it, though probably through different methods..." Tony trailed off. He pulled out a piece of paper and pencil he had gotten from the plot and wrote his cellphone number on it. He handed the paper to Tsukasa.

"What do you mean?" Tsukasa asked, scared of the answer.

"The police will negotiate with them. I'll flat out kick their a-..." Tony stopped.

"Look Kan-chan! A Kitty!" Tsukasa shouted as she ran forward and picked up the aforementioned feline, not noticing the fact that Tony had ended his sentence prematurely. As she petted it, she turned around. "Isn't he cu-.. Kan-chan?" She asked, puzzled. Tony had vanished.

"Tsukasa." She heard from above. She looked up to see Tony sitting like a dog on a streetlight, his eyes glued on the cat. "You keep that thing the HELL away from me." He shouted.

"What? Why, it's so cute! What are you doing up there?" Tsukasa asked as she started walking towards the light.

"Tsukasa, please stop." Tony said. "Can you keep a secret?" He asked. He seemed almost... panicked...

"Sure Kan-chan, what's up?" Tsukasa asked, worried.

"Okay, I guess I can trust you... Cats freak me the hell out. I don't know why, but I'm afraid of them. Just their..." He started, but was stopped as he shuddered. "About the only thing that's REMOTELY cute about them is their mouth." He commented.

"You're afraid of cats?"

"Terrified. So please. Put the cat down before I listen to my head telling me to run home at full speed." Tony pleaded, his voice trembling a bit. He was about to lose it. Tsukasa, seeing this, released the cat. The cat merely looked at her, meowed in confusion, and walked away.

"Better Kan-chan?" She asked, looking up to see him jumping down.

"Yeah, thanks Tsukasa. Please, don't tell anyone about this?" He pleaded after landing. "A fear of cats isn't exactly very manly."

"No problem! So how long have you been afraid of cats?" Tsukasa asked, trying to find out exactly why Tony loathed her furry feline friends with such passion. They started walking again.

"No clue, just for as long as I can remember. I've done a good enough job of keeping it under wraps so far, you're actually the only person other then me that knows."

"Really? No one else has ever asked?" Tsukasa asked in wonderment that no one would ask someone like Tony if he had any fears.

"Of course other people have asked, but I wouldn't tell someone something so embarrassing unless I trusted them." He commented without second thought. After giving a bit of thought, he added almost under his breath, "Not that I actually had any good friends..."

"What do you mean?" Tsukasa continued, having heard his addition. She was a little flattered that Tony already trusted her enough to trust her with such a secret.

"Well, the training I was put through isn't exactly conducive to having many friends. I barely had time for school, and even there I didn't know how to treat other kids my age. My parents were gone before they really got a chance to teach me anything like that. And my brother didn't exactly help." Tony said, his tone turning melancholic. "To be perfectly honest... You four are probably the only good friends I REALLY have." He added. His eyes suddenly widened as he realized exactly what he had just told her and how potentially bad it might be if she looked too far into it. He had told her that she would be helping with a friend of his, and here he had let it slip that they were his only friends. Crap.

"Really? I can't believe that! You seem so nice and like you know what to say all the time!" Tsukasa shouted as they continued walking. Luckily, it seemed she had missed his slip up.

"Well, no one has ever really asked me to join them before. I never knew how to approach new people, so friendless I stayed." Tony said. At this point, his smile returned. "I'm... grateful to you guys for giving me a chance." Tsukasa smiled as well.

"It's been my pleasure. And I'm sure the others would say the same." She said. She felt really happy that she could mean so much to someone.

"And I'm sorry if I came off as a... well, an arrogant prick. I'm kinda still learning how to behave around others. Please tell me if I do anything inappropriate. Aside from the obvious, that is." Tony said.

"No! Don't worry Kan-chan! I think you've been really nice for the most part!" Tsukasa shouted, not wanting her friend to feel bad.

"Thanks." Tony smiled. "So I heard you liked Disney?"

"Yeah, how could you tell?" Tsukasa asked.

"Lucky guess. You sing beautifully." Tony complimented.

"Thanks!" Tsukasa said appreciatively, blushing. No one ever complimented her singing other at that Karaoke place. Then again, she didn't really sing in that many other situations, she was surprised she had this time... "Don't tell anyone, but I always kinda wanted to be a princess, you know? Like, live in a palace, find Prince Charming, that stuff!" Tsukasa laughed.

"Don't forget you would have to be kidnapped or poisoned before your happily ever after." Tony chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess... But it would all turn out for the best, right? It always does!" Tsukasa shouted in excitement.

"Yeah, I guess it does in the movies. If only real life were like that..." Tony trailed off. "Their songs sure are catchy though."

"Totally! I always listened to those songs repeatedly, even after I knew them by heart!" Tsukasa said excitedly.

_That explains the bar._ Tony thought with a smile. _Anyone who listens to songs like that THAT much is bound to be able to come up with more than a few rhymes._ "Well, I'm a pretty big fan of Disney myself. It would be awesome if people joined you when you burst into song, wouldn't it?"

"I know, right? That bartender was really nice, I can't believe that she joined us!" Tsukasa laughed.

"It was weird for me too!" Tony laughed. They both laughed for what seemed a while. Tsukasa was so enthralled in the conversation, she almost missed her house as they walked.

"We're here!" Tsukasa announced. "Thanks again for walking me home Kan-chan."

"It's no problem, Tsukasa. I'll see you later!" Tony shouted. He waited a second before adding, "Thanks for listening to my problems Tsukasa. You don't know what it means to get that off my chest."

"I'm really glad I could help you feel better Kan-chan. If you ever want to talk, about anything, just let me know!" Tsukasa smiled.

"Thanks Tsukasa..." Tony smiled as he broke into what was a light jog for him.

_He is really fast..._ Tsukasa thought as he left.

* * *

**POV: Kagami**

Kagami arrived home about ten minutes after her "Date" ended. She still felt bad for having hurt Tony like that. What was odd was that she didn't usually zone out like that, not for hours! She might start thinking of something else, but only for a minute or two before she snapped out of it. It was also weird that it didn't feel like much time had passed at all! She was thinking about Konata and her friends for what seemed like five minutes! She knew she was occupied with the same thought the entire time, so apparently she could think of Konata without boring herself, even at lengths of two hours._ I feel so bad... but he said he understood... Wait, understood what? Why I ignored him on our date? I don't see how he could, I don't even! I'm really mean, I mean-_ Kagami continued to beat herself up as she couldn't get the memory to fade. But among all else, one particular sentence remained prevalent, standing out against everything else said. _**You will find love soon**__... the same words Tsukasa said... Speaking of which, I wonder what they're up to? It would seem they haven't left yet, Tsukasa isn't home yet. Either that or she's on her way home now. I hope she'll be okay coming home by herself, the streets can be pretty dangerous at night..._ Kagami thought as she set herself to bed, merely wanting the day to be over. She soon surrendered to the embrace of slumber. How long she was able to sleep, she didn't know, but before long, there came a knock at the door. "Come in..." Kagami said drowsily.

"Hey, are you still awake Kagami?" Her father asked as he entered.

"Obviously I am now... What's up dad?" Kagami asked, not bothering to hide her annoyance at having been waken.

"I know it's late, but... How... how're you doing?" Tadao asked, hoping she would confess to whatever relationship she was in without him having to ask outright.

"Um.. I'm doing fine dad, why do you ask?" Kagami mumbled, confused.

"Ummmmm... Tell me... You've never brought any guy friends home, do you have any guy friends? Or a boyfriend?" The man asked.

"Yeah, I have a... guy friend..." Kagami said, tormented that in one day he had been raised to a boyfriend and back down to guy friend.

"And are you and your guy friend dating?" Her father grilled.

*Sigh* "No. No, I don't think so... Why are you suddenly so interested in my love life? You never ask me stuff like this, even when it's a decent hour, so what gives?" Kagami asked, going on the offensive with her own questions.

"Jus-Just wondering Kagami! So, are you seeing anyone right now?" Tadao pressed on. Kagami was getting slightly irritated because one, she had been woken up at... Midnight! And two because her father was prying into her business and clearly hiding his motives. Suspicious.

"I'm seeing you right now, aren't I?" Kagami said, her voice drowning in a tone that made it clear she wished to resume her slumber. Her father, though picking up on this, decided he would need this question answered before he could rest peacefully.

"Kagami, you know what I mean. Are you dating anyone?" Her father reworded.

"I have one guy friend. I'm not dating him. Who else would I date?" Kagami muttered, burying her face in her pillow. The world wouldn't let her forget about that stupid date! At this point, she was going to say whatever she needed to in order to get her father to leave and allow her to go back to sleep.

"Okay Kagami. That's all I needed to hear." Tadao said as he walked to the door. "Good night."

"Good night." Kagami said, muffled by her pillow. She couldn't fall asleep immediately, however. A thought had started to plague her mind, having been pushed to the wayside and paid no attention to previously. _I used Tony._ Kagami realized to her horror. She stayed laying there, contemplating the approximate difficulty of smothering herself with her pillow until her mind allowed her to finally rest.

Tadao stopped at the door and looked back at his daughter as it looked like she was asleep. _My daughter? Vile? How could I think that of my daughter, even if she was... It was hard to say things like that to a stranger, how could I ever to my daughter? I don't know what I would do. And I hope I never have to find out._ He thought as he closed the door silently.

* * *

**POV: Konata**

As Miyuki walked in the front door of the Izumi residence, a practically unconscious Konata with her, she heard in an extreme panic, "WHAT HAPPENED TO MY DAUGHTER!" As Sojiro, having awoken while they were out, ran over and took Konata off of Miyuki. "Konata! Are you feeling okay? Speak to me! Boy, when I get my hands on that kid..." Sojiro growled through clenched teeth.

"Da- *hiccup* dad, I'm jus a lillle drunk. Tony di'n do nossin. Ih fac, hes tha one who sen me hom!" Konata slurred, trying her best in her inebriated state to absolve her friend of the guilt wrongfully being place on him.

"You don't need to be getting drunk as sick as you are!" Sojiro shouted.

"I's feelin mush be'er iis mornin. I wasss ce'ebra'ing." Konata smiled before passing out. Sojiro carried her into her room and set her in her bed. He came back to the living room.

*Sigh* "Thanks for carrying her all the way home Miyuki, would you like to stay here for the night since it's so late?" He offered.

"Thank you very much Izumi-san, it is rather late." Miyuki bowed. As small as Konata was, carrying her all that way was still quite the challenge.

"Alright, a futon is oddly already laid out in Konata's room. You can have it if you want" Sojiro said as he motioned to Konata's room.

* * *

**The next morning**

Konata awoke, sitting up. She started to yawn, but was promptly stopped by the pounding of her own head. _OW! What the... oh right..._ She remembered through the pounding. _Thank Haruhi it's Saturday! I really don't think I could go to school with this hangover... Hm? What's that?_ She wondered, hearing faint breathing. She looked over the side of her bed to see a slumbering Miyuki in the futon Tsukasa had slept in. _She's moe even in her sleep!_ Konata thought excitedly. _She must have gotten me home last night after I got wasted. Why do I remember Tony being there? Wasn't he doing something with Kagami? Or whatever it is he said he was doing..._ Konata continued, her head pounding on every word. She decided she would have to go back to sleep so as to avoid aggravating her cranium. She turned over and closed her eyes until...

**__****_RING RING RING! RING RING RING! PHONE CALL! PHONE CALL!_** **_  
RING RING RING! RING RING RING! PHONE CALL! PHONE CALL!_**  


The sound of her cell phone amplified by her condition, her head felt like it was tearing itself to shreds. She very quickly picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hey, what's going on Konata?" She heard Kagami from the other side of the phone. Even through her headache, Konata could tell something in her tone was... off...

"Not much Kagami. What's wrong?" Konata asked, worry easily discernible in her voice.

"Nothing... Nothing... You wanna call the others and we can all hang out?" Came from the phone.

"Sure, you get Tsukasa, I'll get Miyuki and Tony. But Kagami, are you sure nothing's wrong?" Konata asked again.

"I'm fine Konata. I'll go get Tsukasa, we can all go out somewhere! Can we meet at your house?" Kagami asked.

"Sure. Come on over whenever you want!" Konata said with a smile.

"Cool thanks! I'll get Tsukasa now and we'll come over right away!" Kagami happily said as she hung up.

_I hope she's okay... My head REALLY hurts now... Hmmm..._ "Miyuki-san~." She called as she shook the moe goddess, leaning over her own bed to do so. Miyuki's eyes fluttered open slowly.

*Yawn* "Hello Konata-san. Are you feeling better?" Miyuki sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Actually Miyuki-san, I still have a big headache from last night. I was wondering if you could go get Tony and bring him back? We're all going to hang out today if you can make it." Konata said before adding, "I really need to take a short nap before Kagami and Tsukasa get here."

"Of course Konata-san. Where does Kanpeki-san live?" Miyuki asked, surprising Konata with her formality.

"Kan... oh right, his name... He lives next door!" Konata informed Miyuki.

"On which side?"

"... I.. dunno... Try both?" Konata suggested.

"But... What if I get the wrong one first?" Miyuki asked in a panic.

"Then say 'Wrong Door!' and go to the other!"

"How will I know though? His parents might answer the door and-"

"Miyuki~..." Konata moaned, clutching her head and burying her face into her pillow.

"Oh, I'm sorry Konata-san! I'll go right now!" Miyuki said in a low whisper. And so she left.

As Miyuki walked out, she heard bustling in the kitchen. She decided to go get Tony first. As she left the house, she heard a yell from the kitchen, "Where the hell is all our food?". She decided that it wasn't her business and so left. She then took a right, headed for 3-14-19 Kita-Satte . She knocked on the door, but didn't hear anything from within. _I wonder if this is the wrong house?_ She decided it must have been, as Tony had to have gotten home. She turned to leave, but stopped. She turned back to the door and said "Wro- Wrong door!" before hurriedly turning and walking towards the other house. As she was walking, head down, she bumped into something. "Ow!" She looked at the obstacle in her way to see a sign. It read 'Vacant'. _Well, that would explain it... How did I miss this? _She wondered as she continued around the sign and towards Tony's house. She knocked on the door upon arriving and heard bustling from inside. The door opened to reveal the boy she was seeking, with odd looking street clothes on. She couldn't pin it, but something was weird about them.

"Hey Miyuki! What's up?" Tony asked before adding under his breath, "I'm pretty sure this is only the second time I've talked directly to Miyuki... It's already chapter 11!"

"Hello Kanpeki-san, sorry for the time. We're all hanging out today, would you like to join us?" Miyuki asked.

"Yeah! I've got nothing better to do." Tony smiled. He followed Miyuki back to Konata's house, humming a theme unknown to the girl. "*Humming* love and glory, *Humming* tell the story, *Humming* nothing we can't live through, *Humming* rise again~!" As they arrived at their friend's house, Tony wondered what Konata's father's reaction to him would be. Hopefully he would listen to reason should it come to it. They entered.

"You've got nerve coming back here. You're no friend of my daughters. Kagami told me." Sojiro said soon as he saw the boy.

"Wa...oohh..." Tony realized what had happened. _Not sleeping for days, his memory must be pretty hazy. My guess is he doesn't even remember our little incursion._ "As a matter of fact, I am now. And I didn't say I was her frien... You know what? I'm tired of explaining this! I've done so twice already! I'm here because I was invited by your daughter." Tony started. He saw the expression of disbelief on the man's face he was expecting and so added, "Don't worry, Kagami and Tsukasa have been invited as well. And obviously Miyuki."

"How do I know you're not lying to me again?" Sojiro asked, suspicious.

"Well, you could always ask Konata yourself, she should be sober and well. Shall we?" Tony said, motioning towards Konata's room.

"Fine..." Sojiro said, deciding to ask his daughter. Tony walked to the door, Sojiro behind him and Miyuki behind him.

*Knock Knock Knock* "Konata? Tony asking permission to come aboard!" He shouted.

"Permission granted!" They heard from inside before a loud groan. They entered to see Konata sitting on the edge of her bed, clutching her head. "That was cruel." She said. **(A/N I'm turning into Dr. Seuss...)**

"Well you didn't have to respond like that." Tony said, smirking. "How ar-"

"Konata, is this kid a friend of yours?" Sojiro yelled, much to the agony of Konata.

"Gah! Yeah, yeah, he is! Geez dad, now THAT was cruel..." Konata said, tucking her head in onto her chest, clutching it ever harder.

"Sorry Konata... I was just wondering cause Kagami told me he wasn't. She said you were almost openly hostile..." The girl's father trailed off.

"Well, things changed while you were asleep." Konata said, but realized she had the perfect opportunity to stick one to him. "You've been asleep for almost a year now, we were beginning to think you would never wake up! Me and Tony are married now!" She said, sure Tony wouldn't mind her lying about a wedding since he himself had.

"WHAT?" Sojiro yelled. Konata squirmed in pain, but it was well worth it. Obviously her father hadn't thought about it too much, having stopped such functions the instant word of his daughter's marriage hit his ears.

"Interesting joke Konata..." Tony smirked, chuckling at the antics. He had no right to complain, he figured. After all, he himself had lied about a wedding.

*Sigh* "Don't joke about that Konata! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"Does that mean you think you're old enough to get one?" Konata asked.

"Yes I am! Konata, I've missed you!" Sojiro shouted, clinging to his daughter for the first time since she had gotten sick.

"Gah! Dad! Not in front of Miyuki and To... Where'd Tony go?" Konata asked. Tony had disappeared.

"That kid running loose in my house? Who knows what he could be doing!" Sojiro shouted. Konata clutched her head.

"Dad, volume! Besides, I don't think he'd be doing anything wrong, he isn't that kind of a guy." Konata said. "He trusted me with his... crap, I never gave him his phone back... But I trust him." She finished. Tony reappeared in the doorway.

"Hey Konata, I noticed you still had a hangover from last night so I brought you something to help." Tony said, holding a cup filled with a yellowish liquid in one hand and a small white pill in the other. "These two work together to relieve hangovers without side effects." Tony offered her the medicine. "It should take three minutes to take full effect."

"Konata. Don't take it. You know I don't trust this kid." Sojiro warned.

"..." Konata was torn between heeding her father and forgoing the uncertain treatment that would end her suffering, or listening to her friend and potentially putting a stop to her head's trauma. "... Tony... I trust you!" Konata shouted, shoving the pill in her mouth and drinking the liquid to wash it down. The pill went down fine, but the liquid was very sour and made her almost wish she hadn't drunk it. "BLEEGH! That was really sour!"

"KONATA! Okay Tony, what the HELL did you just give my daughter?" Sojiro yelled at the top of his lungs. Konata noticed the absence of aching in her head.

"Later. How are you feeling Konata?" Tony asked. Konata shot him a look that told him he was about to be in deep trouble. Konata fainted.

"KONATA! Damn it kid, what the HELL did you give her?" Sojiro yelled. Tony, however, didn't miss a beat.

"Konata, get up. I know you're faking." Tony smirked.

"Aw~... How'd you know?" Konata whined.

"Konata... You ARE trying to kill me, aren't you?" Sojiro sighed.

"You're trying to get me killed, aren't you?" Tony asked. "So. Tell us how you're really feeling Konata."

"Better... Much better, actually... What did you-"

_I'm pretty much inconsequental at this point, huh?_ Miyuki thought to herself.

"NOW!" Sojiro interrupted.

"Come here Mr. Izumi." Tony beckoned the man out. On seeing Konata was getting up as well, he added, "Miyuki, please keep Konata here."

"O-of course!" Miyuki said, surprised that she was suddenly included. _I guess I'm not totally irrelevant!_

"Come." Tony said shortly as he and Sojiro went into the living room.

"Okay, spill it. What did you give my daughter?" Sojiro demanded once there.

"You sure you want to know? Once I tell you, the cure won't work for you, I can ju-"

"NOW!" Sojiro demanded again. Tony smirked.

"A placebo."

"Wa...What?"

"A placebo. A sugar pill. It had absolutely no medical value whatsoever." Tony chuckled.

"... Well then what was in the cup?" Sojiro asked, a dazed, confused look on his face.

"Merely water-diluted lemon extract."

"Why?"

"Gives it a mediciney look and taste." Tony's smirk grew. "In other words..."

"Nothing at all."

"Exactly."

"Well then why does she feel better?" Sojiro wondered.

"She feels better because she thinks what I gave her was a cure for her hangover. I put in all the details to sell it. She's believes she's getting better, so she is. It's all in her head." Tony chuckled again.

"So... You didn't really give her anything?"

"I gave her the knowledge that she's okay. Please don't tell her, her hangover will return the instant you do." Tony pleaded.

"..."

"I hope you can see, I only have the best interests of your daughter in mind." Tony added.

"Yeah... I guess..." Sojiro commented, amazed at how this kid he had only met once, and not a nice encounter at that, had helped his daughter help herself. He stood there dumbfounded until they heard the sound of fist on wood. "Come in!" Sojiro shouted.

_Uh-oh! The plot!_ Tony thought before the door opened.

* * *

**POV: Kagami**

Kagami woke up, the thoughts of last night not hitting until several minutes after she had awoken. She felt like crying. She bit back her emotions as she left her room and walked down the stairs to the sound of her breakfast. "Hey mo-... Tsukasa? How are you up so early?" Kagami asked the cooking Tsukasa.

"Well... I figure that if I AM going to be a wife someday, I've gotta start acting like one, right?" Tsukasa said, looking quite cheerful. In truth, she was exhausted. She had set her alarm for forty minutes before she had actually gotten up and set it on top of her so that when it rang, the vibrations would also help wake her. Every time she had been woken up by it, she had muttered "Five more minutes..." before realizing that no one was there to hear. She groggily sat up just enough to hit the five minute snooze. The next time it rang, she was more awake. This cycle of five minutes was continued until she had the willpower to rise from bed and drag herself downstairs. But Kagami had no necessity to know that.

_Wow, she's really maturing... Did what Konata say really effect her that much?_ Kagami thought to herself. "Hey Tsukasa, did you talk to Tony recently?" Kagami asked her sister.

"Yeah, yesterday." Tsukasa called behind her, finishing a batch of waffles.

"No, I mean after school." Kagami reiterated, expecting a surefire no.

"Yeah, I do mean after school." Tsukasa said, laying down a plate of waffles.

"What? When?" Kagami asked, a pit forming in her stomach.

"At the bar. Kan-chan walked in and-... Onee-chan?" Tsukasa shouted as Kagami smashed her face into the table.

"Tsukasa... What did he say?" Kagami hesitantly asked.

"Well, something about being rejected and ignored. He was really sad and mad..." Tsukasa trailed off. Kagami was almost in tears.

"Thanks for breakfast Tsukasa, but I'm not hungry..." Kagami said, her appetite having left her.

"O-Okay Onee-chan." Tsukasa stuttered at her sister's sudden loss of hunger. _Did I say something wrong?_ She thought to herself as she Kagami got up from the table and walked out.  
Kagami didn't even really know where she was going. She was just walking. She soon found herself at her desk, looking at her phone.

_Okay, I guess I might as well give Konata a call, see if she wants to hang out today. It IS a Saturday._ She thought as she clicked number one on her phone. It was Konata's speed dial. Her Otaku picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, what's going on Konata?" Kagami said, not thinking of how she must sound.

"Not much Kagami. What's wrong?" She heard Konata ask on the other end. Her worry was clear and somehow... comforting.

"Nothing... Nothing... You wanna call the others and we can all hang out?" Kagami asked.

"Sure, you get Tsukasa, I'll get Miyuki and Tony. But Kagami, are you sure nothing's wrong?" Konata asked again. The name of Tony gave Kagami a pit to match her first.

_That's not what I meant..._ Kagami cried on the inside. She wasn't sure how she would handle seeing Tony again so soon. "I'm fine Konata. I'll go get Tsukasa, we can all go out somewhere! Can we meet at your house?" Kagami said.

"Sure. Come on over whenever you want!" Konata authorized.

"Cool thanks! I'll get Tsukasa now and we'll come over right away!" Kagami happily said as she hung up._ *Sigh*_ Kagami internally let out breath she didn't know she even COULD hold as she walked back to the kitchen. She had secretly hoped it would be a day of just the girls, but she knew the notion was ridiculous to hope for without asking for it. She walked in the kitchen to see no one. She kept going until she arrived in her living room to see Tsukasa finishing a plate of waffles. "Hey Tsukasa, wanna go hang out with Konata and the others?" Kagami asked. The question was a mere formality, as Kagami knew her sister would come along without question.

"Sure Onee-chan! Just let me get ready." Tsukasa chimed. It was only now that Kagami noticed her sister in cooking attire. Her apron had a picture of a bottle of Balsamic Vinegar. Curious. Tsukasa walked excitedly to her room to change into appropriate clothes.

_She was even dressed like a housewife... Does she really take that much stock in Konata's opinion? No way, there must be something else... But what?_ Kagami wondered. _I'll have to figure that out later, right now I need to think of what to say to Tony... I really hope it isn't going to be awkward..._ Kagami hoped in her mind. She knew such a fantasy was pointless and unlikely.

"Okay Onee-chan, I'm ready!" Tsukasa shouted as she walked out of her room. She got an idea. Kagami soon found herself being dragged by the hand by her sister out of her house.

"Tsu-Tsukasa! What's going on?" Kagami stuttered at her sister's sudden aggression.

"We ARE going to Kona-chan's house aren't we?" Tsukasa called behind her.

"Yeah, but why are you dragging me? And how do you know where we were going to meet up?" Kagami asked.

"Well, you always drag me when you want to leave. And since Kan-chan lives next to Kona-chan, I guessed that that was where we were meeting." Tsukasa said.

"Alright..." Kagami said. "I'm sorry for dragging you everywhere like that, I was just always use to it, you never said anything so I guess I assumed it never bothered you." Kagami apologized. Tsukasa smiled as she released her sister's hand.

"It's okay Onee-chan, I know you didn't mean anything by it." Tsukasa excused. "Now, what's wrong?" She asked.

"Wha-what do you mean?" Kagami asked, caught off guard by the seemingly random question.

"I noticed you seemed off this morning. Especially when you weren't hungry this morning." Tsukasa observed. Kagami was genuinely surprised.

_I hope I wasn't obvious! What should I say? Hmmm..._ "The wedding yesterday didn't exactly go as planned..." Kagami lied, scratching the back of her head. She was glad Tsukasa was still slightly in front of her.

"If you don't want to tell me, that's okay." Tsukasa said understandingly. "I can just ask Kan-chan later." Tsukasa smiled.

"Ga- What makes you think he would know anything?" Kagami shouted.

"Wasn't Kan-chan supposed to be the Maid of Honor?" Tsukasa smiled.

_Crap! She caught me!_ "Yeah, but... I don't think he knows what happened."

"Well what happened?" Tsukasa asked, Konata's house coming into sight.

"I'd... rather not talk about it." Kagami reiterated.

"That's okay Onee-chan." Tsukasa said, arriving at Konata's house. Kagami walked up and knocked on the door.

_Well, here we go..._

"Come in!" She heard from inside. She opened the door.

"Hey, we've come to see Kona-... Hey Tony..." Kagami said, averting her gaze. She had been right in that she wasn't sure if she could handle the boy.

"Hey Kagami, Tsukasa, come on it. Konata should be okay by now." Tony said, seemingly oblivious to Kagami's mood.

"Tha...thanks. What was wrong?" Kagami asked.

"She had a hangover, but it's fine now." Tony responded.

"Well, that's good. I'm glad..." Kagami sighed.

"I figured you would be." Tony said, giving the first indication that anything had happened.

"Oh-kay~. So did I interrupt a murder?" Kagami laughed a bit.

"Actually... This guy isn't all that bad..." Sojiro commented, looking at Tony.

"I'm glad to hear you say that Mr. Izumi." Tony smiled. "Well, let's go see Konata. I'm sure Miyuki is having problems restraining her by now."

"Then let's go!" Kagami shouted cheerfully as they walked to the Otaku's room.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~! Hiya luckies!" Akira shouted. "I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami!"

"I'm her assistant, Minoru Shiraishi!"

"I wasn't in this chapter, but I bet you all liked it anyway! And we-"

"Akira, you got another letter." The same voice from the last two times called, clearly annoyed.

"Wow, we're getting these pretty often now..." Minoru commented as Akira opened the letter.

*Peel peel peel* "Yeah, we've gotten one almost every time for the last few chapters!" Akira said as she read the letter. She also pulled something out. *Gasp*

"What is it Akira-sama?" Minoru asked.

"The... The writer said that they noticed me talking about my financial difficulties so... They sent ¥ 10,000 and said they would do their best to help. Pu-pull a few strings, ya know?" Akira said, stunned at the kindness. 10,000 yen wasn't an incredible amount, but it helped. And it carried no strings.

"That's awesome Akira-sama! I'm happy for you."

"... Yeah..." Akira said in a daze.

*Music Tone*

"Well... That's it for today, bye nii!" Akira said dazedly.

"..."

"That was really nice, I was NOT expecting that..."

"Yeah, this story sure is full of surprises."

"No kidding."

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

And so ends another chapter. Tony absolutely unnecessary to the story now? I'll go ahead and tell ya, he was never completely necessary to the story, he's more here to hopefully add originality to the story. I could have written this story almost as easily without him having any part in it. But I didn't want it to seem like I was copying other's works, because I might come up with the same things as someone else :P. I hope you all understand. However, now that the intro-arc is basically over, he's probably gonna back off a bit. And don't forget, when you're trying to get someone you like, don't you try to be as smooth as possible? While I won't write him out completely for a long while at least, He will probably talk less. And believe me, if I hadn't done Konami, I would receive blowback from not only you guys, but from myself XD Like I said, It doesn't work otherwise. One more thing and then I think I'll conclude this. If you currently have no clue what I'm talking about, this is basically a response to stealthmomo. As for the destruction of the 4th wall, mostly whenever I've seen it done it wasn't subtle. It was a little less blunt then I was being. I wasn't going for subtly, in fact I was going for quite the opposite. I apologize if that wasn't right, I'll see if I can't correct it in future chapters. Thanks a lot for the review stealthmomo! Yours are the kind I love, the kind that tell me what I'm doing good, bad, and anything I need to improve on, because I know there's a lot. That's not to discourage anyone from reviewing, please keep it up! I love hearing your opinions, otherwise I don't know if my chapters are any good or not! The next chapter should be out soon after this one, I ended this one early because it felt right. And thanks for all the reviews Kenpokid, I also like it when people give a chapter by chapter review so I know about each chapter individually too. I'm rambling AGAIN! See you in chapter 12 I hope!**  
**


	12. Chapter 12: The Day

Chapter 12: A day out

Here with chapter 12! I'm on a roll. My beta brought something very important to light that I admit I forgot about. Riderinhood2, thanks for bringing it to my attention, you know what I mean! I intend to correct it in the next few chapters hopefully. Thanks for the kind reviews on the last chapter everyone! Between the master of flygon (Flygon Master), the hidden momo(stealthmomo), and the second Duwee Davis, that got me really energized to keep working quickly! A minute before I saw them, I was just wandering the internet, not really doing anything. My e-mail popped up that I had reviews for chapter 11. I read them, and now am about to work on chapter 13! I love reviews... Have mercy on me with these late updates, my beta is thinking on something like 5 different projects + real life stuff. Now, chapter 12! Enjoy!

* * *

**Konata's room**

As the group approached Konata's door, they heard a struggle from inside.

"Miyuki! I wanna hear!" They heard Konata yelling.

"I'm sorry Konata-san, I promised!" Miyuki timidly shouted back. Tony walked up to the door, going first himself as he had a sneaking suspicion of what was to come.

"FREEDOM!" They heard Konata shout triumphantly as she threw the door open, catching Tony square in the face.

"... Ow." Tony said, a cut where the door had hit.

"Kan-chan! Are you okay?" Tsukasa asked while Kagami chided her Otaku.

"Konata! Be more careful!" Kagami shouted, kneeling to see if her friend was okay.

"Oops, my bad." Konata grinned sheepishly while scratching the back of her head.

"Not really, you didn't know I was right there." Tony commented, rubbing the cut on his cheek.

"Well, let's go to the living room where you can sit down! We got Konata, we don't HAVE to be in her room!" Kagami suggested as she and Tsukasa attempted, and failed, to help Tony up. He weighed a ton.

"Mehahaha..." Tony laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"Me alone in a room with you four... I think that alone would give Mr. Izumi authority to kill me." Tony laughed before adding, "Isn't that right?" He asked the man, cocking his head.

"Damn right. Don't worry, I would kill any boy who tried that. So nothing personal." Sojiro commented, smiling to let them know he was exaggerating, if only a bit.

"If you ever want help with that, I'm right next door." Tony smiled back.

"I appreciate that. Come on into the living room." Sojiro beckoned. Tony picked himself off the floor and followed.

"I'll make some tea." Miyuki said as she made her way to the kitchen.

"No, don't trouble yourself Miyuki!" Tony shouted, having sit down on a couch.

"It's my fault you got hurt, if I had kept a better grip on Konata, she wouldn't have hit you." Miyuki protested.

_Hmmm..._ "It's not your fault! Besides... I'm allergic to tea." Tony lied.

"Oh... Okay." Miyuki said as she sat back down, still feeling guilty.

"It's not that big a deal you guys, it's just a cut. Now, if Konata had accidentally run me through with a giant sword, THEN I wouldn't stop you from making a fuss. But, then it would still be an accident..." Tony said, talking himself around in circles. He was starting to confuse himself. He hated it when he did that.

"I'll leave you five alone..." Sojiro said, though everyone knew he would be waiting around a corner.

"Well, the least we can do is stay here." Kagami commented, hating that she felt she had to. She still felt uncomfortable around Tony.

"No way. You guys go have fun! Besides, I have some... work I need to catch up on anyway." Tony said.

"What kind of work?"

"Classified."

"Crap, I had hoped you'd stopped that." Kagami facepalmed.

"Nope, sorry." Tony smirked.

"Before we leave, I do have one thing to ask." Konata said, her catgrin appearing. Kagami had a bad feeling she knew exactly what Konata was about to ask.

"Yes?" Tony raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

"How'd the wedding go?" Konata cheered victory on the inside. Tony looked over to Kagami for an instant, then switched his gaze back to Konata.

"If that's all, then I'll answer. Then I'll take my leave and you can all go about your day." Tony said.

"Yeah, yeah?" Konata coaxed.

"Kagami... left Misao at the alter. Misao was kinda depressed for a little while, but," Here his eyes flickered to Tsukasa, who didn't seem to notice, " a friend of hers cheered her up. She's fine now. Besides," He looked Kagami directly in the eye while saying this, "They weren't meant to be together anyhow."

Kagami suddenly felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Somehow, with that one statement, the awkwardness had vanished. _I'm glad he's okay..._ She thought to herself.

"How did Kagami look in a dress?" Konata asked, an easily discernible tone of perversion in her voice. Kagami blushed, having been pulled from her thoughts. Tony merely gave a thumbs up. He got up to leave and made it to the door when he heard Konata from the couch call, "Hey Tony?"

"Yeah?"

"Next time, can I be the Maid of Honor?" Konata asked, persisting with the joke.

"Hehe, see ya." Tony called back, thinking to himself, _No Konata. Next time, you'll be the bride. _And he left.

"Well, let's get going!" Konata cheered, striking a pose as she got up.

_Looks like it will be just the four of us! _Kagami excitedly thought. "Yeah!"

* * *

**Walking down the street**

**"Doo** wa diddy diddy dum diddy **doo..."** Konata sang.

"What are you doing now?" Kagami asked.

"Nothing, nothing, so Kagamin, your and Tsukasa's birthday is coming up, isn't it?" Konata smiled.

"Not for about two months, why?" Kagami reminded.

"Yeah, I know July 7th! I was just making sure I got it right!" Konata shouted, throwing her arms in the air.

"Yeah actually... I'm surprised you remember." Kagami said through raised eyebrows.

*Sniffle* "That was mean Kagamin..." Konata sniffed in sorrow. Kagami jumped a little.

"I'm sorry Konata! It's just you don't remember a whole lot, you know? I didn't mean anything bad by it, it's just-" Kagami was cut off by the familiar sound of giggling. She suddenly realized she had been tricked again.

"Kagami, you're so cute when you get like this..." Konata said between giggles, having dropped the act completely. "Besides, didn't I tell you I remember all the really important stuff?"

*Sigh* "Why do you do that to me Konata?" Kagami asked, exasperated.

"Like I said, you just get so moe!" Konata catgrinned as she latched onto Kagami, attracting the attention of random passerbys and shoppers. Kagami blushed hard.

"Ko-Konata, get off! People are staring!" Kagami shouted, her arms inside Konata's seemingly inhumanly strong hug. Kagami was stuck accepting this hug until Konata was done or someone helped her. She looked at a giggling Miyuki and distracted Tsukasa and knew no help would come.

"Oh~, so if we were in private, I could hug you as much as I wanted?" Konata asked, looking into Kagami's face as her grin grew visibly.

"Tha-that's not what I meant!" Kagami shouted again, her blush deepening. She could tell Konata could easily keep her in this embrace forever. As she thought about it, she was scared to see that the emotion welling up wasn't one of anger or fury. It was a mix of happiness and... something she couldn't explain. Something she had never felt before. She couldn't describe it.

"Well, say what you mean!" Konata cheered, obviously having fun.

"I mean GET OFF OF ME!" Kagami yelled, her ever-reddening face almost sweating.

"If you insist Kagamin~." Konata cooed as she released Kagami's restraint. Kagami waited for Konata to turn back around before she started panting lightly.

_What the hell is going on? Normally I would be furious, but not this time. I've got to get a hold of myself... I wish there was some way to relax, but my heart is beating really fast!_ Kagami thought, scared of whatever illness she might have contracted based on her quickened heart. She then noticed it wasn't concern for herself, but more that she might spread it to Konata, who's heart couldn't be that strong considering how frail the small girl was. Not to mention the fact that she had just gotten over a bad illness recently. _But she is rather resilient... What am I thinking?... I just noticed I have no clue where we're going..._ "Hey Konata, where are we going?" Kagami asked after she had regained her composure.

"I dunno, where ARE we going?" Konata shrugged.

"You mean you don't know?" Kagami yelled.

"Well you don't either..." Konata commented.

"But I'm not leading, you are!" Kagami shouted.

"No I'm not, you're just following." Konata grinned.

"Whatever. Where are we?" Kagami asked rhetorically as she looked around. They were about in the center of a street of stores and supermarkets. "Hey, let's go shopping guys!" Kagami suggested excitedly.

"Oh, soon as I mention your birthday, you want us to go shopping for your gift, is that it Kagamin?" Konata asked, seeing her opportunity to embarrass Kagami yet again.

"No, that's not what I meant! I just meant that while we were here..." Kagami trailed off.

"I know, I know, I was just kidding." Konata continued her grin.

*Sigh* "Well, where do you guys want to go?" Kagami asked.

"It doesn't matter much to me Onee-chan, wherever you want!" Tsukasa said cheerfully.

"It would appear I've become irrelevant again..." Miyuki commented, more to herself then anyone.

"Hmmmm... How about you Konata?" Kagami asked her friend.

"Why not go to Gamers?" Konata suggested.

"Sure, let's!" Kagami cheered, raising a fist into the air. She looked to Konata to see her friend had pulled out her DS and was now playing while she walked. Kagami facepalmed. "Don't walk while playing games!"

"But the fate of all Archanea rests on this battle! I can't stop now!" Konata shouted, not taking her eyes off of her game. She suddenly felt her head hit resistance as she hit a pole. "OW!"

"I told you." Kagami scolded, knuckling Konata on her head.

*Giggle* Miyuki laughed to herself.

"Miyuki?" Kagami asked, her tone finishing her sentence as to why Miyuki was laughing.

"Nothing, I'm just little envious." Miyuki commented.

"Huh?"

"Konata-san trusts Kagami-san a great much."

"Wha?" Kagami was confused.

"That you'll protect her." Miyuki eyesmiled.

_Is this girl a saint?_ Kagami thought.

"You're even walking in front of Konata-san while she's paying attention to her games." Miyuki observed. Kagami suddenly realized that she had sped up since Konata's accident and was now about a foot in front of the Otaku. The top half of her face melted into blue lines as she realized Miyuki was right.

"Tha-that's not right!" Kagami shouted as Konata brought her attention away from her games, latching onto Kagami.

"Yeah! She is! YATA~ NO~ KAGAMI~!" Konata laughed.

"**What was that?**" Kagami asked in a threatening tone, pushing the Otaku off, a vein appearing in her head. _That was a clever pun though..._

"Well, in this party, I'm the protagonist, a brave, brave warrior!"

"Huh?"

"Miyuki is the cleric!" Konata shouted, pointing at the moe queen.

"The... wha?" Said moe queen was clueless.

"Tsukasa is the clumsy mage!" Konata pointed to the airheaded twin.

"What?" Tsukasa shouted, having been brought into the conversation quite suddenly.

"And~, Kagami is the ferocious female barbarian!" Konata finished, grinning ear-to-ear.

"What the hell is that?" Kagami shouted in fury.

"That's why you're leading the way." Konata grinned, poking Kagami in the nose.

"Then should I act like a barbarian and beat you to a pulp?" Kagami asked, her vein throbbing. The building Gamers was housed in came into view.

"Look! The castle of Medeus!" Konata shouted, pointing to the building.

"You're not making sense!" Kagami shouted. As they entered, they saw a familiar face.

"Hey Izumi." Kuroi called, smiling and waving.

"LOOK! Gharnef!" Konata pointed.

"Not at school and still picking a fight?" Kuroi smirked, a vein similar to Kagami's appearing. "Well, I'm just here to find the new version of my favorite game. They did change the name to World of W*rcraft though instead of just continuing to 4. I'll see ya later Izumi!" Kuroi shouted, disappearing around the corner.

"We got ignored..." Miyuki commented, referring to herself and Tsukasa.

"Let's go!" Konata shouted, running off to see if she could find the collectors edition of said game. She had the regular, she had gotten it in February when it released, but now she wanted to one-up her teacher and get the collectors edition. The rest followed her.

"Wait up Konata! We can't keep up!" Kagami shouted, Tsukasa and Miyuki hot on her trail. As Konata stopped, they caught up.

"Hello again Izumi." Kuroi smiled, having been in the adjacent aisle.

"It's Elice , the princess we've come to rescue!" Konata shouted, pointing to her teacher.

"... Which is it?..." The teacher asked, confused.

"GO! PYROBLAST!" Konata started 'casting', beckoning for Tsukasa to join her.

"R-right!" Tsukasa said, starting to 'cast' as well.

"The heck?" Kuroi sweatdropped. _It is kinda nostalgic... _"Glad you're so excited. The results of the test you took yesterday came in."

"Oh?" Konata asked with dread.

"Yeah." Kuroi chimed, leaning in and telling Konata, Tsukasa and Miyuki their grades individually so none of them could hear the other. Both Konata and Tsukasa deadpanned. "See ya!" Kuroi called, paying for her game and leaving.

"My test was a disaster." Konata commented after her teacher left.

"Mine too!" Tsukasa panicked.

"Isn't that usual?" Kagami asked.

"It's okay, I can use Aum to resurrect myself and try again." Konata smiled.

"Somehow your country seems at peace." Kagami commented. "Learn from Miyuki."

"That's..." Miyuki started, but trailed off.

"Well what did you get Miyuki?" Konata asked.

"I..." Miyuki stuttered.

"Tell us Yuki-chan!" Tsukasa agreed.

"A-... A hundred points..." Miyuki stuttered again. Konata shot a determined a look to Tsukasa, who looked back to Konata with a similar look.

"Let's do it!" Tsukasa shouted.

"Yeah!" Konata shouted in reply.

"PYROBLAST!" They both shouted in unison as they both started casting again.

"WHA?" Miyuki exclaimed. Kagami facepalmed.

"Aren't you getting a little too excited?" Kagami sighed.

"Not at all! I didn't even have Heroism!" Konata shouted, raising both hands in the air. She quickly calmed down as she was looking for the game.

"You're mixing the classes..." Kagami sighed again.

"And how do you know that?" Konata smiled as she turned to look at Kagami.

"Well I- um... I got a trial, I figured I might as well play for a few minutes..." Kagami scratched the side of her head.

"You don't get Heroism until level 60 Kagamin~." Konata chimed in victory as Kagami blushed.

"Onee-chan, didn't you stay up for a few days playing on your computer a month or two ago?" Tsukasa asked.

_Busted by Tsukasa..._ Kagami thought to herself.

"Oh-ho-ho~, so Kagami became a Warcraft Addict!" Konata cheered happily.

"That's not something to cheer for!" Kagami shouted as Konata picked out the game and went to the counter.

*Gasp* "Miss, are you going to buy that?" Meito Anizawa exclaimed. "You know, we're the one of the only stores in Japan that sells that!" He informed.

"Yep, sure am!" Konata cheered, actually having enough money this time.

_FINALLY! SHE'S GOING TO BUY SOMETHING~!_ "That'll be 4000 yen please." The clerk rang up the game, barely keeping his excitement under control.

"Here you go..." Konata handed over the money.

"Thank you, have a nice day!" Meito called as the girls went to leave. As Konata walked passed the Galge game section, she noticed a guy with glasses and short black hair in a school uniform picking out all sorts of different games with a short black haired pony-tailed girl in a purple sleeveless kimono that looked custom made with a pink scarf like thing around her and she appeared to be floating in midair.

_Huh... That's cool..._ Konata thought to herself, _I should ask them to come work at the __café_, they're really good cosplayers. The second they were out, the entire staff ran and clung to the clerk, all shouting,

"SHE BOUGHT SOMETHING! IT'S GOING TO SELL OUT!" And the like.

Konata and company kept walking down the street, though Konata had stopped her singing, they looked around. Across the street, in broad daylight, there was a woman getting robbed.

"Give me your money!" The robber yelled at the poor woman.

"Please! Take my purse, just don't hurt me!" The woman shouted, holding out her purse. The robber snatched the purse and started off. Tsukasa remembered what Tony had said, and started dialing his number, already seeing Kagami dialing the police. Just before she finished the call, the would-be robber was knocked to the ground, unconscious. A familiar looking man was standing over him. They all rushed over to see him as he handed the purse back to the woman, said woman thanking him profusely before running off.

"To-Tony? What are you doing here?" Kagami shouted once across the street. Miyuki seemed to be the only one who noticed the different clothes. Not only that, but they seemed like normal clothes. The man looked surprised at them.

"Oh? You know my brother?" The man asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, so you're the Green Beret?" Kagami snickered. The man seemed less pleased by this. The lilac-haired girl suddenly felt she might have said too much.

"And how, exactly, do you know that?" The man asked, suddenly on edge.

"To-To-" Kagami started to stutter. Something about this man was unsettling. Disconcerting. Downright scary.

"He told us! He's our friend!" Tsukasa finished for her sister, seemingly unfazed by the man's spooky aura. The man seemed to lighten up considerably at this.

"Oh! Well that's an entirely different story! I'm glad to see he finally has some friends, I didn't really help him in that department." The brother scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Ah. So what's your name?" Kagami asked.

"Masutā Otokonoko. The last name is a little embarrassing..." Masutā scratched his head harder. 

"Hmmmm... I didn't even think about the meaning of your's and Tony's names... Wow, really?" Kagami deadpanned as she realized exactly what they suggested.

"I know, right?" Masutā laughed. "Our parents were pretty confident in us."

"Apparently with good reason..." Konata commented.

"Yeah, I suppose..." The man smiled. "What, have you seen my brother fight?" He asked.

"No, but I saw him knock a man out without any effort." Kagami recalled.

"Yeah, and he ran faster that I could pedal before! Not even by a little, he took off!" Konata shouted, thrusting her arm out for added emphasis.

"Is that so?" He chuckled. "Well, I was just on my way to pay him a visit. See how things are going now in Saitama, you know? I got all the way out here and then realized I have no clue where he lives."

"He never told you? Why wouldn't he tell you when he heard you were coming?" Kagami asked, confused at the illogical situation.

"He doesn't know I'm coming and besides, I haven't spoken to him since before he moved here. Say, would you happen to know where he lives?" The man inquired.

"Yeah, he lives next door to me!" Konata shouted. She beckoned him to follow as she started to lead him to Tony's house.

"Oh, his 'girl next door'?" Masutā laughed.

"Gah! No, not at all! We're just friends!" Konata shouted, slightly angry.

"Mehehe, of course, my little brother could never approach a girl with feelings after what happened last time..." The man trailed off.

"What happened last time?" Tsukasa asked, concern for her friend welling inside. Kagami felt a tornado start in her stomach, suddenly VERY afraid of what might have happened. Or that she might have staved her friend off of love forever.

"If he wanted you to know, he would tell you. Ask him if you're so curious, but expect something like 'Classified Information'." Masutā sighed, clearly exhausted with his brother's habit.

"Yeah, he's got us with that several hundred times. Did you teach him that?" Kagami asked.

"Nah, I taught him to be secretive, but he took it to a whole new level. He'll barely tell you the time of day without classifying it." Masutā laughed.

"I know, right?" Kagami laughed with him.

"So, did he ever use Hachiman?" Masutā asked, a look of concern crossing his face as he realized these would be the people to ask.

"What? What's that?" Kagami asked in reply, not knowing why the God of War's name held significance.

"I guess not... You may figure out later." Masutā trailed off.

"Okaaaaay..."

"Destination reached!" Konata chimed.

"Thanks a lot for the help girls. Maybe I'll see you around?" Masutā smiled.

"Sure, are you moving in?" Konata asked.

"Nah, I'm just visiting. I'm pretty much checking my little brother's progress, he likes for me to drop in at random times." Masutā chuckled. "I still can't believe he still trains. I suppose he does have his reasons. He's probably in there training right now."

"Oh really?" Konata got a shine in her eyes, curious to see what this boy's training was like if he could outrun her bike without tiring. "Think he would mind if we came in and saw?"

"Well~ I dunno." Masutā smiled. "You suppose we should go ask?" He winked.

"Yeah!" Konata shouted. She definitely liked this man better then Tony at first.

"You're not even going to ask our opinion?" Kagami facepalmed.

"I'm sorry, what would you like to do... ?" Masutā trailed off.

"Kagami Hiiragi." Kagami informed.

"Ah. What would you like to do Hiiragi-san?" He asked.

"Come on Kagamin, you can't tell me that you don't want to see this!" Konata grinned, getting close to Kagami.

"Whoa! You're too close!" Kagami shouted, blushing slightly as she backed up. Masutā smiled.

"Well~?" Konata chimed.

"... Fine, I'll go see. Tsukasa, Miyuki?" Kagami turned to her twin and friend.

"Let's go see him!" Tsukasa cheered.

"It would be dishonest if I said I wasn't curious myself from what I've heard." Miyuki said, having never actually seen any feats of strength performed by the absent friend.

"Then let's go!" Masutā shouted, opening the door. The group walked in.

"HAAAA~" The heard from inside the house. They all ran to the door of the room they heard it from. Masutā opened the door and walked in.

"Yo bro, whatcha know? Wanna give these girls a show?" Masutā greeted his brother. The girls peeked in. The room itself was very recently renovated, turned into a large training room.

_I hope he got permission to do this..._ Kagami thought to herself. What they saw next made Kagami, Tsukasa, and Miyuki blushed and turn away. Konata, however, seemed unfazed at the kneeling boy. He was panting heavily as he sweated, completely topless. The only visible clothing he had was shorts.

"Yo bro? You really haven't changed have you... Girls? Are Kagami and the others here?" Tony asked between huffs of breath.

"Yeah, glad to see you finally made some friends. They seem nice. They just wanted to see what your training was like." Masutā smiled.

"Wasn't it you who told me not to let others see my training?" Tony inquired.

"Yeah, but why not? Those were different circumstances." The older brother stated.

"I dunno..." Tony sighed. "I'm already pretty tired."

"Come on! Or do you want me to make you some Yerba Mate? That'll perk you up..." Masutā smirked.

"Oh good LORD no! That stuff is WAY too bitter! Fine!" Tony huffed as he pushed himself up. It was only now that Kagami and the others felt they could look. They turned to see, but were suddenly scared and realized why Konata hadn't looked away. She had seen something the others hadn't. What had attracted their attention wasn't the muscles their friend possessed, massive though they were, but something different.

"Whoa..." The three let out as they beheld their friend. His entire body, front and back, was all riddled with long and deep looking scars. While the three were paralyzed from this sudden development, Masutā walked near his brother and pointed to Konata and Kagami.

"Those two are hot for each other, aren't they?" He whispered, easily too low for the girls to hear.

"Yep, sure are, but they don't know it yet. Sad for me though, I like the lilac haired one." Tony sighed.

"Long or short?"

"Long."

"Damn, tough luck bro."

"I know."

"Well, shouldn't keep them waiting, eh?" Masutā smiled. "Show them what you've got Otōto ."

*Sigh* "If you insist..." Tony sighed.

"Alright! Little bro's gonna show you girls something!" Masutā shouted to the spectators at the entrance as he walked to the entrance. Tony walked over the the closet and pulled out some wooden dummies. He set five up around him in a circle. "Hey, you ever forge yourself another sword?" The brother asked.

"Yeah, wanna see?" Tony said with a hint of pride in his voice.

"Use it!" Masutā shouted.

"Sure!" Tony cheered as he ran towards the closet and pulled out a sheath with a sword in it. The hilt was ornately adorned, a black hilt with gemstones throughout. A large ruby decorated the bottom of the hilt. He proceeded back to the center of the room again. "Here goes..." he mumbled as he drew his sword. The blade itself was jet black.

"Hmmmm, Is that obsidian? That's some rare stuff Ototo..." Masutā commented.

"Well, It's incredibly sharp and doesn't dull. It's also been reinforced on the inside by a diamond core." Tony stated with pride.

"Ah, but how did you-"

"Get on with it!" Konata shouted.

"Hehe, fine." Tony snickered. He crouched down, sword drawn and poised to attack. He jumped and struck the first target with speed that surprised the girls. They had trouble following him with his sudden speed.

_Holy crap! He was this fast the whole time?_ They all thought together, amazed. Masutā merely smiled as Tony moved to the next target, the first having been reduced to nothing but small wood chips.

"Well, someone's been training hard." Masutā shouted. In that time, the second dummy was reduced to a few small chunks of wood. "Come here, Otōto ." Tony walked over to his brother.

"What's up?" Tony asked.

"Let me see your blade." Masutā held his hands out. Tony relinquished his sword without hesitation. The older brother inspected the blade. "Very nice. Able to cut through wood cleanly and not a hint of degradation. You did a good job forging it." Tony looked truly honored at the praise.

"Tha.. Thanks." Tony stuttered. This was the first time anyone other then Masutā and Tsukasa had seen him lose his composure.

"Hehe, Otōto . You take my praise too heavily." The brother laughed.

"Ye-Yes Ani-sama..." Tony stuttered again, becoming incredibly formal. Masutā merely laughed again.

"Here." Masutā returned his brother's blade. _He's regressed back to his training days. I wonder why this happens whenever I pay him a compliment?_

"Thanks." Tony muttered, re-sheathing his sword. It was then that his friends came out of their stupor.

"To-Tony... How the HELL did you do that?" Kagami shouted, eyes plastered to the remains of the first dummy.

_I RACED THIS GUY?_ Konata shouted in her head. She was now afraid because she didn't know how strong this boy actually was. He had done that while he was tired! What stumped her was that at the speed he was just at, he should have easily been able to beat her backwards. So why didn't he if he was showing off? _Curious..._

"Your training is coming along nicely." Masutā commented.

"Thank you Ani-sama..." Tony remained looking away from his brother.

_What's up? I've never seen him acting like this... Usually he's super confident and knows exactly what to say. Now, though... he's really scared and humble... What a change..._ Kagami thought. The change in her friend was scary.

"I'll let you continue your training Otōto." Masutā smiled. "But I'm a little hungry, you got any food? It's been a couple of days." He added.

"Couple of days since what?" Kagami asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Since I ate." Masutā informed.

"Onee-chan? How long can someone survive without food?" Tsukasa asked, having thought such a feat was impossible.

"I... dunno... Miyuki?" Kagami asked, half expecting Tony to interject with his own explanation. He didn't.

"Well, it depends on a number of factors, beginning with your initial nutrition. There's also the variable of water, with enough water someone can go without food for weeks, even a month! And then there's the will to survive if you are caught in a situation without food. One can survive on one's own will for days if it's strong enough. All in all, one can go for a very long time with little or no food." Miwiki explained.

"Um... You can have something from the fridge if you want Ani-sama. That goes for the rest of you..." Tony said. He suddenly lighted up a bit. "Maybe Tsukasa could cook you something? From what I heard, she's really good."

"Yeah, it's the best food you'll ever taste!" Kagami said passionately.

"Thanks Kan-chan! Thanks Onee-chan!" Tsukasa shouted, happy for the praise.

"Kan...chan..." Masutā gave a blank look, blinking a few times before he started to laugh profusely. "Pfwahahahaha ! That's hilarious! It's truly wonderful that you have friends now Otōto." Tsukasa's ribbon drooped as she thought the laughing was targeted at her with the intention to ridicule her. Tony looked up.

"Hey, don't laugh at her! I happen to like the name!" Tony shouted in defense, looking his brother straight in the eyes.

"Easy there. It wasn't my intention for it to be taken offensively." The older brother sweatdropped, trying to vindicate himself.

"..." Tony remained glaring at him.

"Kan-chan, it's okay, don't worry. I'm fine!" Tsukasa shouted, trying to sooth her friend without having to sing in front of her sister and other friends. For some reason, singing in front of random strangers who may or may not join her was far easier then singing in front of her friends.

"... Alright then." Tony relaxed. Then, he was perplexed. He had just stared down his brother. Made him _sweat!_ He didn't understand how, and felt lucky not to incur punishment. "So, go get something to eat, I'll be out in a few." Tony said casually.

_He's returned to normal. Such hold these new friends have over him..._ "Thanks Otōto." Masutā smiled. He and the girls walked out and quickly found the kitchen. When Tsukasa headed for the refrigerator, Konata got up to stop her.

"Hey, don't worry about it Tsukasa. You cooked for us twice, once yesterday and today. I'll handle it this time." Konata smiled as she sat Tsukasa down.

"Okay... Thanks Kona-chan!" Tsukasa thanked appreciatively.

Konata's belly rumbled loudly while she asked "So, what's everyone want?" while she looked in the refrigerator.

"It doesn't matter to me Kona-chan." Tsukasa said.

"Yeah, make whatever you want, I'm sure it'll be delicious!" Kagami cheered.

"How about curry?" Konata suggested, seeing the makings around the kitchen.

"Sure!" Masutā said. Konata started on her cooking.

"So..." Kagami started, but trailed off slightly.

"You can call me what you want. Masutā if you wish." Masutā told her.

"Alright... Masutā, we've heard a few things about you and from what happened in that room, it would seem you're incredibly strong to make Tony shrink like that." Kagami said.

"Very observant. I am pretty strong." Masutā raised an eyebrow to Kagami. He could see what his brother saw in her, he could already tell she was smart. Not to mention pretty.

"So tell me, I'm curious. Which of you is stronger?" Kagami asked.

"You mean if me and Otōto fought at full strength, who would win?" Masutā reworded.

"Yeah, pretty much." Kagami nodded. Masutā chuckled.

"He'd kick my ass." He said simply.

"What? But then why would he be that scared and seem so small before?" Kagami asked confused.

"Simply because for the longest time, I was practically God. If there was something he couldn't do, I could. Something he didn't see, I could. I could do anything to him, and he's maintained that mentality in part. I've even told him that he was incredibly strong, probably more so than me." Masutā scratched the back of his head.

"He didn't believe you?"

"If Susanoo came and told you that you were more powerful than he, would you believe him?" Masutā responded.

"I suppose not..." Kagami realized exactly what the man was saying.

"Every time I told him of his growth, he shrank like he did just now. Oddly enough, it usually takes him hours of time alone before he can regard me normally again. This time it took minutes..." The man trailed off. He added in his thoughts, _As soon as he thought I insulted... Tsukasa I think, he snapped right out of it. Not only that, but he stared me down. That's **never** happened before._

"Done!" Konata chimed, bringing four plates over, two balanced on the Otaku's arms. Tsukasa looked past her to see another on the counter.

"Is that for Kan-chan?" Tsukasa asked.

"Yeah. I was gonna bring it to him, but I can only carry four dishes at once..." Konata seemed almost disappointed in her inability to serve all at once.

"I'll bring it to him, I think he's still in that room!" Tsukasa shouted, getting up and grabbing the dish.

"You don't have to Tsuka-" Konata was interrupted by a large growl from her stomach. She winced slightly.

"It's no problem!" Tsukasa shouted again, as she was already walking down the hall.

"She volunteered for that pretty quickly..." Masutā observed.

"Yeah she did..." Kagami agreed.

* * *

**POV: Tsukasa**

Tsukasa was walking down the hall, headed for the room her friend was in. As she neared the door, she heard mumbling from inside. She slowed to a crawling pace. She peaked inside to see Tony doing push-ups, faced away from her. It was then she realized that he was only using his thumb, index finger and middle finger on his right hand, his other hand behind his back. Now she could hear him.

"I have to be able to protect them... I have to be able to help them... I can't let harm befall them..." Tony grunted as he increased his session. He closed his eyes in effort and lifted himself up, still on three fingers, and balanced himself. Then, he continued his exercise, completely vertical at this point. "I... Can't... Let..." He started until he opened his eyes. He saw his spectator. "TSUKASA!" He shouted in surprise as he lost his balance and crashed to his back. The fall knocked the breath from his lungs.

"Kan-chan!" Tsukasa shouted, putting the food down on the ground before running to her fallen friend. "Are you okay?"

"Tsukasa... How long were you standing there?" Tony asked, feeling lucky his face was already flushed red from the incredible exertion.

"A few minutes... Are you alright?" Tsukasa asked again.

"Yeah... yeah. What are you doing here, I thought you were eating with everyone else." Tony asked as Tsukasa helped him up. There seemed to be considerable less weight now.

"I was bringing you your food since you hadn't come out yet. You've been in here for half an hour!" Tsukasa exclaimed. In her experience, 'a few' generally didn't mean 30 minutes.

"Oh, was I? Thanks Tsukasa, I should be stopping now anyway..." Tony said as he walked to the closet and pull out a towel. He dried his face and reached back into the closet, seemingly struggling with something. *Sigh* "I'll just get on some regular clothes..." He mumbled as he pulled out an undershirt. Every muscle of his body ached. If he didn't know better, he'd say all his bones were broken from what he could tell. He returned to Tsukasa, who had turned away while he dried and put a shirt on, attempting to be distracted by any little thing she could find. "It's okay Tsukasa, I'm decent." Tony smiled.

"Okay Kan-chan." Tsukasa smiled as she turned around. "Let's go!" She cheered.

"Yeah!" Tony cheered in reply as he started to walk out. As they were walking, he suddenly felt his foot burning. "..." He looked down to see his foot seeped in curry. ".. Ow." He muttered, more at the loss of food then the small amount of pain. Now that pain has been mentioned, he suddenly realized that this was boiling curry that suddenly hurt like hell. "Ow!" Tony shouted, bringing his foot from the food.

"You alright?" Tsukasa asked.

"Hehe, yeah. You worry a lot Tsukasa, you know that?" Tony smiled through the pain. "What really hurts is that I lost my food..." He looked sorrowfully at the plate.

"We-well, uh.. A hehe..." Tsukasa sweated a bit at the mention of her worry. "I'm sure Kona-chan made more than enough!"

"I hope so, I'm hungry." Tony said as he picked up the ruined meal. "Shall we?"

"Okay, let's go!" Tsukasa cheered again. They both walked down the hall to see the group had already finished their meal.

"What were YOU two doing?" Konata catgrinned. "Tony looks absolutely flushed..."

"W-We weren't doing anything! I was just finishing up my training for today..." Tony stuttered. _Odd. I never stutter..._

"Oh really?" Konata's grin widened at his hurried explanation.

"Yeah... Um..." Tony started racking his brain to try and think of a way out of this situation. _Duh..._ He smacked himself internally for not having thought of it before. "Hey Konata, did you make any more? I was walking and... sorta accidentally stepped on my food." Tony scratched the back of his head.

"Oh really? Is that REALLY how it got ruined?" Konata grinned.

"... Yeah." Tony deadpanned at how she continued to pursue the subject. He raised his food, still half covered with curry as proof.

"Ah, alright. Sorry, I only made enough for the five of us..." Konata explained.

"Bah. Alrighty, never mind then."

"Kan-chan..." Tsukasa looked at him.

"Yes?" He replied.

"Here, you can have some of mine!" She held her plate out to him.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not really hungry." Tony responded, holding a hand up in rejection.

"Well... I'm not hungry at all!" Tsukasa insisted. However, she was betrayed by a REALLY loud grumble emanating from her stomach. She blushed a bit and panicked slightly.

"It seems obvious who's lying here. Thanks again, but I'm really not that hungry." Tony smiled. "Eat, eat. I'll not have hunger in my house."

"Okay..." Tsukasa sat down and started to eat.

Masutā looked to Tony with a raised eyebrow, as if to say_ You realize it's easy to tell you're lying yourself, right?_

Tony shot a look back that seemed to say, _Well, she's hungry. I won't be the one to deny her food. I can live at least a day without eating easy, you know that. As long as they don't pick up on it._

"If you insist." Masutā said aloud, relishing in the confused looks the girls gave. He loved how he and his brother could communicate in looks. It was pretty convenient.

"What?" Kagami asked.

"Nothing." Masutā smirked.

"So when is everyone's birthday?" Tony asked, wanting to know who he would be buying for first. He also wanted a completely different topic.

"Mine is May 20th, so it's coming up soon! I'm gonna be 19!" Konata cheered.

"My birthday is October 25th. I'm afraid it's a while away..." Miyuki sighed as she eyesmiled.

"Ours is July 7th." Kagami said, referring to herself and Tsukasa.

"Crap... May 20th is really soon..." Tony pondered how he would get any sort of money.

"It's alright if you can't afford a present, I've only known you for... how long's it been?" Konata asked.

"Hmmmm... A week at most, I can tell you that much." Tony tried to recall.

"And a good portion of that I was kind of a jerk to you." Konata scratched the back of her head.

"Eh, Hakuna Matata. I understand why you were." Tony shrugged.

"How?" Konata asked.

"So... I need to come up with a way to get money..." Tony mumbled to himself, ignoring Konata's inquiries completely.

"Don't worry about my birthday Tony, it's fine." Konata excused.

"You sure?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, it's pay back for my behavior." Konata explained, easily surprising Kagami with her maturity.

_Well that was unexpected..._ Kagami thought to herself.

"Thanks Konata. I promise to make it up to you." Tony smiled.

"No problem! If you REALLY wanna pay me back, you could always..." Konata leaned in and started to whisper in his ear. Tony laughed.

"Should I?" He asked Konata in a whisper.

"Totally, her reaction will be priceless!" Konata giggled.

"Alright..." He switched back to a normal voice when he asked, "Hey Kagami, would you be opposed to sending yourself as a gift to Konata wearing nothing but a ribbon?" Tony asked, as if completely oblivious as to why such a statement would cause any sort of reaction. But boy did it.

"WH-WH-WHAT? Wh-Wh-What the hell kind of a question is THAT? Of course I am!" Kagami blushed almost as hard as she had at Konata's house the night previous to last night as she pictured exactly what Tony was saying. Then her previous thought kicked in about when she had last blushed so hard and she blushed more. She was about to yell at Tony and Konata but found her words stuck in her throat. _What the hell? I can't even speak... Why don't I feel disgusted by these thoughts? This is scary, what's happening?_ Kagami questioned herself in a panic. She didn't want to admit it, but the thought of Tony's suggestion actually made her more embarrassed then anything. Her embarrassment was the only negative emotion to scale once she involuntarily pictured what Konata would probably do should Kagami actually go through with such a gift. In some distant land, she heard talking amongst people. They seemed familiar as she could make out one of them yelling something about turning around. Things got much more real when she felt a small finger poke her left breast. "KYA! WHAT THE HELL?" She yelled. As she came to, she looked around in embarrassment that almost had her in tears until she noticed that everyone except Konata had turned around and put fingers in their ears. She looked at Konata.

"Don't worry Kagamin, no one else saw or heard you." Konata winked. Kagami melted slightly at her Otaku's cuteness, completely forgetting her fury. "You just looked like you were going to explode." She giggled.

"Thanks... I think I almost did..." Kagami huffed a humorless laugh. _Who knows what would have happened if Konata hadn't woken me up from all that..._ This was the second time she had lost herself in thoughts similar to these. Konata, meanwhile, was tapping everyone on the shoulder to tell them they could come back to reality.

"You okay Kagami?" Tony asked as he turned around.

"Yeah. Just... thinking..." Kagami muttered. Tony looked to his brother with a raised eyebrow, practically telling him that this would confirm the latter's conclusion.

"What about Onee-chan?" Tsukasa asked.

"Don't worry about it." Kagami dismissed.

"Well, I know you girls were enjoying your day, so you can go back out and do whatever. Thanks for your help and cooking. It was delicious." Masutā thanked appreciatively.

"No problem, glad to do it." Konata smiled.

"Kan-chan, are you sure you're okay?" Tsukasa asked worriedly. Tony laughed.

"Tsukasa, you really worry a lot. I'm fine, thanks." Tony smiled.

"What happened?" Kagami asked.

"Kan-chan fell down and got the breath knocked out of him." Tsukasa explained. Masutā raised an eyebrow to Tony.

"Think nothing of it..." Tony said. "Please, I don't want to keep you from the adventures of the day." Tony smirked before saying, "Can't have Archanea falling, can we now?"

"Wait... How.. did.. you.." Konata started to ask.

"Muffin button." Tony said. Masutā looked at his brother.

_Didn't he already make that joke?_ He thought.

"... Meh, we should probably get going." Konata said as she got up. _That's a little creepy..._

"Hehe. See you four later." Tony laughed slightly.

"You wanna come with?" Konata asked. From what she could tell, he might have last time anyway...

"No thanks, I think I'll see what's on T.V. Perhaps the plot will help out." Tony smirked.

"Alright, you guys ready to go?" Konata asked her friends.

"Yep, how about you guys?" Kagami asked her sister and Miyuki. Tsukasa glanced to Tony.

"Tsukasa, I only fell a foot or two. I'm fine, I swear." Tony chuckled.

"Well... I'm ready when you guys are." Tsukasa said.

"I'm ready." Miyuki said.

"Alright, we'll see you later Tony!" Konata shouted as they were walking out the door.

"I think you got the wrong sister Otōto." Masutā smirked.

"What do you mean?" Tony said in confusion.

"Nothing." Masutā smirked wider.

"... I'm going to watch T.V..." Tony muttered.

"I'll come witcha Otōto." Masutā walked along side his brother and sat on a couch as Tony turned the television on to something he had on Tivo. He heard about the show and was about half way through it already. A young girl with salmon hair appeared.

"Hiya Luckies! I'm here at FNN to report a new tournament that's being held in Saitama! A World Martial Arts Tournament! It will be held at a cost of ¥ 10,000 per ticket or free if you're family of someone who's fighting! Entry into the tournament is free, but the competition is going to be fierce! It will be held in one month to allow time for people to travel. The winner will receive money based on attendance! I'll be the referee! Good luck and I hope to see you there! We now return you to your regularly scheduled program, Gokusen!" She shouted before the show came back on. Tony turned the program off.

"Thank you Akira." He smirked.

"I've got a weird feeling about this Otōto." Masutā warned.

"You think?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, it's up to you. I think you would easily win. I just have a weird feeling." Masutā said.

"Well, I guess I'll compete. I could use the money to help pay for a few things. Including the birthday presents." Tony smirked.

"Yeah. Maybe I'll throw my hat in." Masutā smirked.

"Please don't. It would give the people a decent show, but still. I could REALLY use this money." Tony tried to discourage his brother.

"Hehe, alrighty. You've convinced me, I'll sit it out. By the way, this is a recorded program, the tournament might already be over..." Masutā chuckled.

"It's from... 27 days ago... The tournament is in 3 days!" Tony shouted in excitement.

"Hehe, you better train." Masutā joked sarcastically.

"Right... This is getting long." Tony sighed.

"Yeah, let's end already, we've been here longer than the sleepover..." Masutā commented.

"Alright. That's the end... Take it away Akira."

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya Luckies! I'm Akira Kogami, your navigator~!"

"And I'm Minoru Shiraishi, the assistant! Akira-sama, you were in this chapter weren't you?"

"Way to point out the obvious." Akira said. For the first time in chapters, her happiness had been an act.

"Wha-what's wrong Akira-sama? Aren't you happy that you got another role?"

"Yeah, I guess... But my damn 'darling' mother took all of the pay except for a couple hundred yen..." Akira complained.

"Dang, I'm sorry Akira-sama. But didn't one of the fans send you, like, a million yen?" Minoru asked.

"Yeah, but the director and my mother found out, so I only got a little bit. By the way, thanks for that HolyRiot. It's the thought that counts." Akira smiled, though her mood melancholic.

"Maybe the writer can come through and do something..." Minoru trailed off.

*Sigh* "Yeah, maybe. Hear that Ac? I need some help." Akira asked.

Hmmmm. I'll do my best.

*Music Tone*

"Well, that's all the time we have for today! I hope to see you in the next chapter! Bye Nii~!"

"..."

"Well, let's hope ol' Ac can do something, eh?"

"Yeah, I bet they'll come through!"

"Let's hope... I need money."

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

Alright, so I think I've settled the 4th wall bit. I bet the reason that I only ever saw that blatant destruction was because I was very young at the time. I went back to watch a couple old shows and I saw some blows to the wall that flew over my head when I was a little kid. So I think if you guys don't mind, I'll put in a few blatant ones and some subtle ones. Blatant for the ones like I used to be and subtle for the ones who will pick up on it like I can now. Hope to see you in Chapter 13!


	13. Chapter 13: Hachiman

Chapter 13: Hachiman

Chapter 13, I've found that sticking to real events that happened 6 years ago is incredibly difficult as I don't know what happened in Japan 6 years ago. Hell, I even went so far as to put in Madagascar as the movie they watched, which released in May 2005. So I think I'll just make up events as I go, since this isn't cannon anyway due to Tony and co. This is going to be fun... No more restrictions! BACK TO ADVENTURE! ... errr... To writing that is. Writing is what I meant... Chapter 13 now...

* * *

**The Martial Arts arena entrance**

"Hey, I'm registering for the tournament that's happening in 3 days." Tony said to the salmon haired tournament registrant.

"Okay, what's your name _Kan-chan_." She giggled.

"I think I'll register under the name... Ryū tora no kami." Tony smirked.

"Haha! Really?" Akira asked with a giggle.

"Yeah! Might as well, it's better than Great Saiyaman..." Tony laughed.

"Very true...*write write write write* Okay! You're registered! With you in here, it's sure to be an exciting tournament!" Akira said excitedly.

"Thanks Akira." Tony smiled.

"You done Otōto?" Masutā asked.

"Yeah Masutā. Let's go home." Tony walked off.

"Interesting name Otōto..." Masutā commented.

"Well, let's see them prove me wrong."

* * *

**Walking down the street once again**

**"Doo** wa diddy diddy dum diddy **doo..." **Konata sang, once again.

"Why do you keep doing that?" Kagami asked.

"No reason, don't worry about it Kagamin." Konata grinned.

"Whatever... So Tony's brother seems really different from Tony himself, doesn't he?" Kagami said.

"Yeah, I guess so. He seems more laid back than Tony." Konata commented.

"True. Almost like he's more open. It's cool how he still respects Tony's privacy though... Speaking of which, we never asked about the last time..." Kagami recalled.

"Oh right! We'll totally have to ask next time! And not take 'Classified Information' as an answer." Konata said.

"What do you think happened Onee-chan?" Tsukasa asked.

"I dunno Tsukasa... I hope nothing too bad happened..." Kagami muttered, hoping she didn't mimic his previous incident. She felt she would die if she did. Even though Tony had forgiven her, she didn't even have to wonder if she could handle it or not. She knew she couldn't.

"Yeah..." Tsukasa practically whispered. They all continued to walk in relative silence, not really knowing what to talk about.

"We forgot something else." Konata said suddenly, her tone grave.

"What? Where?" Kagami asked.

"With Tony." Konata continued.

"What?" Kagami repeated.

"I'll have to ask him about it next time I see him..." Konata muttered, closing her eyes in intense concentration.

"You sure it can wait? It sounds like it can't." Kagami said, ready to run should Konata choose to.

"No, don't worry, it can wait. We just can't forget next time." Konata sighed.

"Well, what is it?" Kagami asked impatiently.

"Nothing, I've got it... memorized." Konata leaned closer to Kagami and tapped her own temple with one finger.

*Sigh* "I do wonder if you can go even half a day without making some stupid comment about a game or anime." Kagami facepalmed.

"I can too! You wanna see?" Konata challenged.

"Hmmm... Not now, else it wouldn't be a fair test. The day is already more than half gone." Kagami smiled.

"Okay then Kagamin~." Konata grinned. Something caught Konata's eye. "Is that Tony? What timing..."

"Kan-chan~!" Tsukasa waved. Masutā snickered, but was abruptly silenced as Tony shot him a glare.

_Looks like I won't get my rest... Man my muscles hurt. But at least I get to hang out with the girls._ Tony thought with a smile despite the searing pain shooting through his body. "Hey, what's going on?" He shouted back as he crossed the street.

"Nothing much, we were just wandering around. What are you doing out here, I thought you were back at your house watching T.V. or something." Kagami recalled.

"I was, but then a commercial for a tournament that's taking place in three days came on! So I went to register!" Tony said cheerfully.

"Really? That sounds like it's going to be interesting to watch." Kagami commented. "How are you going to get the time off of school though? You should be using that time to study."

"Crap! I didn't even think about that! Hmmmm..." Tony thought. "I'm sure I'll be fine."

"What if you get sick on the day of the exam though?" Kagami asked.

"Well, that would be my punishment for taking part in the tournament, wouldn't it?" Tony smirked.

"Why not avoid the chance and just skip the tournament?" Kagami asked.

"Because I need money quickly." Tony said.

"I said you didn't need to worry about my birthday Tony!" Konata reminded.

"I know, but your birthdays aren't my only expense. I have electricity bills, cost of food, water bill, ect. All of this and I have no job. I really should get one..." Tony trailed off. Then he realized he didn't know where anyone was hiring.

"What about rent?" Konata asked.

"Well, I had a bit of money saved up from all the old types of jobs I used to work so I did actually buy that house. That, however, left me without a lot of money left. As in only about 100,000 yen. I barely had enough to get my appliances up and running and get some food." Tony informed.

"Oooooh~" Konata understood. He really did need the money.

"I'm sorry we kinda ate your food, we didn't know..." Kagami scratched the back of her head.

"No problem. Like you said, you didn't know. If any of you ever need a place to stay or a meal to eat, just come on over. You're always welcome in my home." Tony smiled.

"Thanks." Kagami smiled.

"By the way Tony, I have a very important question to ask you. You're not allowed to hang out with us until you answer." Konata said seriously.

"Eh? What is it?" Tony asked.

"Which end of a-" Konata started, before being interrupted.

"HEY!" They all heard. They turned to see a man holding a knife at them.

"Oh, hey. You're that generic thug I beat up this morning. I'm surprised to see you back on your feet so soon. I kinda hoped the police would have picked you up before you came to." Masutā laughed.

"DON'T LAUGH AT ME!" The thug yelled. "Now. By the looks uh ya, you ain't got no money. So just leave the girls and we'll call it even." He held the knife up higher to punctuate his statement. Tony's expression instantly changed.

"I don't take kindly to threats." He said, death easily prominent in his tone.

"Do I have to beat you up again?" Masutā scratched the back of his head, as if this thug's appearance were only an inconvenience. Normally, that's all it would have been. Little did they know, he had an accomplice this time.

"Grrrr... NOW!" The thug yelled as his partner leaped from behind and grasped the first girl he could and held a knife to her throat.

"TSUKASA!" Tony yelled, taking a step towards the man. The man put the knife that much closer to Tsukasa's throat. Tony halted.

"Alright, here's how this is going to work. You give us all of your money, and we'll give you the girl back." The main thug demanded.

"I have no money. Please, tell me what I can do, I'll do anything to ensure her safety." Tony turned back to the main thug.

"Hmmmm. Kill him." He pointed his knife to Masutā. "That blow to the head hurt."

Tony looked with widened eyes to his brother, then to the free girls, and then to Tsukasa. He exhaled, closed his eyes, and clapped his hands together, just as one would to pray.

"Tony, no. You're in no condition." Masutā warned, taking an authoritative tone. It had no effect. Tony started to growl with effort. "Damn..." Several veins appeared around Tony's head, though most obscured by his hair. "Tony, I have money, let me give it to them!"

"You know as well as I do they won't give her back even then." Tony said quietly. His voice seemed different. Deeper. Richer. Darker. He opened his eyes. "This... is my last resort."

*Sigh* "I see I can't change your mind. Fine, kill yourself then."

"Hachiman!" Tony yelled out. He seemed to relax as he put his arms down. However, his entire composure changed. He didn't seem the same person, but a completely serious man. He seemed to have an entirely different aura. It instilled a sense of hopelessness and despair. Kagami was suddenly terrified by this man. Tony looked up to the thug holding Tsukasa.

"Vermin."

_His voice changed too... It wasn't even directed at me and it gave me chills, this tone is... venomous..._ Kagami thought to herself. Tony took another step towards the thug. The thug, in turn, put the knife closer, breaking the skin of Tsukasa's neck. She cried in pain. And then her restraint seemed lifted. She looked around to see Tony behind her, his hand having knocked the man out.

"Ka-Kan-chan!" Tsukasa shouted in surprise. _How did he- When did he-...Whoa._ She thought incoherently, almost fainting.

"Stay here." Tony said in a voice almost the same tone as was aimed at the thug, but softer. He picked up the unconscious thug's weapon. He walked around Tsukasa slowly at the first thug.

"Wa-wa-wait! I'm sorry, please forgive me!" The thug pleaded, incredibly desperate at seeing this man's freakish abilities.

"You don't deserve to live." Tony said, his tone dripping with even more venom. "Murderer."

"No-no-no-no-no-no-no! He wanted to avenge me! I was just going along with it!" The thug continued, trying to back up.

"Liar."

"Ple-please!"

"A shepherd shall I be.  
For thee my lords, for thee." Tony started, continuing his slow walk to the thug. The thug started to run the opposite direction. As he neared an alley, Tony walked out of it.  
"Thy powers hath descended forth from thy hands,  
That my feet may swiftly carry out thy commands." The thug was hysteric at this point, attempting to come up with any excuse that might spare him. It was to no avail. Tony lifted his knife.

_This can't be happening!_ Kagami shouted in her head._ Is he really going to..._

"And I shall flow a river forth to thee,  
And teeming with souls shall it ever be.  
In nomine-"

"KAN-CHAN!" Tsukasa ran over and placed herself between Tony and the thug. Tony shifted his eyes to look Tsukasa in her's.

"Move." He said coldly. Tsukasa got shivers, but stood her ground.

"Kan-chan, what will this accomplish?" She pleaded. The thug was incredibly surprised.

_She's... standing up for me? But I was the one who just had her held hostage..._

"It won't heal my neck or anything else!" Tsukasa shouted at the man who stood in front of her. Tony lowered his knife.

"It'll make me feel a damn sight better." He said. Tony walked closer to her.

"Tony..." Tsukasa muttered in fear. Tony disappeared and reappeared directly behind her. He put his face inches from the thug's.

"Alright, here's how this is going to work. I'm going to count to three. By the end of three, I'm going to kill you. Before I get to three, you fall to your knees and thank her for defending you. Should you do so, I will consider her pleas." Tony said seriously. "1." The thug instantly fell to his knees and thanked Tsukasa, going so far as to kiss the ground in front of her. "2." The thug redoubled his efforts, getting on his elbows and knees. Tony knelt and grabbed the thug's head. He slowly lifted him up, pure terror showing in the thug's eyes. "Run. Don't ever do anything like this again. Or I will find you. And I will kill you." Tony said. With that, he released the man and stood up. The man took no time in sprinting off, shouting in fear the entire way.

"Kan-chan..." Tsukasa whispered. Masutā got ready, as he knew what was to come. "Wha- Kan-chan!" She shouted as Tony collapsed to his knees, trembling.

"Is that it?" Were Tony's last words, spoken in his normal voice, before he lost consciousness. He was barely caught by his brother.

"You damn fool!" Masutā yelled angrily. "You shouldn't have even been outside the house, let alone using something like that!" He continued though his brother was completely unconscious.

"Ok Masutā. Spill it. What the hell was that? I don't care how much someone trains, that speed and power is inhuman. He freaking **disappeared**." Kagami said, approaching them.

*Sigh* "He calls it Hachiman. God of Fighting mode. If you ask him about it, he'll tell you its like a 6th sense he's always been able to control. However, medical science has told exactly what it is." Masutā started to explain, picking his brother up and starting to head back to the house.

"What's wrong with Kan-chan?" Tsukasa panicked.

"Well, when he was born, a few... wires... got switched. Some things his body should do itself are things he has to tell his body to do consciously." Masutā explained.

"Like what?" Kagami asked.

"That's actually what I was going to talk about. As bad as that 'condition' sounds, there's a flip side to it. He has an incredible, and I mean **incredible** control over his bodily functions and- stop snickering blunette, that's not what I mean-" He scolded as Konata began giggling at "bodily functions", "I mean his adrenals. He always had the ability to activate and control the amount of adrenaline he produces, where it goes, what it affects, ect. So because of this 'infirmity', he can control that as well." He continued.

"So Hachiman is when he uses this... 'ability'?" Kagami asked.

"Actually, he uses it regularly. That's how I suspect he beat your friend here on her bike so easily. With trace amounts like that, the side effects are much less severe." Masutā continued. "Hachiman is his trump card. It's where he floods his entire body with adrenaline, increasing all his abilities and attributes exponentially. That, coupled with his training, makes him one of the most dangerous people alive."

"So what happened? Did something go wrong?" Konata asked, this boy seeming more intriguing, and more scary, every day.

"No, but since he was training so hard earlier, his body was already in extreme pain and weakened. Adrenaline can have terrible effects on the body as well as strengthen it. Care to explain Miyuki, I know you haven't talked this entire time." Masutā offered.

"Well, Epinephrine, or adrenaline, is a hormone released in high-pressure situations that can strengthen someone. It's the reason people say a mother can lift a car above her head to save her child's life. However, it can also cause palpitations, tachycardia, arrhythmia, anxiety, headache, tremor, hypertension, and, in worst case scenarios, acute pulmonary edema. Most of these can lead to cardiac arrest, stroke, or a number of other fatal or otherwise crippling conditions." Miyuki explained.

"That's basically what it is, yes. Now think, someone like you, an average girl, gains the strength to lift a car above your head. Tony can probably already do that, imagine what kind of power that gives him. This was when he was already low on energy and in searing pain. Imagine when he's fully rested and full of energy." Masutā commented in wonder, eliciting a response from the four girls. Tsukasa touched the cut on her neck, still hurting quite a bit.

_Kan-chan risked his life and it's because I was stupid enough to get caught..._ Tsukasa sniffled a little.

Masutā, being the only one to hear her sorrowful sniff, slowed a second as Tsukasa had fallen behind. He quietly whispered, his tone comforting, "He'll be fine. He just needs to rest for a day or two."

"Th-thanks..." She wiped her eyes on her sleeve, having watered up.

"We should get him to bed." Masutā said as they arrived. He opened the door and walked to Tony's room, the girls following. He laid his brother on his bed and stepped back. "He should be fine, he'll just be bed ridden. A couple days at most, knowing him. Actually, knowing him, he should be awake kinda soon, give or take a couple hours." Masutā diagnosed. Tsukasa pulled up a chair and sat down.

"Tsukasa?" Kagami inquired as to her sister's actions, as she didn't intend on staying so long that her legs would get tired. _That kinda sounded bad..._ She thought to herself.

"I... think I'm gonna stay here. I want to thank him as soon as he wakes up, you know?" Tsukasa said dazedly, her eyes unmoving from the sleeping boy.

"I guess I can see that, he saved your life..." Kagami said understandingly.

"Yeah..." Tsukasa trailed off.

"You gonna be okay here Tsukasa?" Konata asked.

"Yeah Kona-chan, thanks." Tsukasa muttered.

_I feel almost as if we're intruding on something..._ Kagami thought to herself. As if on cue, a sharp jab caught her, Konata, and Miyuki in the back. They all looked around to see Masutā beckoning them outside. They followed.

"What is it Masutā-san?" Miyuki asked.

"Let's leave Otōto's care to Tsukasa. Come on, I'll treat you each to something from a store." Masutā bribed.

"And Tsukasa doesn't get anything? If anything, she deserves it the most!" Kagami protested.

"Which is why you'll pick out two things you think she'll like." Masutā pressed on.

"... Fine, I guess so, but-"

"Kagamin, Tsukasa seemed dead-set on staying anyway. Why not get her a couple of nice things while she does so?" Konata asked, attempting to get her friend to go without complaint.

"Sure, I guess that makes sense..." Kagami sighed.

"Let's go!" Masutā shouted as they walked out of the house. "Where first?"

"To the electronic shop!" Konata shouted, taking off.

"Konata, wait up!" Kagami shouted after her friend as she chased after her, frustrated.

"These two always like this?" Masutā asked Miyuki as they started to run to catch up with the Otaku and Tsundere.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, they are." Miyuki eyesmiled as they ran. Such a feat impressed Masutā.

"Hey Miyuki-san, what's your opinion on homosexuality?" Masutā asked, attempting to find a way to explain why the question had so randomly came up.

"I think Konata-san and Kagami-san would be very happy together." Miyuki smiled.

"Wah-... Well... You read that rather easily." Masutā stumbled over his words as the two started to catch up. Konata and Kagami had gotten a big lead and Miyuki could only run so fast without getting exhausted.

"I've thought the same thing for a little while now." Miyuki winked.

"Mehehehe. Another smart one." Masutā commented, smiling. They continued running for what seemed the longest time until they caught up, as Konata and Kagami had stopped at an electronics shop, Kagami had her hands on her knees and breathing hard. Once they caught up, Miyuki started mimicking her friend.

"Destination reached!" Konata chimed as she entered.

_How long were we running?_ Kagami wondered. She, Miyuki, and Masuta all entered behind Konata. Kagami looked at the clock to see it had been a LONG time. _! Holy crap! No wonder I'm so tired, we were running for so long! I didn't even know I could do that..._

Konata seemed to know exactly where she was going as she picked up a video camera. "Does this count in your deal?" Konata asked Masutā.

"Yeah, sure..." Masutā laughed humorlessly as he sweatdropped at the 35,000 yen cost. _She's trying to bankrupt me..._

"Awesome!" Konata cheered and rushed to the register, Masutā running to pay for it as well.

"Konata, don't take advantage of his generosity!" Kagami shouted.

"Kagamin, you know you just want to make sure there's some money left for your gift." Konata catgrinned as she turned around and looked at Kagami.

"Wha! That's not it at all!" Kagami shouted, blushing slightly. "Return that and get a smaller gift!"

"Hmmm... This could always be Otōto's present for her birthday, seeing as how he can't afford one himself." Masutā smiled. "It's yours."

"Thanks!" Konata hugged her new toy, rubbing it against her cheek. "We can go now." She said, keeping the camera to her cheek as they exited the store.

"Let's go get Tsukasa's presents now." Kagami suggested.

"Alrighty, what do you think she'd like?" Masutā asked.

"Well, if you're serious about getting her two things, then I think one should be practical and another should be something she'll enjoy. Like a stuffed animal and a high quality cooking pot or something. I'll put in some money too." Kagami offered, pulling out money from her pocket.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I said I would treat you girls to something, and I meant it." Masutā denied.

"It's no trouble, I'm thankful for you putting in any money at all. Frankly, I'm surprised you put so much out for Konata..." Kagami glanced back her Otaku. _She looks so cute hugging that thing... Gah! What am I thinking?_ She thought to herself, blushing by the end. Masutā snickered.

"I insist on paying for it myself. So where can we go to get a stuffed animal?" He asked.

"Oh yeah, I forgot you're new here. There's a toy shop around here somewhere..." Kagami looked around.

"This way!" Konata shouted, running again.

"Konata! Where are you going this time?" Kagami shouted, exasperated at her friend's tendency to run off.

"Miyuki-san!" Masutā shouted back to Miyuki.

"Right!" She shouted back as they both started running so as not to be left behind again. They caught up to see Konata posing triumphantly outside a store.

"Oh! Good job Konata! I didn't even know we had one of these..." Kagami commented, staring at the Build-A-Bear Workshop they now stood outside. She smiled. _This will do. This will do nicely._ They entered.

**Half an hour later**

"Thanks!" Kagami shouted as she waved to the staff of the workshop, the others following. She looked inside the bag she now had to see a cute, yellow teddy bear that was wearing a red shirt and holding a pot of honey. _I can't believe they didn't have these premade!_ Kagami thought in disbelief. "Alright, now appliances!" Kagami cheered, raising her free hand in the air. She quickly put her arm sideways just in time to catch Konata. "Why are you so full of energy today?"

"I gots a new camera!" Konata shouted joyously, but suddenly looked very somber. "I forgot something."

"What is it Konata-san?" Miyuki asked, worried. Suddenly Konata spun in a full circle and held her camera to the sky in both hands, the camera somehow floating inches above her hands and spinning.

"Dan-nah-nah-naaaaaah~!" Konata shouted triumphantly.

"Looks like Konata found a camera." Masutā smirked.

*Sigh* "Let's just go..." Kagami facepalmed. It suddenly started to rain.

"Crap! My camera!" Konata quickly brought her camera down and stuffed it into her shirt. She felt another shirt over her and saw Masutā sprinting towards home with an undershirt on. Kagami stuffed the bear under her shirt as the girls started to follow. They arrived at Tony's house within forty five minutes to pick up Tsukasa in hopes of returning home, but the rain turned to downpour. Konata and Kagami took their gifts from their shirts while Masutā took his shirt back. He put it on even though it was completely soaked.

"Tsukasa, we'r-mph!" Kagami was silenced by a soft hand over her mouth. She looked behind her to see Konata, a finger to her lip. She sneakily walked down the hall, Kagami following with only slightly less stealth. They heard laughing coming from the room they had been in only several hours ago.

_He's already up? Whoa, that's unexpected..._ Masutā's eyes widened. As Konata and Kagami approached the door, silence fell. Then they heard from the room.

"Yeah, she does look funny with all the pudgy weight! Poor Kagami!" Tony laughed. There was silence for an instant before Tsukasa laughed,

"Ye-yeah, poor Onee-chan!" Tsukasa laughed nervously. Kagami had heard enough. Before Konata could stop her, she burst into the room.

"It's not very nice to talk about your friends like that!" She yelled angrily.

"Nor is it nice to eavesdrop on your friends." Tony smirked weakly, still laying back in bed. Kagami then realized what had happened.

_*Sigh*_

* * *

**POV: Tony**

Tony's eyes opened slowly. His vision was still blurry. He could make out a lone figure sitting next to him. _Kagami? No, the hair is wrong... Tsukasa!_ He thought, identifying the person as his vision cleared. "Tsu-Tsukasa?" He asked, his voice barely a whisper.

"Five more minutes..." Tsukasa mumbled, having fallen asleep and laid her head on a dresser next to Tony's bed.

_Hehe, she's kinda cute..._ "Tsukasa..." Tony mustered up his strength and spoke slightly louder. Tsukasa leaned up, rubbing her eyes as she yawned. Then it dawned on her where she was.

"Kan-chan! You're awake!" Tsukasa cheered.

"Yeah, what's up? I hope you guys didn't stay on account of me..." Tony said weakly.

"They all left a little while ago, but I had to stay. I wanted to stay, you saved my life." Tsukasa smiled.

"It was nothing. But you're hurt! Your neck, let me have a look." Tony said, Tsukasa's neck starting to hurt a lot again now that she was reminded of it. "Does it hurt?"

"Yeah, but don't worry! You got a lot worse!" Tsukasa shouted.

"Want me to cast a spell to take away the pain? I can do that you know." Tony smiled.

"Come on, no one really has magic." Tsukasa giggled.

"Oh really? Follow my directions and you'll be out of pain." Tony smirked.

"O-okay Kan-chan, I trust you..." Tsukasa said hesitantly. Tony reached up a shaking hand and touched the cut on her neck. Tsukasa blushed and jumped back a little.

"Mehehehe, trust me Tsukasa..." Tony laughed quietly. Tsukasa leaned back in and allowed the contact as Tony placed his hand over the cut again. Tony closed his eyes in concentration.

**"Sana **vulnera,  
Sfragída Sárka,  
Come life-giving powers of rain.  
Yīzhì tā,  
haavan sitoa,  
et max medela,  
come ease this girl's pain~!  
Now **sing."** Tony nodded slightly.

**"Aah~**, aaaaah~, Aah~ **AaaaaAaaah~"** Tsukasa sang. As she sang, she noticed the louder she sang, the more her pain was alleviated. **"Aaah~"**

The meanwhile, Tony had laid back completely and closed his eyes, enjoying the pleasant sound emitting from his friend. As she finished, he opened his eyes. "So? How do you feel?" He asked.

"Much better, I can't feel the pain anymore..." Tsukasa said in wonder. Suddenly, her ears perked up.

"What's up?" Tony asked, having noticed her become distracted.

"Hang on..." Tsukasa muttered as she exited the room. "Whoa!"

"What's going on Tsukasa?" Tony shouted, exhorting a good amount of effort.

"It's... It's raining!" Tsukasa shouted back. Tony was in a stupor for a minute.

_Wow, it's like the gods themselves are trying to help me sell this... Thanks!_ He thought appreciatively, in case the gods were, indeed, listening. As Tsukasa was walking in, his stomach rumbled. _Crap._

"Kan-chan, want me to make you something?" Tsukasa asked, smiling.

"No, don't trouble yourself..." Tony said weakly.

"Nonsense! It's no trouble at all!" Tsukasa eyesmiled. She headed towards the kitchen.

"Thanks Tsukasa." Tony smiled, though Tsukasa was out of earshot by now.

* * *

**POV: Tsukasa**

"Thanks..." Tsukasa heard called behind her. She smiled to herself.

_Okay, I need something fast for Kan-chan._ Tsukasa thought, arriving in the kitchen. She looked around to see what she could find. _Hmmm... Rice, tomatoes, bread, green beans, macaroni and cheese, sugar..._ She wandered to the refrigerator. _Chop meat, milk, juice, not much for dinner..._ She thought of everything she might be able to make. She got an idea. _Got it! I can make curry since he missed out on it last time!_ She grabbed the tomatoes, rice, green beans, and chop meat. She set to work at top speed. She crushed half of the tomatoes into a bowl, making sauce. She started slicing the other half and boiling water for the rice. Once she started the water, she grabbed a pan and started browning the meat. By now, she had finished chopping the tomatoes into small pieces as dumped them into the sauce. The rice was finished cooking. She drained the rice and put it on a plate. She mixed the sauce with the now-browned meat. Seasoning the meaty sauce, she poured the meat mixture over the rice and grabbed a fork. Turning back to the counter, she saw the green beans, laying there without use. _Whoops..._ She sweatdropped. She put the beans away and searched for a sick tray like she had brought Konata. When she failed to find one, she shrugged and picked up the plate with the fork on it. She walked back to her friend's room and opened the door. _I hope he likes it!_

* * *

**POV: Tony**

Tony's stomach growled in protest of the lack of food or water. _It's cool that Tsukasa would make me something, but unfortunate that anything worth eating will probably take a while. I hope she comes back while it's cooking..._ He thought. It had been ten minutes since Tsukasa had left and there had only been one thought in his mind. _I must be better prepared for things like that. I can't be using that for every would-be crook that walks along._ He had to admit, he felt a little happy that she had decided to stay, but guilty for the same reason. He didn't want to hold her or anyone else back from having a good time. Tsukasa walked in.

"It's ready Kan-chan! I figured since you missed out on curry earlier, you can have some now!" Tsukasa smiled as she handed him the plate. Tony sat up a little as he accepted the plate.

"Thanks Tsukasa, this looks great!" Tony thanked appreciatively. _If I can figure it correctly, it probably took Konata about half an hour to make her curry. It took Tsukasa ten minutes, I wonder how good this will really be?_

"You're welcome Kan-chan, I hope you like it!" Tsukasa observed as her friend took a spoonful and ate it. His eyes widened.

_... Whoa. Are these ingredients from my house? Has to be... but this... it's practically ambrosia!_ Tony thought, the food tasting fantastic. _She's incredible!_

"How is it?" Tsukasa asked nervously, as Tony had stopped after the first spoonful, eyes widened.

"Tsukasa..." Tony started.

"Yeah?"

"This is probably the best curry I've ever had. Ever. Thanks a LOT." Tony said before he started eating again.

"I-I'm glad you like it!" Tsukasa said in delight.

"Seriously, I'm not even exaggerating. Between what my brother makes, the restaurants I've been to, and the noxious concoctions I whip up, this is crazily superior." Tony said in between spoonfuls. Tsukasa didn't know how good a cook his brother was, but the restaurant comment made her blush. _Crazily superior? I hope I get my wits back soon, that was just plain embarrassing..._

"Re-really? You really think so Kan-chan?" Tsukasa practically squealed. To say she was happy would be a vast understatement. This time, Tony only acknowledged her through an appreciative look, his mouth full of curry. Tsukasa sat in her joy at his profuse approval while he finished, having taken longer to eat then make.

"Tsukasa, you are, without a doubt, the best cook I've ever had. Thanks." Tony smiled.

"It was my pleasure Kan-chan, I'm just glad you liked it so much!" Tsukasa smiled back.

"I'm pretty sure I took much of that pleasure." Tony smirked. "I think you'll have to come over here everyday and cook for me now. Nonnegotiable." Tony laughed.

"Why don't I just move in?" Tsukasa laughed. Before anything else could be said, Tony stopped, his ears perked. "Kan-chan?"

"Shh..." Tony whispered, a finger on his lip, laying back in bed. He heard a familiar voice next, though it was quickly silenced. "Tsukasa, play along." Tony whispered.

"Wha-" Tsukasa tried to ask before Tony laughed.

"Yeah, she does look funny with all the pudgy weight! Poor Kagami!" Tony laughed. Tsukasa gave a confused look. "Go on!" Tony beckoned in a whisper.

"Ye-yeah, poor Onee-chan!" Tsukasa laughed nervously. She wasn't quite sure why they were saying this, but she would follow her friend's lead for now. Who else would come in now but Kagami herself.

"It's not very nice to talk about your friends like that!" She yelled angrily.

"Nor is it nice to eavesdrop on your friends." Tony smirked weakly, still laying back in bed. Kagami stood blinking for a minute. Tony almost snickered as he saw his friend assuredly mentally facepalming. _Well, I'm glad I at least have sense enough to be able to tell when they're coming..._

"I tried to warn ya Kagamin, it was a trap." Konata grinned.

"... Shut up..." Kagami mumbled, embarrassed as she looked away from everyone.

"What's up Onee-chan? Did you all get caught in the rain?" Tsukasa asked upon seeing their drenched clothes as the others walked in.

"Yeah, we raced here so we could hopefully pick you up and get home, but it's super rainy out there." Kagami said, getting over her previous embarrassment.

"Didn't you all use the train to get here?" Tsukasa asked, confused as to how they got so wet.

"..." Kagami suddenly computed everything that had happened. _Konata was so excited, she just started running to the store. She didn't even think to use the train, did she? We didn't know where she was going, so we couldn't use a train. I guess it's also my fault for forgetting it on the way home, but-_

"I'm sorry to interrupt whatever thoughts you may be having, but the bathroom is only a short distance from where you're standing. If you would like, I have towels you're free to use." Tony said, motioning to the left.

"Ah, Sorry, we're dripping, aren't we? Let's go!" Kagami started off.

"Kagami!" Tony shouted, catching the Tsundere's attention.

"What's up?" She looked back in, Konata right behind her peeking inside.

"I think I love your sister." Tony smirked as Tsukasa blushed hard.

"Wh-wha-wh-" Kagami started stuttering at such a powerful and random confession. Konata looked to see the plate still on Tony's bed. She tapped Kagami to bring her out of the spell. Kagami looked to where Konata was now pointing to see the empty plate. "... Oooooh~." Kagami realized the joke as she saw the eaten meal Tsukasa obviously made. Tsukasa looked back to her sister in desperation in an attempt to find her sister's understanding. She traced the girl's line of sight back to the plate and calmed down slightly. "Not a cool thing to joke about Tony..." Kagami commented before making her way to the bathroom.

"I... I think I'm gonna go see if they need any help..." Tsukasa muttered as she got up and walked to the door. She looked back to Tony for a second as she said before leaving, "I'm glad you're alright Kan-chan." Tony sat in silence with only the company of himself as he realized that had he not made that joke, Tsukasa probably wouldn't have left.

_Stupid..._

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya luckies! I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami!"

"And I'm the bamboozled assistant, Minoru Shiraishi!"

"Why are you confused Shiraishi-san?" Akira asked happily.

"Well, I didn't understand why you were the registrant, that's all. I thought you were an actress and bartender in this story?" Minoru asked.

"That's easy! You see, my character, a lot like me in real life, has to do a lot of different jobs just to make it. So you'll see me popping up everywhere!" Akira shouted, even happier sounding then before.

"Ah! Just a couple more questions?" Minoru asked.

"Sure!" Akira chimed.

"I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with some of the terms that Tony and his brother are using. Could you... maybe tell us what they mean?" Minoru asked sheepishly.

"Geez, aren't you supposed to be Japanese? I would think you should know this stuff... Fine, which ones?" Akira sighed as Minoru shivered. He had become accustom to her happy voice by now. He was surprised this was enough to annoy Akira out of her happy mode.

"Well, like Ani, Otōto, and Ryū Tora No Kami. I can't say I'm familiar with those names..." Minoru scratched the back of his head embarrassingly.

"Whoa, those are basic terms man! Did your parents even teach you Japanese? *Sigh* Ani means Older Brother. Otōto means Little Brother. Ryū Tora No Kami means The God of Fighting. Any more?" Akira sighed.

"I'll let you know! Now I understand, thanks Akira-sama!" Minoru shouted.

"Seriously, I understand the readers not understanding, but I would think you would at least know what they meant."

"I'm sorry Akira-sama..."

*Music Tone*

"That's all the time we have for today. I hope to see you all in 14 and I promise to give it 110% in my acting! Bye nii~!"

"..."

"That's cool, that explains all the rolls you'll have later!" Minoru said after the board had been raised.

"Yeah, I'm having fun... But you need Rosetta Stone..."

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

Hey everyone, what's up? Just finish reading 13? I just finished writing it. I'm getting a little backed up here, I actually finished this before I released 12... I'm glad that Masutā isn't overstepping any bounds :) By the way Kenpokid, I think the face you were looking for is ( ¯ω¯·). So there was another fight here, I was hoping I could tone it down from the last time I tried it. Last time, it was arbitrary, an alternate entrance for Masuta later. This time, I tried to make it different. No threat as much as last time. Besides, I wanted to try my hand at fighting since I'm going to be writing a tournament soon enough XD And I'm glad a lot of people like this story! I hope you all keep reading and enjoying and don't forget to review! That's it for now!


	14. Chapter 14: The Past

Chapter 14: The Past

Hey, thanks for the kind words in the reviews guys, you have no idea the sheer rapture I feel whenever I get a review, good or bad. That's why I was expecting a couple thousand on the 21st of May... Holyriot, I assure you I have a plan for Akira, don't you worry ;) Let me know what you all think of chapter 14!

* * *

**POV: Miyuki  
**

"Kagami!" Miyuki heard called from behind her. She briefly considered stopping to see what was going on, but ultimately decided against it so she could get a towel and dry off.

"So Miyuki-san, you support them then?" Masutā asked.

"Yes, while I don't usually support it, I don't condone it either. In this situation, they seem meant for each other." Miyuki commented, picking up on what he was talking about instantly.

"I know what you mean. Poor Otōto..." Masutā added the last part under his breath.

"I think he must have asked Kagami-san out. That's the only way I can think of how to explain his explanation about Kasukabe-san's 'wedding'." Miyuki said, starting to think. "And he looked to Kagami-san when he said 'They weren't meant for each other.' " Masutā raised an eyebrow.

"Please keep that to yourself, I don't think he wants anyone to know for some reason. Maybe he thinks it will upset Konata. I'm highly surprised that he could approach a girl at all, let alone with romantic feelings... Either way, that's very observant of you Miyuki. You would be a good psychiatrist... or a behavior expert. With your ability to pick out such small details, you would do well in either profession." Masutā said as they took two towels and started to dry themselves.

"Tony..." They heard Kagami say as she walked up the hall, Konata in tow.

"What's up Kagami?" Masutā waved, the other hand keeping the towel on his head. "You look irritated."

"Tony just started joking about things that he shouldn't have." Kagami sighed.

"What did he do?" Masutā asked.

"He said he loved Tsukasa." Kagami scratched her head in irritation. Masutā's eyes widened in surprise. "The thing is... I think Tsukasa might actually like him."

"You think so? Interesting thing for him of all people to joke about..." Masutā mumbled as Tsukasa walked up, looking more then a bit frazzled. "You okay Tsukasa? You seem a bit flushed."

"Ye-yeah, I'm fine!" Tsukasa shouted.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, let's change subjects..." Tsukasa suggested.

"Hmmm..." Kagami started to think for something that could lighten the mood. "By the way Tsukasa, we got you a present!" Kagami smiled as she realized the bear was still in the bag. She pulled out the tubby little cubby all stuffed with fluffies. Tsukasa visibly lit up as she took the willy nilly silly old bear and hugged the fluffies out of it.

"Can I really have this?" Tsukasa asked, though it was fairly obvious that she had no intention of giving it back.

"Sure! That's why we got it!" Kagami smiled at her sister's joy and at the fact that she could cheer her sister up. Tsukasa hugged it tightly, closing her eyes in joy of having a new friend. Her ribbon drooped as she opened her eyes.

"But how will we get him home if it's raining..." Tsukasa muttered. She then remembered Tony's spell and how he had made it rain. "Onee-chan, guess what!"

"What's up?" Kagami asked, curious as to what could rile Tsukasa up so quickly.

"Kan-chan is magic! He cast a spell, made it rain, and made my neck stop hurting! Can you believe it?" Tsukasa shouted, excited at her discovery of a real sorcerer. _Maybe he can teach me!_ Tsukasa thought, the mere notion getting her even more excited.

"Come on Tsukasa, no one really has magic. That was just coincidence." Kagami explained.

"But... My neck stopped hurting too!" Tsukasa shouted, putting a hand to her neck where the cut was.

"I... can't explain that..." Kagami said, a little embarrassed at not having an explanation.

_I can..._ Masutā thought, though not saying it out loud. _Placebo effect I'm guessing..._

They all suddenly heard a laugh emanating from down the hall. "I wonder what's so funny..." Kagami said, though thinking, _He better not be laughing at Tsukasa! If that's the case, I swear I'll..._

"Is my waifu thinking violent thoughts?" Konata catgrinned as she poked Kagami in the cheek.

"How can you... STOP CALLING ME THAT! I'M A LIVING, BREATHING PERSON!" Kagami shouted as the fact of what she had been called sunk in. Again.

"Uh-huh." Konata said, her tone flat and waving her hand dismissively. "Anyway, I wonder what the laughing was about."

"Yeah, you know what they say about people who sit by themselves and laugh..." Kagami teased.

"Huh? What do they say Onee-chan?" Tsukasa asked, a question mark appearing above her head.

"They're bananas. Crackers. Nuts." Masutā snickered.

_Is Kan-chan insane?_ Tsukasa wondered, not realizing it was just a joke. She voiced her concern, much to the amusement of everyone. Miyuki kept her composure enough to ask,

"Would you like to go find out Tsukasa-san?" Miyuki asked, hoping to alleviate any tension Tony's terrible joke might have caused.

"I... don't think so. Maybe Onee-chan could?" Tsukasa asked hopefully. Kagami, however, had realized what Miyuki was attempting. Now she had to decide.

_Do I really want Tsukasa dating him? Wait... Didn't **I**__ date him? But she's my sister... My SISTER! I want better for her. And he IS kinda my ex-boyfriend. Kinda. But... He already risked his life to defend her. I wonder if he likes her? Would he have done something like that for the rest of us? I wonder...-_

"Kagami, you're spacin' out again. You okay?" Konata asked, waving her hand in front of Kagami's face.

"Sorry, just thinking. Maybe Miyuki can go see?" Kagami suggested, undecided on what she wanted for her sister.

"Well, may-"

"I'll go!" Konata shouted, a little fed up with all the hot potato. She walked down the hall to Tony's room.

"So... What's going on between you two Tsukasa?" Kagami asked, a little reluctant.

"Between who?" Tsukasa asked.

"You and Tony. Earlier you seemed all too eager to bring him his food. And you've been acting different around him." Kagami observed.

"Wh-what? I don't know what you're talking about!" Tsukasa shouted, embarrassed as she realized that her sister was right.

"You offered him your food even though you were obviously hungry yourself. Do you like him?" Kagami asked, pressing the issue further.

"Me... like Kan-chan... That's crazy, we're friends!" Tsukasa shouted, denying her sister's accusations.

*Sigh* "If you say so Tsukasa... But you know, I bet he feels bad about making that joke. Wanna go see him?" Kagami asked.

"... Sure." Tsukasa mumbled behind her stuffed friend. They walked down the hall.

* * *

**POV: Tony**

_Stupid... I guess I haven't gotten my wits back. That was a horrible joke. What was with that reaction though? That was unexpected... Does she... maybe... hmmmm... either way. I need to decide what I think._ Tony laid there, then he heard Kagami yelling about a name of some sort. _Kagami for example._ He began pondering his emotions. He was surprised. He found that the same emotions he had held for Kagami, he now held for Konata as well. And Miyuki. As he came to a realization, he began to laugh at his stupidity. _No wonder Kagami wasn't truly interested. She likes Konata, I know, but still. That feeling I felt... that was friendship. She was very friendly to me. Now Konata and the others are as well. They're my best friends. They're my only friends. *Sigh* It's a little sad that I'm so friend-deprived that I mistook friendship__ for love. I guess after Sarnia, my head would be pretty screwed up. I don't know. I just... don't know._ He thought, despairing about his inability to diagnose himself as he usually could. He heard footsteps.

"-go!" Konata shouted as she walked closer. Tony laughed humorlessly at the reminder. Konata walked in. "Hey Tony. What's up?"

"Not much, just found out I'm an idiot. And I only have four friends. What's up with you?" Tony asked, snickering cynically.

"Well that's... Not what I was expecting, but... err... okay." Konata said, completely caught off guard by the sudden barrage of self-insults.

"How's Tsukasa? I made a really stupid joke that I shouldn't have. I wanted to tell her I was sorry." Tony said with a sudden melancholy. It was easy to tell his sorrow was genuine.

"She's a little shaken up. And by the way. I was there, I heard you."

"Oh yeah... Well..." Tony tried to find some sort of words coherently, but none seemed to come as he laid in the bed. "This must be a hell of a checkup for you, huh? I can barely even form a coherent sentence. I'm assuming that's what you're doing here."

"Yeah, little bit. And we kinda wanted to find out what you were laughing at. I think Kagami might have thought you were laughing at Tsukasa." Konata said with a grin as Tony's expression changed.

"What? No! Of course I wasn't! Why would I laugh at her?" Tony demanded.

"Oh really? Then what were you laughing at?" Konata asked, catgrin prominent.

"My own stupidity!" Tony shouted, eager to vindicate himself. He realized that Konata was playing with him then and became embarrassed. He sighed. "So you've begun picking at me now, have you?"

"Well, you ARE part of the group now." Konata catgrinned. "Cheer up! It's a sign that I like you!" Konata cheered.

*Sigh* Tony facepalmed and turned towards the wall to hide his embarrassment.

"Hey, you just moved your arm! Doesn't that make you happy?" Konata smirked. Tony turned back to her.

"My brains, his steel, and your strength against sixty men, and you think a little head-smack is supposed to make me happy?" Tony asked.

Konata started laughing as he picked up on the reference. "Oh, what I wouldn't give for a holocaust cloak."

"There, I can not help you." Tony smirked.

"So, what's up with Tsukasa?" Konata asked.

"Wait... what? Wouldn't you know better than me considering you saw her last? Last I saw, she was a little shaken up." Tony recalled, confused at the random change of subject.

"That's not what I meant. I just want to know what's going on between you two. You know, before they come in." Konata said, suppressing her catgrin.

"No-nothing! She's my friend!" Tony shouted. He did, however, recall a previous thought. **_The same feelings I had held for Kagami, I now hold for Konata and Miyuki..._** _That they were friends but... that list didn't include Tsukasa. Does that mean I don't think of her as a friend? Or that I think of her as more? That's weird, I don't usually make mistakes... It's probably nothing..._ He reasoned. _Wait, are the others coming in?_

"Then why are you stuttering? Come on~, you can tell me!" Konata catgrinned, knowing she would fail in her suppression at noticing such a small detail.

"Wh-what? I..." Tony fell silent. He knew he was caught. He couldn't explain his recent speech impediment, nor his thoughts on Tsukasa.

"You like her, don't you?" Konata grinned.

"I think I'm gonna go train a bit. Private training." Tony said as he swept the blanket off of him and started to stand up.

"Can you?" Konata asked, concerned though an eyebrow raised in disbelief.

"Of cour-" Tony started before his legs gave out. Next thing he knew, he was face-down on the floor. There came a muffled "Dont. Say. A word."

"Hey Kan-ch-" Tsukasa and the others walked in, Tsukasa gripping an odd yellow bear. Tsukasa stepped forward, her eyes closed as she kicked something. "Ow... What was..." She started to ask as she looked down. She saw Tony.

"Well that hurt..." Tony said, his mouth muffled from being full of floor.

"Kan-chan! I'm sorry!" Tsukasa shouted as she knelt down to help Tony up.

"It's okay Tsukasa, you didn't mean it." Tony excused.

"It's his fault for trying to leave. You need to stay in bed for at least a day." Masutā said, scolding his brother for his reckless actions.

"Thanks Tsukasa..." Tony said appreciatively as she helped him back to bed. "And... I'm sorry for that joke I made. It was stupid and I never should have made it. Can you forgive me?" He asked, looking as though he almost expected a no.

"It's okay Kan-chan. You just surprised me is all." Tsukasa said, covering Tony in his blanket.

"Thanks..." Tony thanked again. Tsukasa smiled.

"You thank as much as I worry." She commented with a sweet smile. Tony started to sweat a bit.

"Mehehe..." He chuckled, wondering what was making him sweat. _Well, she just covered me in a blanket, of course I'm hot! I'm glad she forgave me though, that woulda sucked if she hadn't._ Tony yawned.

"Tired again Kan-chan?" Tsukasa asked, a smile still decorating her mouth.

"Yeah." Tony confirmed.

"That spell take it out of you?" Tsukasa asked, a hint of concern and regret flashing on her face. "I'm sorry you used your energy on me again..."

"No, don't worry about it! I'm still tired from earlier! And taking a floor to the face doesn't exactly help." Tony chuckled. "Besides, I just ate. Which, however much I thank you, I must thank you again. It was truly a culinary delight. Now all the blood in my body is rushing to digest the food. That's why you get tired after you eat a lot." He explained.

"Hey Tony, I've got a question if you don't mind answering." Kagami interrupted. "If you're too tired, that's okay, I can ask another time."

"Nah, I'm not tired. And I have no more secrets. Ask me anything, I'll answer!" Tony smiled tiredly.

"And you won't say "Classified Information"? 'Cause that's not gonna cut it this time." Kagami warned.

"You have my word." Tony swore, placing his hand over his heart over dramatically.

"Tell me, have you ever had a girlfriend before?" Kagami asked, her tone easily telling him she wasn't referring to herself. Tony suddenly looked worried.

"Boy... When I say anything, you don't hold back..." Tony muttered nervously, shooting a look to his brother as if to shout. _You told them?_

_I didn't know how much you had said, I only let them know that something's happened before._ He looked back.

_I'll get you back for this..._ Tony shot back before thinking intensely. "You could say that." He said quickly, averting his vision.

"Well... Do you mind if I ask what happened? What was her name? Stuff like that!" Kagami started barraging him with questions.

"I have answered one question without saying classified information. I'm tired, I think I'll go to sleep." Tony said, turning on his side.

_Whoa! What a change..._ "Tony? Are you okay?" Kagami asked, concerned at the sudden drop.

"Yeah. I'm just tired." Tony muttered, still looking at the same place on the wall. Kagami looked to his brother, who looked unsurprised by this change. Masutā sighed and motioned outside. The girls followed him out.

"What's up with him? Wasn't he just saying he wasn't tired?" Kagami inquired.

"Well, that was probably one of the worst questions you could ever ask him. Right up there with what happened to his parents..." Masutā commented.

"Didn't you say to ask him?" Kagami asked, annoyed at being scolded for something she was told to do.

"That's not what I meant. I meant to ask him in a little while, maybe when the lot of you were closer to him. I haven't seen him entrust you with anything particularly secret, other than what he just said. And that's debatable." Masutā scratched his head. "If I'm wrong, tell me so I know that I'm wrong."

_He did tell me something that he said even his brother didn't know... I wonder if Kan-chan trusts me enough?_ Tsukasa wondered. Masutā, however, noticed her pondering.

"So, am I wrong Tsukasa? What has he told you that he hasn't told the rest of us?" Masutā asked, a smirk coming across his face. Tsukasa blushed at being caught.

"No! Nothing!" Tsukasa shouted.

"Tsukasa, if you can figure this out, that would be awesome!" Konata shouted. Tsukasa seemed to think for a minute.

"I could ask him... But he didn't tell me anything!" Tsukasa shouted at the end, trying desperately to convince them.

"Hehe, Okay Tsukasa, we believe you. Go see what's up with Tony." Kagami smiled.

"Okay then..." Tsukasa said as she turned around and started walking back to Tony's room.

"Hey Tsukasa!" Konata shouted. Tsukasa looked back. "Knock 'um dead." Konata saluted over-dramatically. She catgrinned as Tsukasa sweatdropped. Tsukasa entered Tony's room.

"You know..." Masutā started.

"What's up?" Kagami asked.

"I'm surprised at you three." He said.

"Why's that Masutā-san?" Miyuki asked.

"Well. Kagami here thinks that Tsukasa likes Tony. And if she comes out here knowing what happened, it's a real possibility that Otōto likes her too. Correct?" Masutā asked.

"I guess... Where are you going with this?" Kagami asked, getting suspicious of his thoughts.

"And now~ they're in there alone~, aren't they?" Masutā smirked. Kagami blushed as she realized his meaning.

"We-we-well, I don't think Tsukasa would do anything!" She quickly dismissed. She quickly regained her posture. "Don't worry. Tsukasa isn't the type, she's a hopeless romantic. If Tony wanted to go out with her, he would probably have to wait for something like our birthday or Valentine's day. That would be best..." Kagami commented. That would also give Kagami time to think over what she thought about Tsukasa dating her kinda-ex-boyfriend. _It seems fishy..._

"If you insist. Besides, Otōto wouldn't do anything with Sarnia in his thoughts." Masutā chuckled. He then realized his mistake, eyes like plates.

"Who's that Masutā-san?" Miyuki asked, having been the first girl to hear the slip.

"No-no-no-no! He'll tell you when he's ready. You can find out if Tsukasa does." Masutā said.

"But we already heard her name. We can just say you told us and get the story from either Tsukasa or Tony himself." Kagami threatened.

"No. Find out when he tells you himself. Besides, he'll believe me over you. After all, if you had the story, why would you ask him?" Masutā said sternly.

_Damn..._ Kagami thought. _He's clever..._

* * *

**POV: Tsukasa**

Tsukasa walked into the room. She heard some sound from the other side of the room. She walked over to Tony, but got an almost violent response.

"What?" Tony shouted, turning around to face her. Tsukasa saw his wet face, only getting wetter.

"Kan-chan... were you... crying?" Tsukasa asked, bewildered at her friend. _I never imagined... He's always seemed like a rock... I hope we didn't cause this..._

"What do you want?" Tony asked, disheartened at Tsukasa seeing him like this.

"I just wanted to see if you were okay. Are you?" Tsukasa asked, sitting down in the chair next to Tony.

"Yeah. I just want to be alone. Please? We can hang out later." Tony said as he turned away again, though Tsukasa could hear whimpers.

_What's going on? I really hope he's really okay..._ Tsukasa thought in concern. "No. You're torn up inside. Please, tell me what's going on! I want to know about you, everything!" Tony sighed.

"Tsukasa..."

"Trust me." Tsukasa whispered. Tony sighed again.

"Tsukasa, please don't tell anyone. You're... the only one I trust with something like this..." Tony muttered hesitantly.

"I promise I won't."

*Sigh* "Very well. Listen... to my story..." Tony sighed as he began.

* * *

**POV: Konata**

"Come on Masutā, tell us!" Konata pleaded. It was, however, to no avail.

"No. Would you like it if I told everyone something you didn't want me to?" He replied.

"But I don't have any secrets!" Konata argued.

"Sure you do. You just don't know it yet." Masutā stated rather matter-of-factly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Konata sweatdropped.

"You'll find out in future chapters unless the writer does something evil. Like, Disney evil. Like, so evil they would need a goatee..." Masutā scratched the back of his head.

"You're not making sense! Who is this "writer" you keep talking about?" Kagami asked in irritation.

"Acsuperman." Masutā said, again matter-of-factly.

*Sigh* "Whatever..." Kagami sighed.

"Typical Kagamin. Joining conversations like she was there to begin with." Konata catgrinned.

"You have a problem with that?" Kagami asked, her words and tone seeped in irritation at being picked at without provocation. _And wasn't I there anyway?_

"Uh-Oh! Tsuntsun!" Konata laughed as she threw her hands up in an overly dramatic defense.

"Hmmm... Maybe their secrets will come out sooner than expected..." Masutā commented as the two continued. He redirected his attention elsewhere. "I wonder how Tsukasa did..."

"Well, Tsukasa-san has been in Kanpeki-san's room for a long time. I'd imagine she was successful." Miyuki eyesmiled.

"Observant and logically correct. But with him, you'll never know. She could have been using this time to try and convince him to tell her." Masutā mumbled. "Though it has been about twenty minutes." Him and Miyuki looked over to Konata and Kagami.

"Surrender!" Konata yelled while laughing, on the ground tickling Kagami.

"Ne-ne-haha! Nev-" Kagami laughed profusely, laughing herself into a blush. She couldn't even form a coherent word. Masutā sweatdropped.

_How did yells of irritation turn into this?_ He wondered. _And how did I not notice this?_ "They're always like this?" He turned to Miyuki. She smiled and nodded.

"ALRIGHT! I GIVE!" Kagami yelled out as Konata grinned in victory. Konata stood up as Kagami stayed laying for a minute, panting. Then it struck her that Masutā and Miyuki were both watching them and her blush from laughter turned to a blush of embarrassment. "... I can explain that..." She muttered as she picked herself up.

"I doubt it." Masutā smiled. "Besides, you don't need to. I understand. Some friends play like that."

"Yeah... That's right..." Kagami reasoned with herself. There was still a voice in her head that yelled, _But not in public!_ but she ignored it. They all heard the closing of a door from the direction of Tony's room. "Cool! She's out, let's see if she got it!" Kagami cheered as she rushed to find out.

* * *

**POV: Tsukasa**

"Kan-chan... that's so sad..." Tsukasa muttered, having cried for the past fifteen minutes. The only way she felt she could even talk was by hugging her stuffed friend with all her might.

"I know. But it's made me stronger... I'm sorry Tsukasa... I'm burdening you with all my problems. Again. I'm sorry." Tony apologized. Tsukasa smiled through her sorrow and shook her head.

"No, I'm glad you opened up to me Kan-chan. I... had no idea. Thank you for sharing your story with me." Tsukasa smiled. "She had good taste." Tsukasa blushed as the words left her mouth. Tony looked in her eyes.

"Thanks Tsukasa." He smiled. "I needed that."

"I understand now... Would you like to be alone?" Tsukasa asked.

"No, not really. I'm glad you're here." Tony smiled drowsily. "Besides, I'll probably fall asleep soon, so you wouldn't have to stay long."

"I'm happy to stay as long as you're awake Kan-chan." Tsukasa smiled.

"Hehe. Of all the guys you decided to be friends with, you got the problem child." Tony snickered.

"Nonsense. I'm happy we're friends! I wouldn't have it any other way. I only wish you hadn't had to deal with such heartbreak..." Tsukasa stated the last sentence with a tone of melancholy.

"Well, I guess it wasn't all bad. Had it not happened, I wouldn't be me. And I might not have met you." Tony smiled. Tsukasa blushed as she suddenly realized the reason she was continually blushing.

_I... I think Onee-chan might have been right. I think I like Kan-chan._ Tsukasa realized.

*Yawn* "Thanks for listening to my problems again Tsukasa. You're really too kind to me. I do wonder why you care so much though?" Tony asked.

"Um... I don't know, it's just how I am I guess!" Tsukasa laughed nervously. _Great. I like someone who's been through all of that... It's a little like a Disney movie without a happily ever after. I hope he finds his. Whatever will make him happiest._ Tsukasa thought. She got the distinct feeling that something was watching her, reading her mind... She looked around, but saw nothing as the feeling vanished. _How weird..._

"Everything alright Tsukasa?" Tony asked, having seen her fidget and look about.

"I'm okay Kan-chan. I just realized I never got a good look at your room is all." Tsukasa said, wondering if she had just lied. After all, she never HAD gotten a good look around, but that wasn't the reason she looked around. "I've never been in a boy's room before. Other than my dad's, of course."

"Well it's the same as a girl's room, the zipper is just on the other side. You're free to move about the house as you see fit. Anywhere you feel like going, you're welcome to. As for me, I think I'm gonna take a nap." Tony yawned loudly.

"I thought we were going to hang out?" Tsukasa smiled to show she was kidding. Tony laughed tiredly and motioned her to move closer. As she complied, she felt something on her forehead."Oof..." She looked up to see Tony had poked her with his index and middle finger, pushing her head back slightly.

"Sorry Tsukasa. Another time?" Tony smiled.

"Sure thing Kan-chan. Good night!" Tsukasa chimed as she walked to the door.

"Good night Tsukasa. If it doesn't stop raining, you and your little buddy there can stay the night. That goes for the entire group as well!" Tony smiled.

"Thanks!" Tsukasa called back as the door closed, smiling.

_She truly is incredible. Shouldering my burdens along with her own. She's just... incredible..._ Tony thought to himself, failing to find strong enough words to describe his admiration for the girl. He dozed off.

* * *

**POV: Tsukasa (outside the room)  
**

Tsukasa walked outside the room, smiling, whether to herself or in spite of herself, she didn't know. All she did know was that the person she liked was probably beyond her. His story was too much for her to compete with. She stopped in the hall for a second. _I think I'll explore a little bit._ Tsukasa thought. First, she walked to Tony's training room. She walked over to the closet he had struggled with earlier. She opened it and saw nothing but clothes, training dummies, his sword, and a number of other training tools. She grabbed onto the clothes and felt they were extremely hard. As she pulled one set closer, she found it was taking most of her strength to move it. _What's up with these clothes?_ Tsukasa wondered. _Maybe I can ask Masutā, he'll probably know._ She thought. She smacked a dummy lightly to make sure it was real wood and not something that was cheap and easy to break. She hurt her hand. _So that was genuine..._ She picked up Tony's sword, which was a great deal lighter than the clothes. She drew the blade from it's sheath and lightly tapped the actual blade with her finger. Tsukasa looked at her finger to see a small cut. _It's sharp..._

"TSUKASA! That's dangerous!" Kagami shouted from the door, looking slightly out of breath.

"Onee-chan! Sorry, I was just curious. It cut through the wood so easily, you know? I just wanted to see..." Tsukasa said, looking at the small cut that was now on her finger. _That from just a tap? _"This is really sharp, I got cut from just a tap..."

"Well that's what Obsidian will do. Otōto chose it because it's sharper and cuts more precisely than steel. And, being glass, it doesn't dull nearly as easily. However, because it's glass, it's very fragile. It's sharp, but breaks easy. That's why he put a diamond core into the blade as well with the gems in the hilt. When he swings it, the diamond takes most of the effect along with the other gems, leaving virtually no damage on the obsidian itself. It's virtually flawless..." Masutā explained.

"Absolutely flawless!" They all heard George Micheal echo.

"What was that?" Kagami asked, a little freaked out by the random lyric.

"That just happens whenever I say flawless." Masutā shrugged.

"Absolutely flawless!" George Micheal echoed again.

"What the hell?" Kagami shouted.

"Now now, it's okay." Konata hugged Kagami from behind to either calm her down or turn her attention away from the random song lyrics that were infiltrating her mind. Kagami gained a deep blush as her bewilderment with the random voice in their heads turned to why she wasn't angry with Konata. While Konata kept Kagami busy, Tsukasa decided to pursue her questions.

"I have a couple other questions..." Tsukasa stated.

"As do I." Masutā stated, still looking at Tsukasa. He walked up and took Tony's blade from the girl and re-sheathed it. "For one, what were you doing in here? I'm sure Otōto wouldn't want you to just go strolling about his house."

"But he said I was welcome where I wanted to go! I saw him struggling with something in his closet and wanted to see what!" Tsukasa shouted.

"Hmmm... You're not lying. Did Otōto tell you about...?" Masutā asked.

"... Yeah. He told me everything..." Tsukasa's ribbon drooped as she recalled the sad story.

"Hmmmm... That's.. a tad surprising, but it works with my suspicion." Masutā said. _Otōto likes her. Whether it's romantic or not remains to be seen, but he trusts her more than the rest of them._ "You can ask what you wish now."

"What's up with Kan-chan's clothes? They were really heavy and felt hard." Tsukasa said. Kagami and Konata's head wiped around as they looked at her, both looking shocked. Tsukasa looked confused at this reaction until she realized exactly what she had said. She suddenly blushed as they wondered exactly how she knew how his clothes felt and how they were heavy. What were they doing off of Tony? "Th-th-that's not what I meant!" Tsukasa shouted, abashed.

"Well? Do you mean the clothes in his closet?" Masutā asked.

"Yeah. That." Tsukasa muttered, still trying to shake off the embarrassment.

"Let me see." Masutā said as he walked over to the closet. He reached in and started to feel some of the clothes. He pulled out a blazer and lifted it up and down. He then replaced it, looking incredibly amused. "I can't believe it..."

"What is it?" Konata asked, Kagami still trying to push her off.

"He's still wearing weighted clothing... That's hilarious. I told him it's gonna end up being the death of him. Luckily, he took it off for today during his training. Otherwise, he would be in much worse condition. This is actually really heavy. If I had to guess, I'd say about 30 Kilos." Masutā estimated.

"Wa...Wait... That's his school uniform. The one he was wearing... when he..." Konata paled. _He outran my cycling WITH 30 kilos on? What the HELL? Next I'm gonna find out he did it on his hands!_ Konata yelled in her head, her grip on Kagami loosening just enough for her to slip out. Kagami took a few steps forward and started to pant slightly.

_That girl seems to just get stronger and stronger... How is that?_ Kagami thought, not realizing that Konata wasn't getting stronger at all. Kagami's will to resist was getting weaker. She didn't want to admit it, but she was slightly enjoying these occasional embraces that seemed to be happening more and more frequently. She had stopped finding them annoying and now they made her... sort of happy... Not the same kind of happy when her mom or sisters hugged her, it was different.

"By the way, Kan-chan said we could also stay the night if it's raining too hard!" Tsukasa chimed, clearly happy.

"Well that's nice of him." Kagami commented, looking at the clock. _7:45? Let's see how it is..._She walked to the front door and opened it. She couldn't see a yard in front of the door. _Well... I guess we don't have much of a choice, we can't even see where we're going in this. I'm surprised our parents haven't called wondering where we were... At least Tsukasa seems excited to stay..._ "What's Tony doing right now Tsukasa?" She asked.

"He's sleeping." Tsukasa smiled. "Do you think we can stay?"

"I don't see that we have a choice, you can't see half way to Konata's house..." Kagami said.

"It's odd that it rained so hard. If I remember correctly, the news this morning called for a bright, sunshiney day. Or was that a song..." Masutā commented. "Nope, definitely said sunshine today." He decided.

_Did Tony really make it rain? There's no way..._ Kagami thought in disbelief. "Well, I guess we better find a place we can sleep, eh?" Kagami smiled.

"Yeah, we need to find stuff to sleep on..." Konata said as she looked around for anything that could be considered a bed. Masutā looked to the ground in the hallway.

"Hmm..." He studied it. "Let's see what's this way..." He said as he walked to a seemingly random room. They all followed to see a room with a bed and several futons.

"Whoa, how did you know where this was?" Kagami asked.

"The wood of the floor wasn't nearly as marked as the wood going to all the other room, which shows he wouldn't come in here much. What use is there to go into a second bedroom when you live alone?" Masutā questioned.

_Holy crap, he really figured that out like that? This guy really must have been a Green Beret... _"Hey Masutā, you were a Green Beret, right?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"About how good were you, do you think?" Kagami asked. Masutā put his finger to his chin and hummed in thought.

"Hmmm... I'll put it this way. My given name fits, even amongst the Special Forces." Masutā smirked.

"And one more question." Kagami said.

"Yes?"

"The Green Berets are an American branch of the military, right? Did you use to live in America then?" Kagami asked.

"Actually, I was originally part of the Jieitai, the Japan Self-Defense Forces, but during one of the combat training exercises, my commander came up to me and asked me to follow him. I went through some tests that I now know were selection tests for the Army. I guess they wanted to see how I stacked up against the American Army. I ended up with a 99 on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, over a 300 on the Army Physical Fitness Test. They asked me if I would like to enlist in the Special Forces, and I agreed. To be perfectly honest, I was stationed in almost every unit of the Special Forces, from the Green Berets to the Navy Seals at one point or another. I won't kid you, the Navy Seals were really hard. Even though I was still top in the unit, that isn't all that difficult when 80% of it drops out. Otōto needed Hachiman to get through what would be training for the Seals and even then he was pushing himself to the limits. The only reason I did it was because he insisted on harder training after..." Masutā sighed.

"Don't they only ever allow US citizens to be part of the Special Forces?" Kagami asked.

"Normally, but they allow for 48 foreign military students per year. Besides, with my scores, they probably would have extended it to 49 anyway..." Masutā snickered. "Any more questions?"

"Nah, I think that's enough for now." Kagami said.

"Alrighty, let's get this room set up!" Konata cheered at finally the end of the quiz.

"Okay, I'll help you. After that, I'll take my leave of the room and sleep in the chair." Masutā said.

"You could take a futon!" Konata suggested.

"There are only three other than the bed. Don't worry about it." Masutā dismissed.

"That's enough! Me and Kagamin can sleep together again! I slept with her just two nights ago~." Konata catgrinned.

"KO-KONATA! We just met this guy and you're already making dirty jokes around him?" Kagami shouted.

"That wasn't dirty, we did sleep together!" Konata grinned even wider as she protested the oppression.

"As much as I don't doubt you two would sleep together-" Masutā snickered.

"Wha-what's that supposed to mean?" Kagami shouted.

"-I won't force you to this time. Don't forget, I spent a LOT of time sleeping in MUCH worse than a chair. You might have to pour cold water on me just to wake me up!" Masutā laughed as he completely ignored Kagami.

"Alright then!" Konata said.

"He really had to twist your arm..." Kagami commented.

"Well, let's get this room ready!" Masutā restated.

"Yeah!" The four girls shouted as they got to work.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted out. "Hiya Luckies! I'm Akira Kogami, your navigator!"

"And I'm Minoru Shiraishi, the assistant! This chapter sure took a long time to come out! In their letter, it says it was partially because the writer found their favorite game recently."

"And what's that Shiraishi-san?" Akira chimed.

"Elder Scrolls: Oblivion!" Minoru stated.

"! I love that game! I wonder who's better, me or the writer?" Akira said teasingly.

"Well, in the letter it says that within an hour of starting the game, they can have all their stats to 100 and... become the Arch mage?" Minoru read, not knowing what my letter was talking about.

"I'm sure, I wonder why they even went into their gaming skills in the letter..." Akira sighed at being outmatched so much.

"Well, that's in here too. Ac said they knew you were going to ask which of you was better." Minoru said as Akira's head kicked up.

"WHAT? That's kinda creepy, how the hell did Ac know what I was going to say? This writer is good..." Akira's eyes narrowed.

*Music Tone*

"Oh I guess that's all the time we have for today! I'll see you guys later! Bye nii~!"

"..."

"By the way, did you ever move out of Japan?" Akira asked.

"As a matter of fact I did. My Japanese isn't the strongest because I lived out of the country for years."

"Ah... That explains that... That's weird they knew what I was going to say... Umm..."

"Antidisestablishmentarianism." Akira said.  
"Antidisestablishmentarianism." Minoru read off the letter in unison with Akira.

"DAMN IT!"

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

Okay, this took more than 2 weeks to get out, I'm sorry. Oblivion is also only part of the reason, I had to decide what I was going to do with Tony's past. I had two choices and neither felt right. Then the part you see in here came to me along with a wide grin. I IMMEDIATELY wrote it down. I hate when people cut away during a big reveal like that, but I find myself feeling oddly powerful doing it myself LOL! Rereading the last few chapters, there hasn't exactly been an overwhelming amount of Konami. Just so you know, the amount intended in the story hasn't and isn't going to decrease, it might just be more spread out. Which means more chapters! That can be good or bad for different people.. But I already have their confession, their love, their marriage, their baby in the baby carriage... wait... am I planning my story or rehearsing an old childish rhyme... I actually don't know if I have any of that now that I think of it, but it's coming! And yes Duwee, I tried to build it subtly until after he had been introduced, but so far I have no such subtly planned for them anymore. I was really hoping you guys would like that, I had several ideas with that in it (especially when Tony started on his past here!) so I'm glad most don't mind it! So sorry for the long wait and I hope you guys liked this chapter!


	15. Chapter 15: That was short sleepover

Chapter 15: Short Sleepover

Yo yo yo! What's up everyone, having a good day? Hopefully! Anyway, it ended being another sleepover! Didn't mean for that to happen, but it did! Shweet. Holy **** on a **** sandwich with **** on top! Has it really been a month? I'm so sorry the 10 of you actually still reading! It's weird, I already had a large portion of this written already, I guess it's just that I get to start the tournament soon and I REALLY can't wait! To make up for it being such a long time, here's a super mega special mecha awesome chocolate-dipped shining flaming glowing incredibly long chapter! My longest so far! Random idea, it's not gonna happen this chapter, but I was thinking of making Tony's whole "Hachiman voice" in bold and underline so I don't have to keep telling when the voice changes :P It would be loads more convenient for me! Anyway, here's the new chapter!

* * *

**In the guest room**

"Thanks dad!" Konata cheered as she sat cross legged on the bed. "Good news! Dad said I could stay!"

"Great. Now help!" Kagami shouted, frustrated. The room was almost completely set up, futons all made and everything. Yet Konata hadn't lifted a finger the whole time! Other then to dial the phone that is...

"But Kagamin~!" Konata whined as she fell onto her back in the bed dramatically.

_*Cute!* _"Not buts! Now get off yours and do something!" Kagami shouted, Kagami and Miyuki had called their parents and gotten permission to spend the night at a friend's house.

"Awwww~, okay Kagami..." Konata moped as she got up and picked up a pillow from one of the futons. "Where does this go?"

"RIGHT WHERE YOU PICKED IT UP FROM!" Kagami raged.

"Oh." Konata muttered as she placed it back where she got it. "Oh! This is easy!" She grinned.

"That's because we're doing the work!" Kagami yelled.

"Why don't you guys go get something to eat? I can finish up in here." Masutā said, spreading a blanket on one of the futons.

"Yay! I'm hungry!" Konata cheered as she headed to the door.

"No, that's not fair!" Kagami shouted. "You're not even going to sleep in here, you shouldn't have had to do ANY of the work!"

"Yeah, but looking at Konata, she can't be all that incredibly fit. I mean, she's so small..." He commented.

_Uuuh, no! You've got it all wrong! Her size is just deceiving! _"Well, she's not all THAT out of shape. She just LOOKS small and cute." Kagami dismissed.

"Um... I never said anything about cute there..." Masutā laughed on the inside as Kagami blushed.

_Oh. Oh that's right, he didn't..._ "Well.. I..." Kagami turned in a feeble attempt to hide her blush.

"Aw~, does Kagami really think I'm cute and cuddly?" Konata catgrinned as she snuck up behind Kagami, ready to pounce.

"I-I said you just LOOK it, I didn't say you were!" Kagami shouted hurriedly.

"Kagami, that doesn't make any sense." Konata said in a flat tone.

"Sh-shut up... Let's just get back to work so we can eat..." Kagami said as she turned away from the wall.

"Actually, I already finished." Masutā said as he gestured to the room. Every futon had a pillow and blanket and the bed was completely set. "It's terribly convenient that he had a spare bed and three extra futons just laying around. Musta come with the house." Masutā figured.

"Oh, well then... Let's go eat! Konata's cooking since she didn't help set up the room!" Kagami cheered.

"Nyaoh~!" Konata groaned as they walked down the hall, leaving Masutā alone in the guest room. He chuckled.

_Kid, you did good finding friends. I'm glad you finally found some._ He smiled to himself before exiting the room.

* * *

**In the Kitchen**

"Come on Konata, it's only fair. You didn't help with the room at all, so you can cook." Kagami argued as the group entered the kitchen.

"Alright then..." Konata moped as she walked halfheartedly to the pantry. She looked through it and groaned. She walked over and opened the refrigerator. She looked and groaned again.

"What is it?" Kagami asked.

"In this whole house, all he has is bread, green beans, a couple boxes macaroni and cheese, sugar, milk, and juice. What am I suppose to do?" Konata sighed.

_We ate all his food! _Kagami realized, feeling very guilty. "We could have Macaroni and Cheese?" Kagami suggested. Konata shook her head.

"No butter." She dismissed.

"Do we need butter?" Kagami asked.

"Of course you do! If you don't have butter, it doesn't get all creamy and yummy! I guess I can expect no less from kitchen-killer Kagami..." Konata giggled.

"SHUT UP!" Kagami yelled. She already knew Konata was a far better cook, she didn't need a reminder.

"Um, Kona-chan?" Tsukasa interrupted, hoping to dispel some of the nonexistent tension.

"Wha! Betrayal by the sister!" Konata looked shocked over dramatically.

"Huh?" Tsukasa was bewildered, completely unaware that she had just been accused of insulting Kagami's cooking while only saying two words.

"What's up Tsukasa?" Kagami sighed as Konata giggled.

"Why don't we just boil the noodles from the macaroni and have that!" Tsukasa suggested.

"Good idea, but then what'll he do with the left over cheese?" Kagami asked.

"He can use it the next time he has mac and cheese!" Konata cheered triumphantly. "Great going Tsukasa!" She shouted as she started filling a pot with water.

"Wait, that only involves you boiling noodles! This is supposed to be pay back for you not helping!" Kagami yelled.

"Oh yeah... Sorry Onee-chan, I didn't think about that..." Tsukasa's ribbon drooped as Konata put the pot on the stove.

"No, no Tsukasa, you did great!" Konata smiled. Konata turned to her Tsundere. "What else are we gonna eat?"

*Sigh* "I guess there's nothing else around..." Kagami sighed. Konata pumped her fist in the air as she put the noodles in the now boiling pot. She put a metal top over the pot to help it contain the heat and boil faster.

"So, we have a few minutes to kill! Anything new or exciting happening in the lives of our dear sweet Hiiragis?" Konata grinned.

"Not really... I wonder who ever came up with the expression "Killing time" anyway." Kagami wondered aloud.

"Yeah, don't they say "Time heals all wounds."? Then why do we kill it! We're killing our only panacea!" Konata said.

"... I'm surprised you know what that means Konata..." Kagami said with her head resting on her hand, slightly bored and pretty hungry.

"I'm not that stupid Kagamin!" Konata pouted.

"Kona-chan, you filled the pot with too much water! It's boiling over!" Tsukasa shouted.

"Wha- Inconceivable to fix!" Konata shouted as she turned around to see the pot bubbling through the top, also trying to prove her intellect to Kagami with vocabulary.

_That's... not the right use of that word..._ Kagami thought as Konata rushed over and brought the top off. She yelped, quickly dropping it on the ground and holding her hand. "Konata! Are you okay? What happened?" Kagami shouted in concern as she practically appeared at Konata's side, trying to look at Konata's hand to survey the damage. It was beet red.

"I'm alright Kagami, just a little burn." Konata smiled, though one eye was closed in pain. "It's barely inconceivable."

"Whether you are or not, you're done cooking. Go sit down, I'll handle the rest." Kagami said, leading Konata to the table. Konata catgrinned as Kagami walked over to the stove and stirred the macaroni.

"Thought this was my punishment, wasn't it Kagamin~?" Konata grinned as she held her arm to keep it from touching anything and aggravating her burn further.

"Shut up..." Kagami muttered. Konata got confused as Kagami started filling another, smaller pan with water. As it got almost full, she turned the water off and started walking over to Konata, a smile on her face. "Besides, that burn is more than enough punishment."

"What are you-" Konata started to ask, but was cut off by a large amount of quite sudden pain as Kagami took her still-hurting hand and put it in the cold water in the pan she had just filled. "Ooooo~..." Konata cooed as the icy water helped sooth her burning hand.

"Better?" Kagami asked, the same cute smile still on her lips.

"Ye-yeah, thanks." Konata smiled, looking down so that Kagami didn't see the small blush coming across her face. _She's so cute!_

"No problem." Kagami smiled as she turned and walked back to the pot. It had dripped down onto the burner it was on, evaporating the water immediately so there was no need to clean up. She took the pot off the burner and turned the burner off. _Luckily, it's already done, so there wasn't really any way I could mess it up..._ Kagami thought as she grabbed a strainer. She used the convenient hook that was built into it to hook it onto the faucet of the sink and grabbed the pot. As she started to pour, almost a third of the noodles ended up in the sink instead of the strainer. Kagami sweatdropped. _Had to say something, didn't I?_

"What's wrong Onee-chan?" Tsukasa asked, seeing the distressed look on Kagami's face.

"No-nothing..." Kagami muttered in embarrassment.

"Aw~, did Kagami have a slight cooking fail?" Konata grinned, having recovered from her Tsundere's blushingly cute smile.

"Quiet or you're not getting any." Kagami called back in a slightly irritated tone, silencing Konata almost immediately.

"I'll be good." Konata mumbled as her stomach growled loudly.

"You best." Kagami smiled as she finally won an oh-so rare victory. She started scooping out food onto some plates and set them on the table with forks next to them. "This is the final week before exams hit, so we're going to bed after dinner." Kagami commanded.

"What?" Konata shouted in protest. "It's only 9:30!"

"Well, that way we can get up early and not have to rush to school. Either that or we can study all night." Kagami smirked wickedly. Of course she was bluffing, none of them even had their books with them. She could tell that didn't matter when Konata's face turned to shock and then sadness.

"Alright..." She moped in her mostly fake sadness but hoping Kagami might take it back. Kagami almost took the full brunt of Konata's "Glitter Attack", but, luckily, she averted her eyes so as not to see the pure cuteness of Konata.

_Awww! We can stay up just a little longer after dinner!_ Her sensitive side said, still catching some of Konata's sadness. _No way, she probably needs sleep the most! What, with her sleeping habits or lack there of._ Her reasonable side argued. _But she's always been fine before!_ Her sensitive side shouted. _But this is way more important! This determines what classes we'll be in, and if she's going to do well, she needs to be fully focused for tomorrow. You and I might not be in Ms. Yukari's class when lunch rolls around and our new teacher might not let us go to Konata's class, or her teacher might not allow visitors during lunch. Face it, if we stay strong now, we could end up in her class all year! But if she does badly, there's no way we will. _Her reasonable side said, claiming victory. Her sensitive side seemed all too content with standing down if it meant Kagami and Konata potentially being in the same class. She could still feel her cheeks reddening slightly as she sat down and started eating. It was relatively quiet as they ate, starting only a couple conversations. It wasn't until half way through that Kagami decided it was safe to look at Konata again. She looked over to see Konata's plate almost completely full, Konata picking up one noodle with her fork at a time before slowly eating it. "Eat your food properly!" Kagami shouted.

"But Kagamin~! I don't wanna go to bed early!" Konata protested.

"Look, your school work is important and you need to do well on this exam because..." Kagami stopped, Konata perking up with a catgrin.

"'Cause what Kagamin~?" Konata grinned as Kagami blushed.

"Because I wanna be in the same class with you guys..." Kagami muttered, looking away. It felt as if something went straight through Konata chest.

_*DIRECT HIT!*_ "Don't worry Kagami! I'll do by best to ace that thing!" Konata posed with a fist in the air, stars in her eyes. "If..." She catgrinned.

"If what..." Kagami looked back, her tone annoyed. Now Konata was holding her own future hostage.

"If~ you wish me luck with a cute smile!" Konata grinned.

"Wha-what the hell is that?" Kagami shouted.

"Yay! All nighter!" Konata cheered.

_That's not fair!_ Kagami cried in her mind._ This sucks!_ "Fine... Ko-Konata..." She looked at Konata before muttering "Good luck on the exam..."

"What? I can't hear you!" Konata grinned wider as she moved closer.

"Good luck on the exam Konata!" Kagami blushed as she put on an attempt at a cute smile, but it looked very forced and embarrassed.

"Thanks you very much Kagamin~." Konata grinned as she patted Kagami on the head and started eating forkfuls. Kagami sat there for a second before processing Konata's action.

"I'M NOT A DOG!" She yelled, though happy Konata was finally taking the exam seriously. She stayed steaming for a minute or two before realizing everyone else was almost done, even Konata having pulled ahead. Kagami started eating again, easily finishing before anyone else.

"Gee Kagami, you eat fast. You always finish first, even at school..." Konata giggled, finishing a minute after Kagami did.

"Well, I was hungry too. We should get to bed now." Kagami said, seeing everyone else was done as well.

"Aw~... Okay then..." Konata sighed as the girls all walked into the guest room.

_Wait... Did Masutā eat?_ Kagami wondered suddenly. "Why don't you take the bed this time Tsukasa?"

"You sure Onee-chan?" Tsukasa asked.

"Yeah, me and Konata had it last time!" Kagami said.

"Well, okay!" Tsukasa said uncertainly as she climbed into the bed. "Goodnight Onee-chan! Night Kona-chan! Night Yuki-chan!"

"Good night Tsukasa-san. Night Kagami-san. Night Konata-san." Miyuki said, making her first line in this chapter. Seriously, wth?

"Night Tsukasa! Night Miyuki-san! Night~ Kagamin~..." Konata said in the same way she had last time, though they were in separate futons this time.

*Sigh* "Night Konata. Night Miyuki. Night Tsukasa." Kagami said, the first one being said in a flat tone.

* * *

**Early**

Konata awoke for what seemed the hundredth time that night. She wasn't used to going to bed so early, her body kept waking her up! She looked in the poorly lighted room to the clock on the wall to see it read 3:40. Konata sighed as she tried to think of something to do. Then, she got an idea. An awful idea. Konata got a wonderful, awful idea. "I know just what to do." Konata laughed in her throat, but quietly. She inched over to her sleeping Tsundere.

"Hey Kagamin. Kagamin~..." Konata gently nuzzled her Tsundere into a half sleep.

*Yawn* "What's up Konata?" Kagami muttered, still almost asleep.

"What kind of sleeper is Tsukasa?" Konata catgrinned.

_I must be dreaming, Konata is never up this early..._Kagami thought drowsily as she looked at the clock that read 3:15. "She wouldn't wake up if a pod of narwhals ran through her bed."

"I-hi-hi-hi-nteresting." Konata's catgrin widened as she giggled. "Wanna play a prank on her?"

"What kinda prank?" Kagami asked, still thinking it a dream. Konata leaned in and whispered in her ear. "That's cruel, childish, demeaning,-"

"And you're totally in, aren't you?"

"Totally." Kagami confirmed as the two got up and started to work.

* * *

**The next morning**

Tsukasa vaguely entered consciousness, not even opening her eyes, to feel security in her firm bed. Sure, the haven might have a rather large lump in it, but it felt blissful, almost as if it were hugging her. She snuggled into her security and fell back asleep, thankful for a little extra time.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Kagami was sitting at a table in a park. She didn't know how she had gotten there, why Konata was sitting across from her, nor where the others were, but nothing seemed weird. It was almost as if this was how it always was. She looked across to Konata, who was finishing her lunch. Konata looked up with a smile and said, "Kagamin always finishes first. Especially when sweets are involved!" She gestured to Kagami's plate, which consisted entirely of empty Pocky G containers. Kagami blushed at having eaten so many snacks in front of Konata. Konata didn't seem the least put off by it though, her eyes soft and beautiful, but piercing. Almost as if she could read Kagami's mind... "Don't worry, eat as many sweets as you want." Konata smiled. It wasn't a catgrin either, but a smile Kagami recognized Konata only ever making a couple times before. She seemed to radiate pure happiness as the two looked into each other's eyes. It was contagious as Kagami felt a big grin come across her own face for seemingly no apparent reason. Subconsciously, she knew it was from seeing Konata so happy. Kagami could feel herself getting lost in the emerald orbs that were Konata's eyes. They seemed to be getting bigger. So was Konata's face. No, they weren't getting bigger, they were getting closer as Konata moved nearer. Then, Kagami noticed that Konata wasn't the only one moving. As they drew to be only inches apart, Konata started shrieking. Kagami pulled back in shock from the sudden sound, but then noticed something. It didn't sound like Konata, but more of her sister. Kagami woke up quickly as she realized it was actually Tsukasa from down the hall. She was out of the guest room at the speed of sound.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony awoke on his side, still groggy from the day before, feeling his muscles ache just from the blanket touching them. He already knew he was too lazy and tired to move, even to open his eyes. He felt something wrapped in his arms and immediately dismissed it to be a pillow, as he sometimes brought pillows from under his head and held them in his sleep. A curious practice. He didn't know how or when it started, but it comforted him. He gently hugged once, too tired to wince, before slipping out of consciousness once more. It was twenty minutes later before Tony would wake again, this time being brought from sleep by multiple flashes. He didn't open his eyes so as to fool whoever it was to think him still a slumber, but his muscles were tensed as he prepared to attack whatever it was in his room. He started to try and raise his right arm slowly to defend himself, only to find it in searing pain and would not move. _What the hell?_ Tony thought as he opened his eyes and looked at his restraint. What he saw was an adorable sleeping girl cuddled quite closely to his chest that looked oddly like... "Tsu-Tsukasa!" Tony shouted in surprise, falling out a bed and landing on the ground. He yelled as pain shot through his body as his muscles protested the sudden movement and any contact of any sort, his face turning as red as the heart beating quickly inside him. All this stirred Tsukasa awake, who sat up drearily at the interruption of her sleep. She looked around to notice three details, all of which startled her.

1.) She was in Tony's room... in his bed!  
2.) Tony was on the ground in pain.  
3.) Konata was standing near the door with a camera taking pictures.

Tsukasa shrieked as she realized what a compromising position she was caught in, though she had no idea what had happened. "Kona-chan, what's going on?" She asked in a panic.

"You tell me!" Konata catgrinned as Kagami and Miyuki ran into the room, hearing Tsukasa's shriek.

"What's happeni-... Tsukasa... What are you doing in Tony's bed?" Kagami interrupted her first shout to add the second part in a low, suspicious voice.

"I-I don't know! I swear! I just woke up here! Last I remember, I was in the room with all of you!" Tsukasa panicked.

"That doesn't..." Kagami stopped herself to let out a small gasp as memories from last night flooded her mind. _That dream of me and Konata playing that prank wasn't a dream! _She realized to her shock. _And.. Konata's taking pictures?_ Kagami thought as she looked at her Otaku with her camera. _So... She remembered and took advantage!_ Kagami thought, her rage boiling. She ran over and snatched the camera away.

"Awwww Kagamin~! I didn't get a good picture of Tony's embarrassed face!" Konata whined as she tried to reach her camera.

"You'll get this back when you've matured a little bit." Kagami scolded, keeping the camera out a reach from her Otaku, though that's no big feat.

"Onee-chan, I swear I didn't-"

"It's okay Tsukasa, I know what happened. Konata here pulled a prank and put you in his bed." Kagami explained, giving Konata a scolding look at the end.

"But... aren't I too heavy for Kona-chan to carry me alone? Especially with that burn on her hand?" Tsukasa asked, a question mark appearing above her head. Kagami blushed suddenly, Tsukasa having seen the flaw in her explanation.

"Well, you see-"

"Yeah, so uh, nobody rush to help me, I can barely walk by myself so I think I'll be able to stand up easily." Tony interrupted with obvious sarcasm as he attempted for the umpteenth time to push himself off the ground. He failed once again and fell in renewed pain.

"I'm sorry Kan-chan!" Tsukasa shouted as her and Kagami rushed over and helped him up. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, don't worry bout it. Just sucks not being able to even get up. I do not envy you all in seventy years... Listen Tsukasa, I didn't-" Tony muttered as they placed him back in his bed.

"It's alright, it was just a joke that Kona-chan played. Don't worry about it." Tsukasa smiled.

_I'll have to get her back for that..._ Tony thought, playfully looking through squinted eyes at Konata as if to melt her. Konata's laughter redoubled, Kagami scolding her immediately afterwards.

"Need anything?" Tsukasa asked.

"Hehe, no. I'll not have you staying cooped up in here all day taking care of me again Tsukasa. Go outside and have fun. Just don't get captured again." Tony smirked.

"Of course I won't." Tsukasa smiled.

"Good. Now go to school, I'll follow you soon enough." Tony said.

"We better go see if we have to go to school in the rain. If we do, that's gonna suck." Kagami said as she started towards the door.

"Hang on." Tony said suddenly, causing them all to stop. They turned to see him with his eyes closed and ears perked, as if listening for something. "Masutā, I'm fine. Our friends are fine. You may unarm yourself and relax." He called out. They all turned to the door to hear a revolver's hammer being put down. A pang of fear ran through them as they all realized that none of them had heard Masutā get up let alone get to the door and ready a gun!

_Well, he wasn't in the special forces for nothing..._ Kagami thought. She turned to Tony, who had sat up. _And how did he hear him?_

"I'd offer you breakfast but... I'm guessing by the commotion last night that I have no food left?" Tony chuckled.

"Yeah... Sorry about that..." Kagami apologized. _We woke him up! Damn, first we eat all of his food, then we wake him up when he really needs sleep, what's next? Are we gonna kick his dog? _

"There's no need for that now, I told you if you needed a meal, you could always eat here. I'm just glad there was enough food to last you last night." Tony sighed, scratching his head as he pulled Kagami from her thoughts.

"Well, it's very much likewise. If you need something to eat, you can come over." Kagami smiled before adding, "I'm sure you have no objections, do you Tsukasa?"

"None!" Tsukasa chimed, only furthering Kagami's suspicion.

"The same goes for me too Tony." Konata smiled.

"As it is with me Kanpeki-san." Miyuki eyesmiled.

"You guys..." Tony smiled, feeling warm. It had been a long time since he felt so... accepted.

"Besides, I think you would like my dad! I should introduce you two sometime, he was wondering if I had a guy friend!" Kagami said. Tony instantly got a bad taste in his mouth.

_Oh yeah. Him. As much as I would like to live up to Kagami's wishes, I still don't like him very much. If I can understate my feelings to such a magnitude, that is. Sorry Kagami, but if my suspicions of him are correct, we aren't going to be best buddies any time soon. Speaking of which, I think I better come up with a back up plan, just in case he doesn't listen to reason once Kagami tells him. Hmmmm..._ "Sure. Who knows?" Tony put on a fake smile. Tsukasa gave him a confused look.

"But di-" She started.

"You guys should be leaving about now, right? You're not fast like I am." Tony interrupted.

"Don't I know it..." Konata muttered.

"We've got a bit of time..." Kagami said, looking at the clock.

"Well here, I have no more food so go get something somewhere." Tony said, pulling several thousand yen out of a nowhere.

"Wait... Where did that come from?" Kagami asked.

"Under the mattress, that's where everyone keeps their money. Except most of mine is hidden in different, completely random places." Tony said matter-of-factly.

"Thanks, but no thanks. There's no way we could take your money after eating all your food." Kagami scratched the back of her head.

"Think nothing of it! Take it, my payback for not having food." Tony insisted.

"No way, we already owe you!" Kagami shouted. Tony fell silent for a minute and thought.

"Tell you what. I'll let you all off your 'debt' if one of you hugs me." He smirked. _Which one will volunteer, I wonder? Kagami surely won't, at least not after the past we've had. Tsukasa... I'm sure __Konata_ wouldn't have a problem with it, she isn't the type. Miyuki might if she feels no one else will or that it will help.

"What?" Kagami was surprised by the sudden offer.

"I assure you, it's all business." Tony closed his eyes, smiling as he opened his arms. "Come on! Someone come give me a hug!"

"It's not going to be like one of Melvin's hugs, is it?" Konata asked warily.

"Not at all!" Tony shouted with a smile.

"Good." Konata grinned.

Kagami looked at the others, thinking she shouldn't for exactly the reason Tony had predicted. Konata, meanwhile, had acquired her catgrin. While Tsukasa panicked a bit, deciding what to do, Konata snuck up behind her and gently pushed her. "Whoa!" She said as she fell onto Tony, the latter of whom embracing her. Tony opened his eyes to see Tsukasa was the person he was hugging. His heart skipped a beat, almost making him miss his opportunity.

"That's the second time you two have hugged today!" Konata giggled from the back row.

"And I take it you were the cause of both times?" Tony raised an eyebrow as he released Tsukasa, having seen Konata where Tsukasa had been a moment ago.

"I just gave a little push, you hugged her." Konata giggled. Kagami shot a look at Konata and knocked her on the head, clearly annoyed.

"Subconsciously, yes. It's... been a while since I could hug someone." Tony sighed, a small blush decorating his cheeks. His mood picked up instantly. "Well, go get something to eat! Don't forget, you still have to stop by each of your houses to pick up your school supplies as well!"

_Oh crap, that's right!_ Kagami thought. _I completely didn't think about that!_

"Like always, you're free to use my bike. I honestly don't even know why I have one, it's not like I need it or anything..." Tony chuckled. He suddenly realized that he was about to start up another conversation. "Go!"

"Right!" The girls started shuffling out. Masutā walked in.

"Well well well. And here I was starting to think you were gonna spend the rest of your life friendless. But you've already gathered four of the best friends I think you'll ever have." Masutā snickered.

"Nice bro, real nice. Knowing me, they're the four only friends I'm ever gonna have." Tony said, sighing.

"That was a pretty sneaky "hug" too." Masutā laughed.

"Yeah~..." Tony smirked.

* * *

**Splitting up**

"Alright, so how are we going to do this?" Kagami asked as the girls got out of the house.

"Well~, you and Tsukasa can use my bike!" Konata suggested. "And Miyuki-san can use Tony's!"

"But your bike is embarrassing!" Kagami shouted.

"Would you rather walk? Then we won't have enough time to get something to eat! And I know how Kagami can get when she's hungry..." Konata teased.

"Shut up!" *Sigh* "Fine, if I have to. Let's go Tsukasa." Kagami grabbed Tsukasa by the hand and was about to go get the bike. She stopped and turned, releasing her sister's hand. "That is, if you're ready?" She asked.

"Yep!" Tsukasa chimed, overjoyed that her sister remembered to treat her like a sister, not a little sister.

"Let's agree to meet at McDonalds after we get our supplies, okay?" Kagami suggested. There were no objections, as Kagami had picked one close to Konata's house since she wouldn't have a bike.

"I'll see you all at the restaurant!" Miyuki shouted as she rode away on Tony's bike.

"Alright! We'll see ya!" Kagami shouted, waving. The three remaining girls walked to Konata's house.

"Well, this is where I get off!" Konata said as she climbed the stair to her house. "Bye Tsukasa! Bye~ Kagamin~!" She called, elongating the last two words with a grin.

"Bye Kona-chan!" Tsukasa called back, waving from her spot on the back of the bike.

*Sigh* "Bye Konata." Kagami sighed as she started to ride. _Why does she always say my name for so long?_

Konata smiled as she saw Kagami ride off. She opened the door to her house.

* * *

**POV Kagami and Tsukasa**

As Kagami and Tsukasa rode down the street, Kagami tried to start conversations with Tsukasa, but found it an impossible ordeal. Kagami was riding very fast so as to get home, get her stuff and get to McDonalds quickly. The speed of her cycling had Tsukasa hugging onto her waist and the sister's head buried into Kagami's back. They arrived home within twenty minutes. Kagami got off and walked to the house. Tsukasa, when she got off, however, got off on very shaky legs and barely made it to the front door. As they entered, they heard the all too familiar voice yell "So where were YOU two all night?"

"At a friend's house Matsuri. It was raining too hard for us to come home, so we stayed the night." Kagami said.

"Your best friend's house?" She asked.

"No, but she was there. We have to get our stuff so we can go to school now." Kagami said, irritated at the intrusion into her business. Kagami and Tsukasa started for their rooms.

"One more question!" Matsuri shouted.

*Sigh* "What?" Kagami asked, stopping from her march to her room.

"How is your friend? Is she okay?" Matsuri asked. Kagami smiled as she realized why Matsuri had asked in the first place. Their father must have told them that the twins wouldn't be home, why would Matsuri have needed to ask?

"She's okay now... Thanks." Kagami smiled over her shoulder and saw her older sister smiling in relief.

"The way you came in the other day, I thought something bad might have happened to her." Matsuri commented.

"Yeah, that was something else, don't worry about it. I'm gonna go get my stuff now." Kagami turned back and walked to her room. _Deep down, she does really care..._

"Alright Imoto!" Matsuri called.

Kagami entered her room and looked around for her bag. She found it and gathered her contents from the desk she had done her homework on. _Wait a second... Am I a notebook short? Where else did I bring my bag?_ Kagami thought. She finally remembered she had brought her bag to Konata's house. _I musta left it there when I was visiting her! I'll ask her to return it later._ She concluded. She began to hurriedly undress and get into her uniform. As she finished, she grabbed her packed bag and headed down the stairs to wait for Tsukasa. She stood for what seemed like hours, but was actually only about ten minutes. *Sigh* "Where is she?" She walked back up the stairs and to Tsukasa's room. She knocked on the door to hear her sister say something from the other side.

"Just five more minutes..." Tsukasa mumbled drowsily. Kagami sweatdropped.

_That didn't take long... I guess she still isn't use to getting up early, no matter how early she goes to bed..._ Kagami thought as she opened the door to see her sister mostly asleep on her bed, thankfully having changed to her uniform before collapsing. There were, however, books that were scattered about that needed packing. "Tsukasa, let's go, we're not gonna have time to eat!" Kagami shouted. Tsukasa got up slowly and yawned.

"Hi Onee-chan... Oh! That's right!" Tsukasa realized what she had been doing. She started rushing around and packing her school supplies into her bag.

_Poor girl didn't even realize how tired she was until she hit the futon..._ Kagami thought as her sister finished packing.

"Alright, let's go!" Tsukasa cheered. They ran down the stairs and shouted a quick goodbye to their parents and older sisters. Kagami hopped on the bike while Tsukasa got one of the two they owned and the two started to ride quickly to Mcdonalds, Kagami having thought they would be there five minutes ago without Tsukasa's slip up. Of course, she knew better then to say that part.

"Hey Tsukasa, did you remember your cellphone?" Kagami asked, not cycling as fast as she had to get home. Tsukasa hummed affirmatively. "Could you call Konata and let her know we might be a little late?"

"Sure!" Tsukasa shouted against the wind. "Wha?"

"What's up?" Kagami called back.

"There's something else in my pocket... Onee-chan, I found money! Several thousand yen I didn't know I had!" Tsukasa shouted in surprise.

"Where did that come from?" Kagami asked.

"I dunno!" Tsukasa answered before it hit Kagami.

_That hug wasn't a hug at all! **It's all business.** Tony snuck that money into Tsukasa's pocket when he hugged her! She probably didn't even feel anything. Or she did, in which case, wow. That's kinda creepy. Nah, she couldn't feel it, but still... __Wouldn't take no for an answer, would he?_ Kagami thought. Their destination came within view.

* * *

**POV Konata**

As Konata opened the door to her house, she walked in.

"Onee~-Chan~!" Yutaka shouted as she glomped onto Konata. "You're okay! I was worried!"

"He-ey Yu-chan!" Konata was forced to repeat the first word as Yutaka's head was thrusted into her stomach. "Don't worry, it'll take more then a bug to keep me down!"

"I'm glad!" Yutaka chimed. "So whatcha doing?"

"I gotta go get my stuff and hightail it to McDonalds! Good to see you again Yu-chan!" Konata shouted as she ran down the hall to her room. "Thank Minami for me!"

"I will!" Yutaka called back. "I'm so glad she got better."

"Yeah, me too Yu-chan... Wait a second... That kid never did tell me what she had..." Sojiro realized.

Konata entered her room and looked around. She saw her bag of school work, still completely packed. _Crap! I forgot to ask Kagami for her homework!_ She thought in despair. She sighed and picked up her bag. She changed into her uniform and started out. "Bye dad! Bye Yu-chan! Glad you're back!" Konata called.

"Bye Nee-chan, glad to be back!" Yutaka chimed. Her stomach growled. "It's time for breakfast..."

Konata started running about the same speed as she had during the sports festival towards McDonalds, half expecting Kagami to already be there and have ordered. She looked around quickly. _Anyone I know around?_ She wondered. When she saw no one is knew around her, she decided it was safe. She started sprinting at almost twice the speed she had been running a second ago. She giggled to herself as she saw the fast food restaurant come into sight, along with the Hiiragi twins. _Did I really make it here the same time they did? To be honest, this is actually a lot farther then Kagami thought, more about half way between our houses._ Konata thought, slowing down hopefully before Kagami saw her speed.

It was in vain, however, as Kagami could see Konata coming up fast, running as fast as she was cycling easily. _Whoa! Is she really RUNNING that fast? You've GOT to be kidding me! You mean to tell me that she's holding back that much even when she's trouncing us in sports? There's no way she was going her fastest against Tony..._ The two came up to the restaurant, just barely in front of Konata. "What the hell was THAT? Have you always been able to run like that?" Kagami shouted.

"Geez, not so loud Kagamin. Yeah, kinda. I was hoping I slowed down before you saw..." Konata scratched the back of her head with her eyes closed.

"Well why didn't you ever say anything before? And why the secrecy?" Kagami asked.

"'Cause I knew you or my teacher would push me to do stuff if anyone knew!" Konata replied.

_So it was laziness..._ Kagami thought as they entered. They saw Miyuki sitting down at a table already. _She's always early..._ Kagami thought.

"Welcome to McDonalds, can I take your order?" The woman behind the counter asked.

"May I have a happy meal?" Tsukasa asked. Konata looked over.

"Happy meal?" She restated as a question.

"Well, there's a really cute plushy that comes with it..." Tsukasa said, her voice shrinking a little.

"Ah, understandable!" Konata shouted, remembering that as different as Tsukasa seemed to act around Tony, without him she was the same airheaded girl with the heart and mind of a kid.

"M...Me too please..." Kagami muttered quietly, slightly blushing in embarrassment. Konata perked up, just like Kagami was sure she would.

"Wah? You too?" Konata catgrinned.

"Well.. I'm kind of on a diet right now..." Kagami muttered.

"Aaaww~! Kagami's trying to lose weight so she can fit into a bikini for special someone!" Konata put an arm around the back of Kagami's waist and started poking her tummy with the other.

"No, it's not like that! And get off of me!" Kagami yelled. The woman behind the counter giggled.

"And what would your girlfriend like miss?" She asked Kagami. "Same thing?"

"Wh-wh-wh-what?" She shouted, face red with blush. "Sh-she's not my girlfriend!"

"Yeah, she really isn't my girlfriend." Konata said with complete seriousness, surprising Kagami. The next part, however, did not.

"Told ya!" Kagami said desperately.

"She's my wife!" Konata grinned.

"I AM NOT!" Kagami yelled.

"Calm down Kagamin, we're just playing!" Konata grinned, her tone one of great amusement. "Go sit with Miyuki-san, I can handle it from here!" Konata waved Kagami away.

*Sigh* "Fine." Kagami said as she and Tsukasa walked to the table where Miyuki was seated. Once they were gone, Konata turned back to the counter.

"Now, for MY order..." Konata smiled.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

"Man, did it stink..." Kagami finished, sighing.

"Yeah, I remember that Onee-chan. That was the last time you tried to handle pork roll, wasn't it?" Tsukasa recalled.

"Yep, never cooked with it again. Couldn't bear to waste it..." Kagami sighed mournfully.

"I know what you mean, pork roll can be rather difficult to cook with." Miyuki said understandingly, not being exactly skilled in the kitchen herself.

"Yeah, but Tsukasa here is a wiz with it. She can make a pork roll, egg and cheese sandwich that feels like an orgasm in your mouth!" Kagami said, just the thought putting her in pure ecstasy.

"I can do that too Kagamin~!" Konata chimed as she walked up with the food.

"Oh? Are you good with pork roll?" Kagami asked.

"With what?" Konata asked. "What's that?"

"It's a type of meat from New Jersey in America. It's one of the most delicious meats you'll ever taste!" Kagami shouted. Luckily for Konata, Konata's innuendo went over Kagami's head. "Unfortunately, it's extremely rare that you can find any around here and even then it isn't fresh." Kagami scratched her head.

"Well, I can always try! Here's everyone's food. Miyuki-san, Tsukasa, Kagami." Konata gave everyone's food to their respective owners. Tsukasa opened her's and instantly pulled out her new toy.

"Tsukasa, food first." Kagami reminded, opening her own happy meal. Konata grinned as Kagami got a surprised look. "Wha... I didn't order this..." She said as she pulled out a small vanilla shake.

"But I did! You've done good on your diet, you deserve it!" Konata smiled. Kagami blinked several times. Gifts from Konata were either payback, or butter.

"Okay Konata. What do you want?" Kagami asked.

"Nothing, I just wanted to give you a treat! I can't give you something without you suspecting something?" Konata asked with a pout.

"... No." Kagami answered with a smile as Konata pouted again, Kagami taking a drink from the shake. "So what do you want you little rascal? My homework?" Kagami asked.

_Must... Resist... Urge... To copy... _Konata thought. She wanted to do something nice for Kagami, no matter how small it was. She wanted to at least show she didn't always have a hidden agenda. Just most of the time. "Nothing. Just enjoy!" She smiled. Kagami was completely taken off guard.

_Whoa, I offered to show her homework and she refused? Did she get sick again?_ "You sure?" Kagami asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Is me getting you something really that unbelievable?" Konata asked.

"...Yes. Yes it is." Kagami giggled. Konata pouted again.

_I'll show you Kagamin! Just wait for your birthday!_ Konata grinned. She had to get something Kagami would enjoy now. They ate and made conversations about random things when something hit Konata. "I never got his answer!" She shouted.

"Who? What?" Kagami asked, confused at the sudden outburst.

"I was going to ask Tony something super important, but I never got to finish!" She whined.

"Well, you'll just have to ask him at school, won't you?" Kagami smiled, still happy that Konata had actually gotten her something randomly. She was more surprised, but still happy. "Is everyone finished?" She asked. After an affirmative answer from everyone, they got up and started to leave.

"Oh, Kona-chan!" Tsukasa shouted before they got on the bikes.

"What's up Tsukasa?" Konata turned back to her.

"Here, it's money for my meal." She tried to give Konata the money she had found earlier, but was stopped by Kagami. "Onee-chan?"

"No Tsukasa, that's Tony's money. He snuck it in your pocket." Kagami sighed.

"Wha! When?" Tsukasa panicked slightly.

"During that "Hug" I think. You have to give it back during school today." Kagami told her.

"Oh... Okay..." Tsukasa said, allowing everyone to turn around before her ribbon drooped. _So he didn't want to hug me after all..._ She thought sadly. Everyone started to depart. Konata took her bike while Miyuki got on Tony's. Kagami climbed on board with Tsukasa and rode shotgun.

"Think we'll get there on time?" Kagami shouted.

"We'll get there inconceivably!" Konata shouted back. They arrived at school without a hitch and walked in. "Told ya! Inconceivable!" Konata posed triumphantly.

"You keep using that word... I don't think it means what you think it means..." Kagami muttered.

"Aw~, seriously?" Konata whined.

"Yeah, sorry. Anyway, I'll see you at lunch!" Kagami waved.

"Bye Kagamin!" Konata shouted, waving back. The three remaining girls entered the room.

"Hey, glad to see you three made it!" Tony smiled. "Any problems?"

"No- Oh, here's your money back Kan-chan." Tsukasa handed him back the yen. He scratched the back of his head and snickered.

"Figured out eh? Sorry for misleading you, but I really should have had food." Tony said.

"We shouldn't have eaten it all!" Konata said from her seat. "Morning teach!"

"Oh, so I'm your teacher again? Not some evil sorceress or princess?" Ms. Kuroi said playfully.

"Nope! Now you're just plain old teach!" Konata grinned.

"Well then, I still have one ability! Everyone take out your homework, I'm gonna check it now." Kuroi said as the bell rang. She started with Konata's row.

_Crap, I didn't do it!_ Konata thought in despair. She turned to Tony pleadingly. "Help!" She whispered. Kuroi was now on the person in front of Konata.

"Wha? Oh!" Tony said, not knowing what was happening. He suddenly got what was going on and started thinking fiercely. _Got it!_ He came up with an idea. "Ms. Kuroi? What was our homework on again?"

"The Spanish Inquisition, didn't you do it?" Kuroi asked, stopping before she got to Konata. Her eyes widened for a second.

"Yeah, it's just-" Tony started.

_Oh, he is NOT going to... _Kuroi thought. She rushed to the door and locked it quickly.

"I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition!" Tony shouted. The door suddenly burst open as three men in red piled in.

"NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!" One with a snazzy hat yelled.

"Damn it Otokonoko!" Kuroi shouted as the three stumbled over their words. Konata turned around and looked at Tony in disbelief.

"I wanted help, but that was just _evil!_" Konata whispered with a grin.

"Yeah. Disney evil. It was too perfect though. Here's the homework." Tony smirked as he handed her the assignment and sat back as he watched with glee as Kuroi was getting poked with cushions with a dish drying rack strapped to her chest. He chuckled. _Apparently even the Spanish Inquisition didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition or they would have practiced their lines..._ Then he realized that Tsukasa might not have done the assignment and Kuroi was almost done with the "Torture". Konata finished copying the assignment. She turned around to give him back his work.

"Thank you." She smiled.

"No problem sister." Tony responded with a smile of his own. Konata was slightly surprised by his word choice, but smiled nonetheless as she turned back around. Tony turned to Tsukasa.

"Did you do the homework?" He asked her, already knowing the answer by how much she was panicking.

"No! I didn't do any of it!" She whispered as she panicked.

"Here." Tony passed his papers back.

"Thanks Kan-chan!" Tsukasa chimed.

"Any time." Tony smiled. He turned and shouted "Give her the "Comfy Chair"!" Konata turned around again.

"Why are you SO EVIL?" She asked, grin having widened exponentially.

"Deal with it." Tony smirked. They both sat back as they enjoyed the next twenty minutes of Kuroi sitting in a chair with a dish drying rack strapped to her chest and getting poked with cushions.

"Thanks again!" Tsukasa cheered happily from behind Tony, handing him his papers back.

"Any time!" He took his work back and smiled. By the time he turned back, Kuroi was finally getting the inquisition out. Kuroi shot Tony a death stare.

"You're gonna pay for that little stunt Otokonoko." She said.

"What stunt?" Tony asked innocently.

"What you said before!" She shouted.

"I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific." Tony smirked in his mind. At this point, he was just in it for kicks.

"THAT YOU DIDN'T EXPECT THE SPANISH INQUISITION!" Kuroi yelled, covering her mouth quickly after. Too late.

"NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!" The three burst back in the room. Kuroi stared with her jaw dropped at Tony in disbelief at how he could be so cruel.

"Sorry guys, I knew you were coming." Tony said, getting up and walking up to the three. He started shooing them out. "So get out, come again some other time when we aren't expecting you."

"I'll come in again..." The one in the snazzy hat offered.

"No no, we'll all be expecting you then. Come back randomly throughout the story, it'll be funnier." Tony shooed and closed the door behind them. He walked back to his seat and sat down. "Continue."

"Well... Okay then..." Kuroi said, exhausted. "Fine, let's just finish checking homework..." Tony snickered.

* * *

**Class C**

Kagami entered her classroom only to find herself get almost tackled by Misao.

"Hiiragin! It's been so long since I saw you!" Misao shouted as she hugged the clearly bored Kagami. Kagami stayed very still and simply sighed.

"Must you do this every Monday?" Kagami sighed.

"But the weekend is so~ long! School sucks, but at least you're here!" Misao shouted. "There's nothing at my house!"

"Get off of me. And doesn't Ayano come to visit?" Kagami asked, pushing off Misao with ease.

"Yeah, but she usually only hangs out with my asshole of a brother, Kurono! I don't know what she sees in that guy..." Misao mumbled.

"Pretty harsh for your brother..." Kagami commented.

"Like I said, he's an asshole! He use to ask me all sorts of ways of how I would torture someone. He said he couldn't come up with anything himself, but I still never helped him. He woulda used them on real people knowing him!" Misao shouted. She quietly muttered off the the side, "I'd like to split his head in two with a six pound lead pipe..."

_Such violence! There's really some bad blood between those two..._ Kagami decided never to bring up Misao's brother again, lest the latter fulfill her desires.

"Okay everyone, get out your homework as I call roll." Ms. Yukari said, clearly VERY bored.

"Yes Ms. Yukari!" Kagami sat down quickly and got out her assignment.

* * *

**Lunchtime**

"Hey everyone!" Kagami walked as the girls plus Tony moved to Konata's desk as always.

"Hello~ Kagamin!" Konata grinned as Kagami sat down.

"Anything new?" Kagami asked.

"Oooh, me!" Tony raised his hand.

"What's up?" Kagami asked.

"A tournament!" Tony informed.

"A what?" Konata asked.

"World Tournament!"Tony clarified.

"When's that?" Konata asked.

"It's tomorrow." Tony informed.

"You participating?" Kagami asked.

"Sure am!" Tony said proudly.

"That's cool!" Konata cheered.

"Everyone's invited!" Tony cheered.

"How much?" Konata asked, her tone significantly less cheerful.

"No charge!" Tony informed.

"No charge?" Konata lightened up.

"No charge!" Tony restated.

"That's better!" Konata cheered again.

"I'm in!" Kagami said, strangely attracted to the idea of men beating each other's brains out.

"And you?" Tony turned to Konata.

"Oh yeah!" Konata gave a thumbs up.

"Not you!" Kagami interjected.

"But why~?" Konata whined.

"Next week!" Kagami shouted.

"No~ Exam~!" Konata realized.

"You'll study." Kagami determined.

"I'm ready!" Konata shouted.

"You're not!" Kagami asserted.

"I am!" Konata argued.

"Prove it." Kagami folded her arms.

"Trust me!" Konata shouted.

"Geezy creezy..." Kagami facepalmed before realizing she had just used her sister's phrase.

"You Miyuki?" Tony asked, switching his gaze to Miyuki.

"Why not?" She eyesmiled.

"You coming?" Tony looked to Tsukasa.

"Of course!" Tsukasa chimed.

"Super sweet!" Tony shouted. A bell rang.

"Gotta go..." Kagami sighed.

"Oh well..." Tony sighed as well.

"Bye Kagami~!" Konata waved.

"Everyone's coming?" Tony smiled before Kagami left.

"Sure are!" Kagami smiled back.

"AAAAAAWWWWWW YEEEEEEAAAAAAA!" Tony threw his head back and yelled, attracting the attention of the entire classroom and probably everyone in the hall. Kagami sweatdropped at the embarrassing act.

"Why me..." She muttered as she walked out. Konata giggled.

"Dat Tsundere..." She giggled with a catgrin. Tony turned to Tsukasa and Miyuki while pointing at Konata.

"She gusta."

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya luckies! I'm Akira Kogami, the navigator!"

"And I'm Minoru Shiraishi, the assistant!"

"Shiraishi-san, something seems weird about the ending!" Akira said

"Well, the writer meant for it to be a lot longer, but they realized that it had been more then a month since the last update and realized how impatient he would be in their situation." Minoru explained.

"Ahh~, I see!" Akira chimed.

"Akria-sama, I do have more questions about some of the Japanese, would you mind?" Minoru asked weakly.

"Yeah, I understand, go ahead! But there wasn't any new Japanese terms in this chapter?" Akira said, confused.

"Well, a couple of chapters ago when Masutā was first introduced, he said to think about their names. I'm afraid I couldn't follow that... I think Masutā means Master, but I'm a little clueless as to Kanpeki's meaning." Minoru scratched his head embarrassed.

"Oh! Well, Kanpeki means perfect! I know, right? That was a little surprising, but given how smart and strong he is, it's fitting, don'tcha think? And Otokonoko means little boy or young boy! Got it?" Akira said in a cutesy voice.

"Thanks so much Akira-sama!" Minoru shouted.

*Music Tone*

"Well, I guess that's it for today! I'll see you all next chapter! Bye nii~!"

*...*

"So Akira-sama, are you rich yet?"

"What?"

"Well, a fan threatened the writer to make you rich!"

"Nope, not rich yet, but I'm sure something's gonna happen. By the way, thank you for so much support Holy. It means a lot."**  
**

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

Alrighty guys, I'm so so so super sorry for the long wait T.T Time flew as soon as I got a new game. It's probably the best game in all of existence. That's right, I love it more then even Oblivion. A lot more. This magical game is called Legend of Dragoon! Yeah, Flygon Master, you aren't the only one who can make references buddy ;) I do wonder what would happen if Kurono and his gang tried to pick on Konata while Tony was present... I did, in fact, mean for this chapter to be a lot longer, but I decided that I would just go ahead and put it out there and wait for the next chapter to end the day. I think I'll make the next chapter end when they leave for the tournament! Besides, this chapter is a whopping 10220 words! Anyway, I promise that this story will be written MUCH faster when it comes to the tournament! And I did give myself a challenge to motivate me during lunch, I saw if I could write in only two word sentences. Completely random, yes, but it worked XD Now you're either saying "I was wondering about that." or you're going back to check it and hadn't noticed XD Oh yeah, and Holyriot, I told ya I got a plan for Akira! Go ahead and send your buddies, I've got better here ;)

"Sup." Tony smirks, cracking his knuckles.

Yeah, he's here. I can do that ;) My realm, my rules! Now review and read again, or I'll pluck out your eyes! -Sheogorath

What are the plans for Akira? What are my intentions with the tournament? I know, the suspense is killing you! Or me if I keep you guys waiting like that again.


	16. Chapter 16: After School

**Chapter 16: After School  
**

One more chapter and I'm going to get to the Tournament! YES! I'm so excited I could platz!... But then I wouldn't get to write the chapter, so I think I won't. There's one thing I'm gonna get out of the way right now. I don't know the date of festivals and the like. I tried looking them up, but they have all different times for all different prefectures. So, if I were to put in a summer festival in June when it takes place in July in Saitama, don't hate me for it. Feel free to tell me, but it just happens that it's convenient to the story where it's placed :P Hey, if they can cancel summer, they can change festival dates! Next chapter!

* * *

**After school Class C**

"Oi Hiiragin! Whatcha doin' after school?" Misao asked Kagami.

"I'm hanging out with Konata and the others! You're welcome to come if you want." Kagami offered, already knowing Misao would say yes.

"Chibi's gonna be there too? Thanks, but no thanks Hiiragin, I think I'll pass." Misao put a hand up as if to push the idea further away from herself.

"Oh, well okay then... Why don't you guys like each other?" Kagami asked.

"I have my reasons..." Misao said spitefully. _You were MY friend first Hiiragin. You should be hanging out with ME! Not that little squirt..._

"Well, if you insist!" Kagami said as she walked out. _I wonder what that was about..._ Kagami thought as she arrived at Class B.

"Hello~ Kagamin!" Konata shouted.

"Hey..." Kagami said distractedly. She had noticed Tony and Tsukasa were not with Konata and Miyuki, but walking out of the classroom as if they hadn't left it in the first place. Tsukasa's eyes were shifting between Konata and Kagami rapidly, her face turning a very faint red. _Uh-oh. I wonder what happened..._ Kagami thought.

* * *

**After school Class B**

As the four friends stood up, Tony turned to Tsukasa, an uneasy look in his eye. "Hey, can I talk to you in private?"

"Sure Kan-chan, what about?" Tsukasa asked, getting slightly nervous.

"Well, it's about -..." Tony stopped as he got a sense of danger with what he was saying. He turned around to see Konata had snuck up behind him to listen. "You mind?"

"Not really." Konata grinned.

"Well I do. You're not included in the private package. Go say hi to Kagami for me, will ya?" Tony suggested.

"You can tell me!" Konata protested.

"Actually, no. No I can't." Tony sighed.

"What, you trust Tsukasa more then me?" Konata asked.

"As a matter of fact... Yes. Yes I do." Tony's voice dropped to an embarrassed whisper.

"That's!... Actually kinda smart..." Konata sighed.

"I know. Besides, this matter directly concerns her. Now go see Kagami. Give her a hug or something." Tony shooed away.

"Fine, I'm going, I'm going." Konata pouted as she left the room. As people were still noisily shuffling out and not actually _trying_ to listen in anymore, Tony felt confident he could talk openly now.

"So Tsukasa, I need to know something..." Tony started, unsure of how he would phrase his question yet. Tsukasa gulped nervously.

"Ye-yes Kan-chan?" She stuttered slightly.

"What's... What do you think about homosexuality?" Tony asked. Tsukasa's heart dropped for a moment.

"Are you gay Kan-chan?" She asked, feeling quite unlucky. She started liking someone only for him to come out of the closet the next day.

"No, no, no! Not at all. But I need to know what you think before I continue." Tony said, having not turned around from when Konata interrupted so Tsukasa couldn't see his face. Tsukasa, however, was still relieved to hear she had a shot, however small it was.

"Well... If two people are truly in love, then I don't see a problem with it..." Tsukasa said.

"So, hypothetically of course, if I or one of our friends was gay, you would support them?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, of course!" Tsukasa shouted. Tony smiled as he turned around.

"Tsukasa, you just made this a lot easier on me." Tony smiled. He dropped his voice to a whisper as he leaned closer to Tsukasa. "You remember a few days ago, when you found Konata and Kagami in whatever compromising position you found them in? You ended up telling me about it and I made you go back. It ended up being a misunderstanding?"

"Yeah, I remember." Tsukasa whispered back.

"Well... based on what I've seen of those two..." Tony paused for a moment, thinking of a careful way to say what he was going to so that Tsukasa wouldn't blurt it out in surprise. Nothing came to mind. "Well, to put it quite bluntly, I think they're diggin' on each other."

"Wh-what? Onee-chan and Kona-chan are..." Tsukasa developed a deep blush. "You think they're in love?"

"In my considered opinion, they have some of the purest love I've ever seen. Think. Whenever those two are together, don't we sorta take a backseat in the conversation? And don't they seem distracted much easier around each other?" Tony said, causing Tsukasa think back.

**Mini-flashback: half a year ago, just before winter break**

"Look, at this point, I don't really care guys. Do whatever you want." Kuroi sighed, only being in the class because she was required to be. It was the last day before the break let out, so exams had already been completed and there was nothing to do.

"Ms. Kuroi, can we go see Kagami?" Konata asked, referring to herself and Tsukasa.

"Yeah, sure. Go ahead. Just try not to get caught, or I'll get in trouble. And that means you get in trouble." Kuroi waved Konata out.

"We won't! Thanks!" Konata waved as she and Tsukasa left to go see Kagami. They arrived at Class C to see it was still _actually_ in session. Which was a giant surprise considering the teacher... Konata and Tsukasa watched from outside as Kagami took a number of poses, supposedly arguing with someone over an answer.

"Onee-chan's really doing good in there, isn't she Kona-chan?" Tsukasa asked. She waited a moment without receiving any reply. "...Kona-chan?" She turned to see Konata looking in the classroom, seemingly enchanted by something. Tsukasa followed her vision to see her sister. Before she could think much about it, she heard footsteps from down the hall. "Kona-chan, let's go!" She shook Konata from her daze.

"Hm? Oh, right!" Konata shouted in a whisper at hearing the footsteps close in at the corner. The two made it back to Class B without incident, but the excitement was enough to cause Tsukasa to forget about Konata's glazed over stare for the time being.

**Back at regular time**

"You're... You're right! Those two have always seemed close to each other! I guess that's why..." Tsukasa trailed off, excited that she knew two people who were in love, even if they didn't know it.

"Don't breath a word of this to anyone, got that? This could be REALLY, REALLY bad if it got out. Don't even tell them, they'll know when they find out themselves." Tony said.

"When do you think that'll be Kan-chan?" Tsukasa asked.

"Dunno, maybe after Konata gives Kagami five super awesome gifts? Oh wait. That idea's already been done..." Tony said, closing his eyes in thought. "Crap, there goes that idea... I don't know Tsukasa, we'll just have to see, won't we?" Tony smiled.

"Yeah!" Tsukasa chimed. _I think I'll take a better look and see if I can see it..._ She thought as they started to leave the classroom.

"One more thing." Tony whispered as they got to the door, confident no one could hear.

"Hm?"

"Why don't we help a little, maybe push them together a bit?" Tony smiled to her.

"Let's." Tsukasa smiled back. As Tsukasa and Tony got out to Konata and Miyuki, they noticed Kagami just getting there. Tsukasa's eyes skittered between the two girls. She started thinking about the two eventually dating, kissing, hugging... She developed a small blush.

"You okay Tsukasa? You look a little flushed..." Kagami said, having noticed that the two had been alone except for the teacher, and she knew that Kuroi wasn't exactly that big on rules and regulations...

"Ye-yeah! Just thinking is all..." Tsukasa panicked slightly, being pulled from her thoughts.

"Don't worry Kagamin, those two were just talking in private is all~." Konata teased. Kagami looked at Tony.

"Hey. I wanna talk to you about something." She said, her tone serious.

"You may speak as you wish." Tony smirked.

"You know what I mean. In private." Kagami clarified.

"Sure thing, Ms. Kuroi has left, so we can use the classroom." Tony said, opening the surprisingly unlocked door.

"What's with all the private speaking today!" Konata complained.

"Don't worry Konata, this probably won't take long!" Kagami said cheerfully as she entered the room. Tony looked back and gave a quick shrug to those left outside before heading in himself. Tony closed the door.

"What's up Kag-" Tony tried to ask.

"Shh..." Kagami shushed him.

"Nope! Can't hear anything!" They heard Konata shout from outside after a moment.

"She gave up. Now we can talk." Kagami sighed before turning to Tony. "Alright now."

"What's up Kagami?" Tony asked again in a whisper.

"What do you think of Tsukasa?" Kagami asked him.

"You brought me in here to ask that?" Tony sighed in relief. "Simple. She's Tsukasa."

"What does that mean?" Kagami asked sternly.

"Whatever you want it to mean. Where are you going with this?" Tony replied with an equally stern voice.

"Look, it's just... I know you care for her and you're a nice guy and all, but there's one thing to keep in mind." Kagami sighed.

"And what's that?" Tony asked.

"I don't care how strong you are, if you do anything to harm or upset her, I'll rip your damn intestines out and strangle you with them. Got that?" Kagami said in a tone colder then ice. Tony got a shiver, something he hadn't felt in quite a while.

"Yes ma'am." Tony said, already knowing that Kagami was probably being completely serious. After all, she hadn't said some cliché and overused phrase like 'I will kill you...'. What she said had actually required thought. And sounded quite painful. Tony regained his composure slightly. "Look Kagami. I understand your hesitation. She's your sister, after all. But you have nothing to worry about. I would never do anything to hurt Tsukasa or any of you."

"I'm glad to hear that, it's just that I don't want to see her get hurt." Kagami said, getting an idea. Tony started questioning her thought train.

_She thinks I like Tsukasa, doesn't she? … Maybe I do. Or don't. Right now, I don't know..._"Don't worry Kagami. If anyone even thinks of laying a hand on her, they will know true pain." Tony stated with utmost certainty.

"You sound certain... How do you know you could save us?" Kagami asked. Tony blinked a couple times.

"Kagami, if you can look me in the eye and seriously question my abilities, you might want to get your head examined..." Tony sweatdropped.

"That's not what I meant, I mean what if you get shot and killed and they do something...?" Kagami let herself trail off to indicate her intentions. Tony picked up on it and thought for a moment.

_Alright, she wants to know what happens if something bad happens because I die around Tsukasa... I've gotta think of something cool though..._ "Then I'll burn my way across the afterlife until I find whatever hole the fool has hidden himself in. I shall have vengeance. This I swear." Tony said, looking serious. Kagami sweatdropped, but smiled as he seemed so serious about her sister's safety.

_I'm glad he takes her safety so seriously. I suppose if she did want to go out with him, I could get use to it. It would be a bit weird considering we... I don't know if that can even be counted though, I don't even remember it... But I would have to keep an eye on them, just to make sure..._ "That's kinda over the top, isn't it? I'm glad you want to protect us so much though." Kagami smiled.

"Maybe it is, but so long as I live, no one will hurt Tsukasa. And I have no intention of dying." Tony smiled back, falling for Kagami's makeshift trap.

_I've said us almost this whole time, but he's specifying Tsukasa. I wonder if I'm reading too far into this, but he's totally liking her._ "That's what I wanted to hear." Kagami smiled wider.

"I know it is." Tony smirked as he turned to leave, causing Kagami's jaw to drop.

_Wait... does that mean he didn't mean any of that? Or is he just trying to confuse me... GAH! I don't know anymore!_ Kagami thought in frustration as Tony started to walk back out. "One more thing."

"Yes?" Tony turned back around.

"About your 'abilities', there are a few things I don't get..." Kagami said.

"For example...?"

"When you disappear like that, it's because you go super fast, right?"

"Correct." Tony raised his eyebrow.

"How do you do that? I mean, I know the whole adrenaline thing, but how do you get the necessary traction to move that fast on the spot?" Kagami asked.

"...well..." Tony hesitated.

"And how come the ground doesn't break under the force of how hard you must have to push to go that fast?" Kagami continued.

"Kagami?"

"And shouldn't we hear something like a sonic boom? I mean, to disappear from sight, you would have to be going really super fast! Shouldn't there be some sort of shock wave that goes in front of you?" Kagami continued attempting to find the science in any of it.

"Kagami..."

"And Gods help you if you punch someone like that, it may kill them but wouldn't it break your fist into just as many pieces? And hurt like hell?" Kagami kept puzzling.

"KAGAMI!" Tony shouted.

"Wha-what?" Kagami said, having been taken out of thought quite violently.

"There are some things we just don't question, alright?"

"But-"

"There are perfectly logical answers to all those questions, but they'll have to wait for another day."

"... Alright..." Kagami muttered confusedly.

"Don't worry so much about it sister, the less physics have to do with it, the more I can do!" Tony smiled as he turned to leave again. Kagami sighed as the two exited the room. Konata looked over at Kagami.

"Kagamin~! That took long! They're about to lock the school up!" Konata whined.

"Oi Hiiragin! Whatcha still doin' here?" Misao waved. "Who's that? Your boy~friend~?" Misao teased, already knowing the answer. Tony stepped forward before Kagami could give an answer.

"Ah~, You must be Misao Kasukabe. I've heard about you. I'm what you would call an avant-garde individual." Tony held his hand out so as to shake hands, sounding a bit too much like an old time British stereotype. Misao gave a confused look.

"A wha?" Misao asked.

"An OC." Tony clarified. This only confused Misao more. She turned to the girls and pointed to Tony.

"The heck is this guy talking about?" She asked Kagami in particular.

"We're not really sure. He does that sometimes." Kagami nervously laughed. Tony put his hand back by his side, seeing it wasn't going to get shaken anytime soon. "But what are you still doing here?"

"I was studying with Ayano!" Misao said as the group started walking. Tony looked over to see Misao completely ignoring Konata's existence while Konata had a sour face.

"By studying you mean copying?" Kagami said, meaning it more as a statement than a question.

"But studying is so boring!" Misao complained as the group left the school.

"I seem to attract people who think that..." Kagami sighed.

_You don't know the half of it..._Tony snickered in his mind as he yawned aloud.

"You alright?" Kagami asked, having just finished unlocking her bike. She found it funny that Tsukasa had actually grabbed Kagami's bike instead of her own. Tsukasa stopped unlocking the one she would ride and listened.

"Yeah, just tired. Yesterday took it out of me, I still haven't completely recovered from using that in such a worn out state. I'll be fine once I get some sleep." Tony said. "Heck, I almost fell asleep while we were walking..." Tony chuckled sleepily. "And Ms. Kuroi's classes don't exactly wake one up. Do they Konata?" Tony looked at Konata with a smirk, who had fallen asleep several times over the course of the class.

"Oh boy, I know what you mean..." Konata agreed.

"It's just good our Ms. Kuroi is more professional then a certain other Kuroi. Ours doesn't make you stay after and "punish" you with a ruler." Tony sighed at his own lemony fresh reference. His comment was ignored.

"Well if you're that tired, then you better get-... WHERE THE HELL IS MY BIKE?" Kagami shouted, having turned back to see her bike missing.

"Can I borrow your bike Hiiragin? Kthxbye!" Misao shouted while riding away on Kagami's bike.

"Get the hell back here!" Kagami shouted, but Misao was out of earshot by now. Or just ignoring her. Either way, Kagami knew she wouldn't see her bike again until the next morning.

"Well, that leaves two bikes here. I think Miyuki should take one and Kagami and Tsukasa should take another." Tony yawned again.

"But wait, you should take one so that you can get home quicker!" Kagami protested.

"Nah, what if I fall asleep during the ride? I fall and kill myself. No thanks. I know Konata is pretty athletic based on the race we had the other day, so she shouldn't need one." Tony responded.

"I'm gonna have to take Konata's bike again!" Kagami cried.

"Well that's not very nice..." Konata pouted.

"I'll take it if you wish Kagami-san." Miyuki offered.

"Thanks Miyuki, you're a life saver..." Kagami let out a sigh of relief.

"Is it really that bad?" Konata shouted dramatically as Miyuki got on Konata's bike and rode off.

"Alright, you ready to go Tsukasa?" Kagami asked as she walked over to Tony's bike and hopped on. Tsukasa shot Tony a worried look that went unnoticed as it only lasted an instant.

"Sure thing Onee-chan!" Tsukasa smiled as she walked over to the bike. Kagami had noticed something though.

"Uh... Tony? I never noticed your bike was this small..." Kagami sweatdropped as Tsukasa tried to get on in various ways, failing each attempt. "It doesn't seem to seat two..." Kagami said.

"What's the point of having a bike that seats two when you didn't know that you would ever have friends again?" Tony raised an eyebrow, curious to hear Kagami's answer.

"Well I-..." Kagami was caught off guard. She decided she shouldn't comment on it. "Well... Maybe Konata should take it. I don't feel comfortable with Tsukasa taking the subway alone..."

"Go ahead, I've got to take the subway home anyway." Tony said.

"But wait... Konata would be going home on foot and she lives about the same distance from here as you? And aren't you faster?" Kagami asked, much to the chagrin of Konata.

"True, but I don't feel like running all that way and I probably wouldn't make it besides. I'll ride with Tsukasa to her stop and then just take it back to my own." Tony offered.

"Okay... I guess... I'm counting on you Tony..." Kagami said, uncertainty plaguing her despite the conversation the two had had earlier. She rode away hesitantly.

"Oh man! This is so going to trigger a flag! First you two will sit down, then Tsukasa's gonna fall asleep on your shoulder, and then-" Konata started on a rant before Tony interrupted her.

"Come on Konata. What do you think this is, a poorly written fanfic?" Tony asked.

"But it's totally gonna happen! It's gotta!" Konata said excitedly.

"Whatever... You ready Tsukasa?" Tony asked.

"Yeah!" Tsukasa chimed.

"Well, see ya!" Konata waved as she raced off. Tony and Tsukasa looked as she ran.

"We can talk about plans for those two on the way! Let's get going, shall we?" Tony smiled.

"Let's." Tsukasa smiled back.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Kagami rode back to her house alone, the whole while worrying that Tsukasa would make it home safely. _I should have given her the bike and rode the subway myself..._ The idea occurred to Kagami, but the duo had surely left by now and would be on the train by the time she made it there. _I'll just have to trust Tony..._ She sighed. She arrived at home and walked in.

"Hey Imōto! Where's your sister?" Matsuri shouted.

_Why is she always the one to greet us? Doesn't she have anywhere else to be? Like college?_ "Hey, she's hanging out with a friend, she'll be back soon." Kagami sighed.

"Is her friend coming here?" Matsuri asked teasingly. "Is it her boy~friend~?"

"No, he's not. For both. Everyone always assumes he's someone's boyfriend in the group, but he isn't." Kagami sighed again. _Yet, that is..._

"Well you don't seem too happy, do you not like him?" Matsuri asked.

"No, no! It's not that he's bad or anything, he's a really nice guy! It's just that... Oh crap! I have homework to do, I don't have time to talk. Sorry!" Kagami said, rushing up the stairs and into her room.

"Geez Imōto, we were in the middle of a conversation..." Matsuri muttered, annoyed.

Kagami got into her room and closed the door. She walked over to her desk and got her homework out. _It's not that I don't trust him, it's that it's Tsukasa I'm trusting him with..._ Kagami thought before she put the thought away. Not the worry, just the thought. She got to work.

**Several Hours Later**

Kagami put her pencil down and laid back in her chair. "Whew, finished..." She sighed in relief as she left the room and went down to the living room. She looked at the clock on her way to see that it was about quarter to 9, a while after normal dinner time. _I wonder what's taking them so long..._ Kagami wondered. Instead of going to the living room, she made her way to the kitchen. "Hey mom, do you and Tsukasa need some help with dinner?"

"No thanks dear, it's just that I'm so used to having Tsukasa here to help so it's been a little while since I've cooked this by myself. It's a big meal and she always helps make it go faster!" Miki called to Kagami as Kagami entered the room. A pit formed in Kagami's stomach as her face paled slightly.

"Mom, do you know where Tsukasa is?" Kagami asked, fear starting to well up. _He couldn't have..._

"Matsuri said she was with a friend, but she hasn't come back yet. I called her cellphone, but I didn't get an answer. I assumed she was just somewhere loud and couldn't hear it." Miki said as she turned her head to see Kagami and talk directly to her. "Kagami? Is something wrong?" She asked upon seeing Kagami's face, but didn't get a reply. Kagami was already halfway to the door.

_DAMN YOU!_ Kagami screamed in her head as she bolted out the door and onto her bike. She started riding her fastest Tony's house. She made the trip less then half an hour, rage boiling in her the entire time. She walked up and smashed on the door. Before Kagami knew it, Masutā had the door open and a gun to her head.

"... Sorry about that..." Masutā said, pulling his gun away. "Why all the commotion?"

"Where the hell is Tony?" Kagami yelled.

"He isn't back yet, I assumed he was with all of you. Has something happened?" Masutā asked. Kagami was already mounting her bike again.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find that son of a-"

"Hello Kagami." Tony interrupted, having sidled behind her.

"Where you been Otōto?" Masutā shouted as he waved.

"..." Tony seemed reluctant to tell. He did, however, give Masutā a look that Kagami couldn't really describe. Masutā burst into laughter.

"What? Where is my sister?" Kagami yelled. Tony gave her a confused look.

"She's at your house, I just dropped her off." Tony said. "What's wrong?"

"You're hours late! What happened?" Kagami asked, her rage starting to die and give way to exhaustion. She had really pedaled fast.

"Well... Stuff..." Tony muttered as he averted his gaze, his cheeks turning a shade of pink. Kagami's eyes widened.

"What... kind of stuff?" Kagami asked hesitantly.

"You... could ask Tsukasa... I'd rather not say. It's embarrassing." Tony scratched his head. Kagami was on her bike instantly, riding back to her house.

_Tsukasa, what happened?_ She yelled in her head.

* * *

**POV Konata**

Konata got home, slightly out of breath from her jog as she hadn't really run home. At least, not for her. She walked in and sat down in the living room. "So how was school Yu-chan?"

"It was alright, Minami-chan seemed a little sad though..." Yutaka said.

"Minami did? How can you tell?" Konata giggled.

"What do you mean?" Yutaka asked.

"I mean Minami always looks so... emotionless. How can you tell she was sad?" Konata asked.

"People keep saying that, but she has plenty of emotions!" Yutaka pouted, unknowingly increasing her moe points from Konata. "At least I've never had any problem telling, not after I got to know her. But even Tamura-san has trouble reading Minami-chan though..." Yutaka wondered. _Why am I the only one able to read Minami-chan?_

"So, did you two trigger any flags while you were there?" Konata asked with a gleam in her eyes.

"What? Flags?" Yutaka panicked slightly, having no clue what Konata was talking about.

"You know, flags! Did anything cute happen while you were there? Tell me everything!" Konata urged excitedly.

"Well... There's not much to tell really, I did end up getting sick and having to be absent from school for a couple days... Minami-chan even stayed home and took care of me! She only ever left to go to the bathroom too. It's weird, usually when I have a temperature as high as I did, I feel terrible! But when Minami-chan was there, I felt fine! We talked and laughed all day!" Yutaka reminisced happily.

"Minami laughing? I can't even picture that... But they say that love is na-" Konata fell silent as something clicked in her head._ Love is a natural painkiller... It's scientifically proven... _

_**"It must have been really early if you're already here..." Her voice trailing off as she expected her throat to hurt. It didn't.**_

_**"What the hell was the yelling about?" Konata yelled, her throat oddly not bothering her. **_

"Onee-chan? What were you saying?" Yutaka asked, trying to bring Konata out of her daze. It was to no avail.

_Every time Kagami came while I was sick, all the pain disappeared... I love Kagami. _Konata realized, and deep down in her core, she knew it was the unequivocal truth. It brought a happy smile to Konata's face. _I'm in love with Kagami!_ She shouted in her head as she got up and raced to her room, leaving behind a very confused Yutaka. She got into her room and took out her diary and began to write.

_I'M IN LOVE WITH KAGAMI! Oh yeah..._

_Dear Diary, -June 1st_

_I'M IN LOVE WITH KAGAMI!_ She wrote. She didn't know why, but just writing it made her incredibly happy. _I know why I always hug her and tease her and smile and make perverted comments and everything! I love her, Dairy! I love her! But... She doesn't love me... Every time I hug her, she pushes __me off...Every time I talk to her, I just end up pissing her off... I always annoy her... She says I'm like a perverted old man... I-_ Konata continued to write her insecurities, feeling her sorrow build with each letter. As she finished, she looked over the long list she had taken so long to make, and cried. She cried more then she ever had, for her love must surely hate her considering all that Konata did to her. She didn't know how long she sat there crying, but the next thing she knew, she was curled in a ball on her bed. She wept until she fell asleep, forgetting and not caring for dinner.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Kagami got home, thoroughly exhausted. She ran in and instantly smelled dinner. Her stomach growled severely in protest to her massive exertion, but her goal remained. She walked into the living room.

"Hi Onee-chan, where have you been?" Tsukasa asked with her usual smile.

"I could ask you the same thing!" Kagami retorted, much to the confusion of everyone.

"But... you're the one who told us where she was... weren't you Kagami?" Inori asked, confused.

"Yeah but- Look, just come here Tsukasa, please? I'm tired." Kagami sighed.

"Sure thing Onee-chan..." Tsukasa muttered, not used to catching the brunt of an annoyed Kagami. She followed her into her room. "What's up?"

"Where were you? You were just supposed to ride the subway home with Tony!" Kagami practically shouted. Tsukasa jumped back a little and started to shrink.

"I-I-I did!" Tsukasa started to get teary eyed. Kagami saw this and breathed a deep breath.

"But it shouldn't have taken hours, I was just wondering why you're so late." Kagami said in a much cooler tone, ignoring her fatigue and hunger. "I asked Tony himself, but he blushed, said it was embarrassing and told me to ask you." Kagami finished, noticing a bit of red decorating her twin's cheeks.

"Oh yeah... That..." She said, a small smile showing itself.

_WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?_ Kagami screamed in her head at the delay. "Well? What happened?"

"Well... It went like this."

**Several hours ago (Tsukasa omitted the first bit of conversation for obvious reasons)**

Yeah, that'll work. That'll work nicely." Tony smirked as the two walked into the station. "Nice thinking Tsukasa!"

"Thanks Kan-chan! I'm glad you like it!" Tsukasa smiled.

"We'll have to do that after the tournament. What luck, there's even a festival! If they haven't already realized it by then, that is. You never know when it comes to love." Tony winked. He yawned loudly, forcing him to close his eyes and miss Tsukasa's light blush.

"Ye-yeah..." Tsukasa barely managed to say, though still inaudible. They boarded the subway train and sat down in two empty seats. _Okay! I can't embarrass myself in front of Kan-chan by falling asleep on the way home! I have to stay awake!_ Tsukasa determined in her head. Her self-peptalk was interrupted as a stranger leaned over to Tony and whispered something Tsukasa couldn't quite make out.

"Sh-she's not my girlfriend!" Tony half-shouted, his cheeks turning a soft red. Tsukasa's followed suit.

"Whatever you say!" The stranger laughed as he turned back around. A sort of silence descended between Tony and Tsukasa.

**Twenty Minutes later**

Tsukasa's eyes drooped again. Her head kicked down for an instant before she caught herself. _I hope Kan-chan isn't looking right now..._ Tsukasa thought sleepily. As her eyes started to close for what she knew would be the last time, something made her jump and woke her up. It was a sudden weight pressing down on her. She looked slowly to see Tony, fast asleep. Tsukasa instantly turned red at the sudden closeness, not quite sure what to do anymore. She sat there for a minute until they called her stop. "Kan-chan? Kan-chan?" She very hesitantly shook him. Part of her just wanted to let him sleep.

"Five more minutes..." Tony muttered before falling back asleep.

"Last call!" Tsukasa heard. She looked back at Tony.

"Five more minutes." Tsukasa smiled as she let the doors close. At the next stop, a man and his wife entered the train. The wife looked down to see a girl sleeping on a boy's shoulder while the boy's head rested on her's. Both, though clearly unconscious, had at least a small smile on each face.

"Aw~! Why can't we be like that?" She cooed to her husband.

"Because we're old." The husband sighed as they took seats further down.

**Several Hours Later**

Tony awoke, feeling quite refreshed. He opened his eyes and, to his embarrassment, found himself still on the subway. _Crap! I didn't get to say bye to Tsukasa..._ He thought, not even comprehending the soft lump he was still leaning on. He then looked down to see Tsukasa directly under him. His face almost exploded. He quickly got back into his own seat sat up straight. Afterward, he started to gently shake Tsukasa awake. "Wake up, Tsukasa, wake up!"

*Yawn* "Kan-chan? What's wrong?" Tsukasa rubbed her eyes, not yet realizing where they were.

**"We** both fell sound asleep! Wake up Tsukasa and weep!  
We missed the stop, it's 9 o'clock and we're in trouble **deep!"** Tony said in a panic. Tsukasa soon joined him.

"What are we gonna do Kan-chan? We got on at 5:30!" Tsukasa panicked. She noticed they were about to reach her stop, luckily. As they got there, Tsukasa said a hasty goodbye and dashed off. As she started to climb the steps, she felt her foot catch on one of them. As she almost hit the ground, she was caught by... "Kan-chan? What are you doing here?" Tsukasa asked, blushing slightly.

"Like hell you're gonna be any later then you are already if I can help it." Tony said seriously. He helped her up and crouched down. "Get on." He gestured for her to get on his back.

"Wh-wha! I can't do that, aren't you super super tired?" Tsukasa protested.

"Nah, I got a good nap. Told ya, that's all I needed." Tony smiled behind him. "I'm fully rested, and back on top."

"O-okay... If you insist..." Tsukasa slowly got on his back.

In case of emergency, the exits are here, here, here, here,here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, anywhere! Keep your hands and arms on me at all times! And by the way? The back on top was figurative, not literal. Weeee'rrrrrreee...outta here!" Tony smirked as he pointed everywhere around him during the first sentence, making sure to grab Tsukasa's legs tightly and feeling awkward the entire time. _That second sentence sounded a lot less perverted in my head..._ He made sure she had a good grip, and took off. **  
"Whatta** we gonna tell your momma?  
Whatta we gonna tell your pa?  
Whatta we gonna tell Konata when she says **'Oh-la-la!'?"** Tony recited on the way, thankful Tsukasa was on his back so that she couldn't see his growing blush. By the time he finished, they were home.

"Th-thanks Kan-chan..." Tsukasa muttered as she stepped on the ground. She almost fell down due to her extremely wobbly legs.

"Need help?" Tony asked, obviously concerned.

"No thanks, I'll be alright." Tsukasa sighed.

"Alright..." Tony said. "I'll see you tomorrow Tsukasa." He smiled.

"See you tomorrow Kan-chan!" Tsukasa smiled as she barely made it to her door for the second time that day. Tony took off back to his home. Tsukasa entered her own, expecting to be yelled at.

"Hey Tsukasa, what've you been doing?" Inori asked calmly from her place in the living room.

"I was coming home... But I fell asleep on the subway..." Tsukasa nervously giggled as she walked into the living room and sat down to watch T.V., assuming she had already missed dinner.

"Kagami told us you were with a friend?" Inori asked.

"Yeah, he rode with me and made sure I got home okay!" Tsukasa smiled.

"Well that's nice of him. Does h-"

"You better nab him before some other girl does!" Matsuri yelled teasingly, interrupting her older sister.

"A-actually..." Tsukasa stuttered in embarrassment, causing her two older sisters to turn their attention away from the T.V.

"Tsukasa, is that you?" They heard their mother from the kitchen.

"Yeah mom! What's up?" Tsukasa shouted back.

"Could you come help me with dinner?" She asked.

"Sure thing mom!" Tsukasa got up and went into the kitchen. Inori and Matsuri gave each other a look.

"I wonder what she was going to say?" Matsuri muttered as the two looked the way of the kitchen.

"Yeah..." Inori agreed.

Tsukasa entered the kitchen and started to help, instantly recognizing what her mother was cooking.

"Welcome home Tsukasa." Miki smiled.

"Th-thanks mom. Am I in trouble for being out late?" Tsukasa asked.

"Your father's been on the phone in his room with who knows who so he never even noticed. As for me, are you doing drugs?" Miki asked, obviously not serious.

"...No?" Tsukasa said, confused by the random subject.

"Are you pregnant?" Miki asked, still knowing the answer.

"No..."

"Then just don't make it a habit." Miki smiled to her daughter. "Now, just tell me why you were late."

"Well... I was on my way home, but I fell asleep on the subway... I'm sorry!" Tsukasa apologized instantly after she explained where she had been.

"It's alright. I heard someone was with you?" Miki asked, dinner nearing completion.

"Yeah, my friend Kan-chan! He made sure I got home okay." Tsukasa smiled again.

"You like him, don't you?" Miki smiled as her daughter gave her a bewildered look.

"H-How did you know?" Tsukasa shouted. "Am I that easy to read?"

"It's because I love you girls more than anything else in the world. When you love someone to such an extent, you can tell almost anything about them, if they're sad or upset or anything. It's all about love." Miki smiled, making my fifth reference this chapter.

"Oh... I see... Actually, I wanted to ask... How did you and dad meet?" Tsukasa asked.

"Well, when I wanted to find someone to date, I wanted someone who was smart and good looking. So, I had them make a license plate that said IAMTHEQT. It's English so if anyone knew what it said, I would go out with them." Miki said with a mischievous grin. "I used to be quite popular back in my day, you know."

"Really? Well what did it mean?" Tsukasa asked, her English failing her.

"Let's put it this way. I wouldn't date you." Miki winked as she brought dinner out to be eaten. Tsukasa blinked a couple times.

_That didn't help at all..._ Tsukasa cried in her mind. As if on cue, Miki walked back in to get drinks.

"That wasn't all you wanted to ask me, was it Tsukasa?" Miki smiled sympathetically.

"Not really, I wanted to know how you got dad to fall for you?" Tsukasa asked as she grabbed some of the drinks that her mother was carrying.

"I didn't really do anything in particular. To be honest, I didn't even realize how much he meant to me until we couldn't be together every day. I'd taken all the time I had with him for granted and when it was taken away, it tore at me. Sorry I can't give you the answer you were looking for, but the best I can do is to be yourself and enjoy the time you do have with him. I trust he isn't a bad person?"

"No! No of course not! He's really kind and generous and-" Tsukasa was interrupted by her mother giggling.

"Alright then, I'll trust your judgment." Miki said in such a way that Tsukasa knew she had from the beginning.

"Thanks mom." Tsukasa smiled as they walked back into the living room with drinks for everyone. _Maybe I'll ask Onee-chan and the others..._ She thought as she sat down and started eating. She heard a slam at the door. "Hi Onee-chan-"

******Yada yada**

"So that's what happened Onee-chan, I swear!" Tsukasa shouted. Though she had Handwaved the talk with their mother about Tony by just saying she had helped with dinner.

"So nothing bad happened?" Kagami sighed in relief.

"Nothing." Tsukasa confirmed.

"Good. I'm sorry for not trusting you more, but I've gotta do enough worrying for both me and dad since he's been holed up in his room for the last few days. We need to talk to mom about that, but first let's go eat." Kagami said. As she took a step, her leg almost gave out, the full brunt of her exhaustion and hunger slamming into her.

"Onee-chan, are you alright?" Tsukasa shouted as she made to catch Kagami.

"Yeah, I'm just really tired and hungry is all. I rode really fast..." _How do Konata and Tony go that fast without getting tired? I know Tony trains, but Konata is just plain naturally gifted... Of course, she does practice martial arts..._ Kagami thought as she and Tsukasa made their way back to the table.

"Hey, we've all eaten already so the rest is for you guys." Inori said. There were still three full dishes left.

"Awesome, thanks!" Kagami cheered. The food was devoured within minutes.

"Geez Kagami, you're gonna get a stomach ache..." Matsuri said, a slight amount of concern touching her voice.

"I was hungry. You cycle across town at the speed of light and back and not be hungry." Kagami said accusingly.

"So anyway Tsukasa, tell us about this "friend" of yours!" Inori teased.

"Kan-chan?" Tsukasa asked.

"Yeah! One sentence that describes him!" Matsuri specified, much to the surprise of Tsukasa.

_How do I describe him in one sentence?_ "... One sentence long?"

"Yeah!"

"Um... Unusually and exceedingly peculiar and altogether quite impossible to describe~..." Tsukasa said. Kagami sighed.

"Strong."

"Fine Imōto, you can use more then one sentence." Matsuri sighed.

"Well, he's super strong and really fast! He's smart and kind and can do magic!" Tsukasa excitedly described him. At magic, Inori and Matsuri both looked at Kagami with a skeptical look on their faces. Kagami shrugged.

"Tsukasa said that it started raining right after he commanded it and it soothed her neck." Kagami shrugged, not remembering that none of them knew about the would-be crook.

"What happened to her neck?" Inori asked as Miki instantly took her daughter's chin and rose it, revealing the lighter, healing skin on her neck.

"Tsukasa! Why didn't you tell anyone about this?" Miki shouted in concern.

"Well, I didn't think it was serious..." Tsukasa shrank a bit.

"But what if it had been! How did this even happen?" Miki touched the healed cut to make sure it was, indeed, alright. Tsukasa recounted the events of that day, Kagami making interjections where Tsukasa would either blank or get something minor wrong. By the end, the elder sisters had expressions of sheer skepticism, while their mother had an expression like she was trying to believe them. Matsuri started laughing.

"So let me get this straight! This kid, Tony was is, can teleport, knock people out in one hit, and turn into a God?" Matsuri laughed, and though she was successfully repressing it, they could tell Inori was having a similar reaction.

"It's true! Look, he's participating in a tournament soon, if you want to come, I'm sure he'll prove it!" Kagami shouted.

"The World Martial Arts Tournament?" Matsuri asked.

"Yeah, that one! You know about it?"

"Yeah, we're recording it! Something about men bashing each other's head in is going to be interesting... I heard that they even get to use weapons in one round!" Matsuri said excitedly.

"Whoa, what? That sounds like it could be dangerous!" Kagami shouted

"I know! Isn't it awesome?" Matsuri cheered.

_Kan-chan..._ Tsukasa thought in worry and dismay. She looked to her mother to see Miki giving a comforting smile that made Tsukasa feel a lot better.

"Do you have any idea what your father would do if he knew you got hurt and didn't tell us?" Miki scolded, comforting moment over.

"Speaking of which, where has dad been anyway? He shut himself in his room a few days ago and almost never comes out other then for work! What's he doing for the entire day?" Kagami asked her mother

*Sigh* "To be honest, I don't know. I only know that the look he's gotten on his face means he needs to think about something and shouldn't be disturbed. He's got a lot on his mind right now." Miki sighed, knowing there was nothing she could do for her husband.

"I wonder what's up..." Kagami thought aloud as her, her mother and her older sisters all looked in the direction of the room their father was in. Tsukasa looked around and could tell a tension thickening slightly and so decided to ask her question. Hopefully it wasn't too forward, but if their mom had already figured it out...

"Hey guys?" Tsukasa started to as hesitantly.

"What's up Imōto?" Matsuri asked, everyone's attention turning on Tsukasa. It almost made her lose her nerve.

"Well... I was just wondering... Is there anything that all boys like?" Tsukasa asked, a faint blush coming to her cheeks. All of the other girls around the table had already conjured up their own, unanimous, three-letter answer. Needless it say, no one said it directly.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to get a gold medal in the Bed Olympics..." Matsuri gave a sideways glance to avoid eye contact with Tsukasa.

"B-bed Olympics?" Tsukasa stuttered, feeling left out as everyone seemed to know what that was except for her. "O-okay, what else?" Kagami started thinking.

_Yeah. She totally likes him. It's not my place to get involved though, not yet at least..._ Kagami thought. Inori, however, had no such restraints.

**"****Men** want girls with good ******taste-"**

**"****-calm-"** Miki added.

**"****-obedient-"** Matsuri added, slightly in disgust of that particular trait**.**

**"****Who** work fast ******paced!"** Miki said.

**"****With** good ******breeding,"** Matsuri grinned.

**"****And** a tiny ******waist!"** Inori finished, before the two eldest sisters said,

**"****That'll net you any guy~!"**

"Here, I'll help ya out Imōto!" Matsuri shouted, getting up and grabbing Tsukasa by the hand as she bolted for her room.

"But wait, I don't-" Those remaining heard Tsukasa shout before the door slammed behind her. They all simultaneously sweatdropped.

* * *

******Matsuri's room**

"Alright Imōto, I'll help you out with this boy on one condition." Matsuri sat Tsukasa on her bed.

"What?" Tsukasa asked.

"You let me keep that dress I borrowed last week!" Matsuri haggled.

"Wha?" Tsukasa shouted. That was one of her favorites.

"Come on!" Matsuri urged, for she liked that dress a lot too.**  
********"I'll** teach you the proper ploys  
When you talk to boys,  
Little ways to flirt and ******flounce!"**

"We-well..." Tsukasa muttered, split.

**"****I'll** show you what shoes to ******wear,"** Matsuri said as she walked over to Tsukasa and pulled the ribbon from her head.**  
********"How** to fix that ******hair!"** She said as she tied Tsukasa's hair in a ponytail.

"I.. I guess so." Tsukasa gave in.

**"****Well** let's start! Cause you've got an awfully long way~ to ******go~..."** Matsuri smiled as she started dressing up Tsukasa in every way she could think would attract a male.

******Some Time Later**

"Finished!" Matsuri grinned triumphantly.

"O-O-Onee-san! It's too embarrassing!" Tsukasa shouted, her face completely red as she saw herself in the mirror. She had a bunny girl outfit on except for the ears. The bunny ears, though Matsuri had them, had been replaced with cat ears.

"That'll totally get that boy of yours though! Just strut around him with that on and he's yours for sure! Or would you like the bunny ears instead?" Matsuri cheered as she took her phone out and snapped a picture.

"De-delete that! What do you want with such an embarrassing picture?" Tsukasa shouted.

"Maybe I'll show Mister Tony and see if he thinks it's embarrassing..." Matsuri grinned malevolently.

"NO! Please don't do that!" Tsukasa shouted. "I would die if he ever saw me like this!"

"Re-lax Imōto! I don't even know where he lives! If you prefer, we could always take a picture without all that on and show it to him!" Matsuri grinned.

"But... He already knows what I look like with normal clothes on..." Tsukasa said, puzzled.

"Oh, I never said ANYTHING about dressing you back up once we take those clothes off..." Matsuri giggled as Tsukasa almost burst into flames. I won't bother writing Tsukasa's response to this one. Suffices to say it consisted of much less-than-coherent shouting of embarrassment.

"Tsukasa, are you still in there? We have homewor-" Kagami opened the door to see Tsukasa in the... ensemble... she had on. "...Do I even want to know?"

"She dressed me up like this and told me to strut and took pictures and-" Tsukasa hurriedly explained before Matsuri put a hand over her mouth.

"Tsukasa, whether you know it or not, what you just said sounded really weird..." She sweatdropped.

"That didn't sound like that in my head..." Tsukasa sweatdropped with her sister.

"Wh-whatever. Just come with me, there's no time to do your homework." Kagami sighed as she beckoned for Tsukasa to follow her. Kagami held up a hand as Tsukasa complied. "Put on your clothes first."

"R-right!" Tsukasa took her clothes into her room and changed. She came out, suddenly feeling tired. She looked to a clock and saw it was almost 11. She entered her sister's room with book and pencil, thankful her sister would let her copy. "Thanks Onee-chan."

"It's alright, just answer one question truthfully." Kagami said.

"What is it?" Tsukasa asked as she sat down.

"You completely like Tony, don't you?" Kagami asked. She already knew she would probably get embarrassed and deny it, despite the deal.

"... Yeah. But you have to PROMISE not to tell him Onee-chan! Please!" Tsukasa pleaded.

"Sure thing." Kagami smiled. Her smile soon turned into a devious smirk, finding a way for her not to get involved. "And if he lets me know that he likes you, I PROMISE not to tell you."

"Wha-what?" Tsukasa's face melted into blue lines. "You don't have to go that far!"

"Too late, I've already promised it!" Kagami grinned. Tsukasa sighed and gave up. They were 'working' in relative silence for a while. "You know, this isn't what I imagined college life to be like. It's a lot like high school. I imagined it would be something like "We are in college, oh joy." but it's really not that bad..." Kagami said.

"I didn't really know what it would be like. I had hoped that we could all get accepted to the same college and maybe even get an apartment together. Like me, you, and Kona-chan." Tsukasa said, almost done copying her sister's work.

"Maybe Misao could come live with us too... On second thought, that might cause some problems..." Kagami said, thinking about the animosity that currently existed between Konata and Misao.

"Yeah... Thanks Onee-chan!" Tsukasa yawned for the umpteenth time since they started.

"No problem!" Kagami smiled. _I'm so totally gonna have to wake her up in the morning..._ "Good night!"

"Good night Onee-chan!" Tsukasa called as she walked to her room. She opened the door and sweatdropped as she saw the outfit she had been in crumpled on the floor. She yawned as she got into bed and clicked her lights off with her remote.

* * *

******POV Tony**

"That's pretty funny Otōto." Masutā snickered after Kagami left.

"Yeah, yeah. I fell asleep. Very funny. I think I'm gonna go to the bar." Tony said as he turned away.

"Eh, why?" His brother asked.

"Just to see a friend of mine." Tony smiled as he started jogging quite quickly to the bar Akira owned. He arrived and walked in to see a large man standing about 6 feet 4 inches causing trouble, no one stepping up to challenge him. "What's up? Someone causing trouble?" He asked Akira.

"Oh, it's Leroy. He's more then trouble. He comes in and makes a ruckus a couple times a week." Akira sighed.

"Well why doesn't anyone do anything?" Tony asked.

"Well he's bad. They say he's the baddest man in the whole damn town. Badder then ol' King Kong. Meaner then a junkyard dog." Akira sighed.

"Just a minute." Tony got up and saw Leroy hitting on a girl by the name of Doris. _This seems oddly out of place and out of time..._ Tony thought, seeing his opportunity to step in.

"So babe, you married?" Leroy asked her, though his tone told everyone that it wouldn't make a slight bit of difference.

"Yes, and he's a very jealous man." Doris said, clearly uninterested.

"Oh really?" Leroy laughed. "Where is he? I'll show you a REAL man!" Leroy shouted before being tapped on the shoulder. He turned to see a boy about half a foot shorter than him.

"Excuse me, I believe you're hitting on my wife." Tony said. Leroy laughed.

"You mean this pipsqueak is your husband?" He threw his head back and laughed. Doris gave Tony a questioning look as Tony mouthed for her to play along. "This won't take long!" Leroy yelled, tackling Tony to the ground. After about a minute, the two were pulled from the ground. Tony looked none the worse. Leroy, however, looked like a jigsaw puzzle with a couple of pieces gone. Doris sighed.

"Thanks, but how did you beat him so easily?" Doris asked.

"Simple. Nobody can defeat a God." Tony smirked.

"Well at least tell me your name." Doris insisted.

"My name?" Tony looked to Akira for a second with a smirk. He looked back. "Ryū Tora no Kami. But my friends call me Kan-chan. Don't ask, it's a long story."

"Well thanks, Kan-chan. I don't even want to think about what my husband would do to him if he had found out about Leroy hitting on me. And then what might happen with our daughter..."

"No problem ma'am. Just happy to help." Tony smiled as he sat at the bar.

"So, what'll you have _Kan-chan_?" Akira giggled.

"What's an expensive drink?" He asked Akira.

"Um... This is one!" Akira pulled out a bottle worth about 5000 yen.

"I'll take it!" Tony smiled, pulling out the money.

"No, no, it's on the house after you took care of Leroy for me!" Akira smiled.

"Actually, can I get you for a free bottle of something later? I have a feeling I'll need it more then." Tony chuckled, hoping she wouldn't question it.

"Sure, if you say so..." Akira trailed off as she accepted the money in exchange for the bottle. "Any particular reason you're drinking?"

"Not really, I just wanted to come for a visit, see how things were going. Glad I got here when I did."

"Yeah, other then the time and place, you stayed pretty true to the song. After all, it never said the girl's husband beat him up..." Akira smiled.

"Hey, let's try not to hurt the wall as much, our readers are finding it grating." Tony said.

"Oh, I thought they were modest breaches, not really great..." Akira smirked.

"Grating. Ting. Ting." Tony emphasized.

"Hello?" Akira asked suddenly.

"W...what?"

"It's a game right? Like Knock Knock? You say Ting Ting and I say hello! Alright, start again, Ting ting?" Akira smiled. Tony sighed. "Alright, just one more off the wall question."

"If you must." Tony said.

"How did you get the part for Tony anyway?" Akira asked.

"You should see my audition." Tony smirked.

******Audition!**

Ac: So then, what would you do if I were to put you in my story?

Tony: Well the first thing I'd do is...  
**Impress** the girls! (LIKE A BOSS!)  
Miss Konata! (LIKE A BOSS!)  
Piss off Sojiro! (LIKE A BOSS!)  
Knock him out! (LIKE A BOSS!)  
Trick Tsukasa! (LIKE A BOSS!)  
Date Kagami! (LIKE A BOSS!)  
Sing Kan-chan! (LIKE A BOSS!)  
Be a prick! (LIKE A BOSS!)  
Meet my brother! (LIKE A BAWWS!)  
Hachiman! (LIKE A BOSS!)  
Relive my past! (LIKE A BOSS!)  
Feel accepted! (LIKE A **BOSS!)**

Ac: Well, your song parody has not fallen on deaf ears. You've got the part!

******Flashback's over**

"Well that was... weird." Akira said.

"Yeah, but it was fun. Anyway, I better get going! I'll see you at the tournament tomorrow!" Tony got up and waved.

"Wait, aren't you going to drink?" Akira asked, confused. Tony hadn't even touched his bottle.

"Nah, I never had any intention of drinking it, so you can go ahead and resell it!" Tony waved as he left. Akira stood, stunned.

"Well then... That was cool." Akira smiled as she got back to work, putting the extra 5000 in her pocket.

* * *

******Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya luckies! I'm Akira Kogami, your navigator!"

"And I'm Minoru Shiraishi, the assistant!"

"So this chapter was pretty long, huh Shiraishi-san?" Akira said.

"Yeah, the writer actually said they had an amazing idea for this Luckier Channel, but forgot it about a week ago. So now we really don't have a script to go by..." Minoru scratched his head.

"That's pretty sloppy work there Ace. But I guess I can't be too angry, he got Kan-chan to slip me 5000 yen without me even knowing!" Akira smiled, her voice change throwing Minoru through a loop.

"Yeah, admitted that they went a little overboard on the music references..." Minoru said.

"Yeah, how many were in here? Three? Four?" Akira asked.

"As a matter of fact, it was five! Ten points for anyone who can name each one!" Minoru shouted to the camera.

*Music Tone*

"Well, I guess that's all the time we have for today! I'll see you all in the next chapter! Bye-nii~!"

"..."

"Come to think of it, weren't there even more references to Flygon's stories?"

"Yeah, there were-"

*End*

* * *

**After Section**

Boo. Yeah. Hey Flygon Master, I'm curious as to how you're going to counter 8 references to all 3 of your stories. For those of you who are reading Flygon's stories and got these references, well... Good job. Have a cookie. For those of you who haven't read Flygon's stories, ლ(ಠ益ಠ)ლ Y U NO READ AMAZING STORIES? They're awesome. You must read them. Yay! Killa likes my story! Like I said before, I'mma lay off the 4th wall for a while. They might rub it, but I've told them not to break it anymore. And I admit, Tony was a prick before. Thanks to stealthmomo for letting me know XD Speaking of which, are you still reading this Stealth? I haven't gotten a review from ya in a while! Four chapters! If I did something bad, let me know! Oh yeah, and new rule. No one can threaten me with characters from their story unless it has at least 13 chapters or is half the word length of mine XD. How about I bargain with ya Riot, I'll slip Akira a few thousand every couple of chapters, I haven't got enough to make her rich and Akira's stupid mother called a lock smith while Akira was at work .. I was thinking of raising her pay, but her mother would just get that too. Anyway, read and review! Wait a minute... haven't you already read it? Well then... Just review, please! I love reviews, it's seeing them that gets me motivated to write more!


	17. Chapter 17: The Tournament Begins!

Chapter 17: The Tournament Begins!

Sorry Flygon, I had to do that XD I've always had a talent for referencing things, obscure or not. Once I made a reference so obscure, _**I**_ didn't know what I was referencing! Don't ask me how I did that, I honestly have no clue. I think it was that I remembered the line, but not what it was from. It's not really a natural talent as it is one I've developed from a little more then 5 years of practice doing just that. I digress. Thanks for the compliments Killa! I do get quite carried away, don't I? I aim for 6K words normally, even passing up fantastic cliffhangers to meet the quota and end up with 11K LOL I do wonder if I go into too much detail, but it doesn't really matter. Believe me, I'm glad to be at this tournament! I keep saying that, but I keep delaying it by going into such detail and putting in snippits of stuff that, while I LOVE writing it, takes quite a lot of words. So I'm starting the tournament in THIS chapter, no matter the word count! Preliminaries start NOW!

* * *

**POV Konata**

Konata woke up to a light pain in her stomach. Waking up in full, she sighed as she grasped her stomach, quite hungry from missing dinner the night before. Then the reason she had missed dinner hit her again. She lost her appetite as tears filled her eyes again. She wiped her eyes and sighed as she started getting ready for the day. She got dressed in her uniform and walked out to the kitchen half-heartidly.

"Konata? Are you okay?" She heard her father call from the living room.

"Yeah, why?" Konata replied, sounding flat without meaning to.

"You don't sound it. You never came to dinner yesterday. I was worried." Sojiro came into the kitchen. He saw the red cheeks of his daughter and became VERY alarmed. "Konata? What's wrong? Why were you crying?"

"Don't worry about it dad. I'm fine." Konata tried her best to sound happy and give a smile, but Sojiro could tell it was empty. But he could also tell that she wasn't about to open up to him.

_Alright Konata. When you're ready to talk, I'll be waiting._ Sojiro thought. "If you say so." Konata made herself toast and grabbed a coronet for later. She ate it less then enthusiastically, if such an understatement could be made.

"Onee-chan, are you-" Yutaka started to ask.

"I'm fine Yu-chan." Konata interrupted. She grabbed her bag and left for school early so that she walk at her own pace. She stood on the sub-way and rode to the stop nearest the school. She got there and walked to school, already late. And not a damn was given. The entire time her thoughts were the same, dreading lunch when she would see Kagami again, when she would annoy her again, when she would piss her off again. Konata opened the door to her homeroom.

"Oi Izumi, you're late. I suppose you have an excuse?" Kuroi said, with a grin.

"No ma'am." Konata responded as she walked to her seat.

"Oh well... We already checked homework, take out yours." Kuroi said, taken aback. Konata had responded with no energy, quite unlike her.

"I didn't do it ma'am. I have no excuse." Konata said in the same tone. Kuroi got worried. Not only did Konata respond as if she was depressed, she was saying _ma'am_! Not to mention that she didn't use some excuse like she always did.

"Well... Alright then, let's get class started."

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony awoke in a manner quite the opposite of Konata, completely refreshed and ready for anything. Well, almost. He got up and walked over to his closet. He pulled out regular clothes, feeling that showing up at the tournament in weighted clothing would be adding insult to injury to the people he would be beating.

"Otōto, I made breakfast!" Masutā shouted. Tony cringed slightly. His brother's cooking was only slightly better then his own. That is to say, extremely healthy, but a virtual slaughter of the taste buds.

"Thanks, I'm coming." Tony said as he walked into the living room. He took a bite of the eggs and made a face. _I got spoiled by that one meal._ Tony thought with a snicker.

"Come on Otōto, it doesn't taste that bad." Masutā said as he ate his.

"You haven't tasted Tsukasa's cooking. I've never had better tasting food, it boggles the mind that it was from the same place this stuff comes from." Tony said, looking down at his food. "To think Kagami gets to eat that stuff every day, I envy her to no end." At this, Masutā laughed. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing. Don't worry about it!" Masutā laughed. "You just speak so highly of this girl when it's her sister you're **suppose** to like, right?"

"We-well, I..." Tony stopped himself, catching his stutter. He breathed deeply to regain himself. "Look. I'm a little confused right now. I realize that I don't like Kagami like that, I never did. But I don't know what I think of Tsukasa yet. She's just... amazing. It doesn't seem to matter what I tell her, she isn't the least deterred. For one so small, she seems so strong..." Tony thought aloud.

"You told her about all of that, eh?" Masutā asked, though having been told by Tsukasa before.

"Yeah. It felt... good." Tony said with a glazed look. He stayed like that for a moment as silence descended on the room. He snapped out of it to see the time. "Crap! I've gotta get going, sorry but I don't have time to eat! Thanks though!" Tony shouted as he realized that first bell would ring in twenty minutes. He grabbed his bag and was out of the house almost instantly. Masutā chuckled.

"Well then, this is going to be interesting." He smiled as he finished his breakfast.

Tony ran with all due haste to school, making it about ten minutes before the bell. He walked over and sat down in relief. He checked and saw only Miyuki there, busying herself getting ready for the day. Tony's stomach growled as he took out his homework and started working frantically to get finished before class started. He knew he would have to make it a super quick, probably C to low B homework grade in a few minutes. Maybe a D or low C since he hadn't eaten breakfast or dinner the previous night. His stomach growled loudly again. _Stop that._ He commanded.

"K-Kan-chan?" He heard Tsukasa say behind him, her having arrived while he was distracted. He turned around to see her with a light blush.

"What's up?" Tony asked.

"I-um-..." Tsukasa fidgeted for a second before seemingly arriving at a decision. She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. "Would you like to copy my work? Onee-chan let me copy hers, so it should be good." Tsukasa offered her paper.

"Thanks a lot Tsukasa!" Tony smiled as he took the papers. He had them copied in moments. He turned and gave them back. "Thanks but... That's not what you wanted to say." Tony said, causing Tsukasa to jump a little.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Tsukasa asked in a panic as he had seen through the charade.

"Tsukasa, if you don't want to tell me, you don't have to. Don't worry about it. You can tell me when you want to." Tony smiled, turning back around. Tsukasa sighed. _I wonder where Konata is..._ Tony thought as class started. About ten minutes in, after roll was called and homework checked, Konata came in the room, lacking her usual upbeat attitude.

"Oi Izumi, you're late. I suppose you have an excuse?" He heard Kuroi call as Konata entered the room.

"No ma'am." Konata said flatly as she made her way to her seat. On the way, Tony caught a glimpse of her face.

_Wow, something's really gotten to her... I wonder what's going on._

"Oh well... We already checked homework, take out yours." Kuroi said.

"I didn't do it ma'am. I have no excuse." Konata said, in just as flat a tone.

_Whatever it is, it's something big. Something I don't want her to relive more then she needs to. I'll wait for Kagami to notice at lunch and ask her. _Tony reasoned. Class resumed as normal.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Kagami woke up, her insides burning. She suddenly sprang out of bed to see a witch casting an internal melting spell that was at that moment liquefying her kidneys. She muttered a counterspell and blasted the witch through multiple walls into piles of honey. The witch pulled off her mask to reveal she looked the exact same as she had with the mask on, leading Kagami to wonder what the point of the mask was in the first place. Until the witch pulled her other mask off to reveal the same thing again. She cackled as she drew a sword, Kagami finding one strapped to her own thigh. She looked down as the witch sprang back up into her room and swung the sword around, easily very skilled. As she stopped showing off, Kagami sighed. "I don't have time for this, I have honey to eat and monkeys to save." She pulled out a gun from who knows where and shot the witch, killing her in possibly the most anticlimactic way possible. All the sudden, she felt a small pain on the entirety of her side. Kagami woke up for real this time, having fallen out of bed and sat still, contemplating her dream. She started hitting her head. "What the hell WAS that?" She wondered. She got up, already starting to forget her dream and got her uniform out. She walked out after putting it on and heard an alarm going off in her sister's room. She walked up and knocked on the door. "Tsukasa?" No response. She knocked again, but to no avail. She walked in to see the alarm clock on her sister and ringing loudly. Tsukasa, however, hadn't stirred in the least. Kagami walked over and turned the alarm off. She gently shook her sister. "Tsukasa, it's time to wake up."

"Five more minutes..." Tsukasa muttered.

"Sorry, no five minutes. You have to get up now." Kagami said sternly, increasing the intensity of her shake.

"Mm~..." Tsukasa hummed as she turned over in bed.

"Tsukasa!" Kagami shook harder.

"Hm? Whats..." Tsukasa sprang up. "Oh, morning Onee-chan."

"Good morning, sleepy head." Kagami smiled to her sister. "It's time to get ready for school."

"Okay, thanks Onee-chan!" Tsukasa smiled. Kagami got up and walked out to grab her bag. She did so and walked back, completely expecting to see Tsukasa sprawled back in her bed, asleep. She was surprised to say that wasn't the case. She walked downstairs to see Tsukasa in the kitchen, making lunch for later. She turned around and handed Kagami a bento. In the process, Kagami noticed two things. One was that she could see that Tsukasa was still tired. She had put effort into keeping herself up, even though Kagami had gotten her up in the first place. The second was the two bento boxes behind her.

"Thanks Tsukasa, but... why did you make an extra?" Kagami asked.

"Well..." Tsukasa blushed. "I figured since Kan-chan liked my cooking so much, maybe I could make him something today... you know?"

"That's a bit.. forward, isn't it?" Kagami asked, worried her sister might out herself prematurely.

"Yo-you think so?" She panicked.

"It's up to you, I'm not getting involved." Kagami smiled, receiving a pout from her sister.

"Onee-chan! Tell me, I need your help! I don't know about this stuff!" Tsukasa pleaded.

"Sorry Tsukasa, but I don't know anymore than you on that subject." Kagami grinned. Tsukasa gave a worried look to the bento she had prepared Tony. "Don't worry, I'm sure whatever you do is going to be fine." Kagami said reassuringly.

"Thanks Onee-chan... I think I'll give it to him!" Tsukasa decided.

"Alright! Worse case scenario is that he doesn't like it, in which case he can eat whatever he brought. Though the thought of someone not liking your cooking is ludicrous at best." Kagami snickered as she added the last sentence, causing Tsukasa to blush in embarrassment from the praise.

"You're right! What can go wrong?" Tsukasa smiled.

"Now go grab your stuff, I'll make breakfast today." Kagami smiled.

"Thanks!" Tsukasa thanked as she ran to her room.

_Alright, I just have to remember how I did this before..._ Kagami thought as she tried to remember when Konata was sick and she made a pancake that was supposedly fantastic. She got together all the ingredients she had used before and performed the same steps she had before, though doubling the amount so that there was enough for her and her sister. She finished just in time for Tsukasa to come back down, fully prepared. Kagami handed her sister her pancake and put her own on a plate. She grabbed a couple forks and they both sat down.

"Thanks for the food!" Tsukasa chimed. They both cut off a piece and ate it. The reaction was both unanimous and one of disgust.

_But I thought this was good!_ Kagami thought despondently before remembering something Konata had said.

_**Konata swallowed before saying "Yeah, totally! This is better than I've ever made! Kagami must have put a lot of love into this!"**_

_*Sigh* What does that even mean? Geez, I can't even make a simple pancake. Was she just trying to make me feel better? What, I'm a woman with no love now?_ Kagami thought, getting an odd feeling of Deja-vu._ Wait... didn't I say that before? Either way, this sucks._ Kagami thought bitterly as she finished her pancake. She could have sworn a couple pieces were crunchy. And not in a good way. "Alright, you ready Tsukasa?" She asked after Tsukasa had finished her pancake.

"Yeah Onee-chan!" Tsukasa confirmed, too nice to say what a lousy job Kagami had done. They both started walking to school, Kagami's bike having been taken yesterday and having enough time to walk anyway. They arrived without a hitch and walked in.

"Bye Tsukasa, see you at lunch!" Kagami waved.

"Bye Onee-chan!" Tsukasa waved back. Kagami entered her class.

"Oi Hiiragin! Whatcha doin' after school today?" Misao shouted as she walked over to Kagami.

"I'm going to the World Martial Arts Tournament with my sister and our friends. Why?" Kagami asked.

"You should hang out with us instead!" Misao said, referring to herself and Ayano. "We barely get to see you outside of class now! Besides, you're too fragile for fightin' in that!" Misao protested.

"Wait... I'm not fighting in it, I'm watching someone fight in it. That boy you saw yesterday is going to fight. Which reminds me, where the hell is my bike?" Kagami shouted.

"Whoa! How did you get from that weird kid to your bike?" Misao asked with a giggle.

"It's a long train of thought. But you're changing the subject!" Kagami shouted.

"Well..." Misao avoided eye contact as she scratched the back of her head sheepishly.

"Well what?" Kagami asked.

"My brother... kinda ran it over." Misao sighed. Kagami stood there dumbfounded for a moment.

"You owe me a new bike!" She shouted after a few moments. "Why did he do that anyway? Was it an accident?"

"That's the stupid part! It wasn't!" Misao said, infuriated.

"WELL THEN WHY?" Kagami yelled.

"Hiiragi! Stop the yelling in my class! You're killing me!" Yukari shouted from her desk. Kagami looked over and saw bloodshot eyes.

"Sorry Ms. Yukari." Kagami apologized before turning back to Misao. "Well? Why?"

"Because. He's. An. Asshole. I've told ya that Hiiragin!" Misao said. Kagami instantly hated her brother.

"That jerk owes me a new bike..." Kagami sighed as she took her seat.

* * *

**POV Lunchtime... wait what?**

"Hey, I'm here for lunch!" Kagami announced as she walked in the room. Konata instantly shifted in her seat as everyone took a chair around her desk. "Hey Tony, where's your lunch?"

"I didn't have time to pack one..." Tony scratched the back of his head in embarrassment as his stomach growled loudly. His cheeks turn slightly pink. "And I didn't get any dinner last night either." He said with his eyes closed so as not to see the people he was talking to. He was embarrassed enough as it was. Kagami's eyes widened as she realized how perfectly it had worked out. She turned to Tsukasa while Tony wasn't looking and mouthed for her to go. Tsukasa blushed.

"Um... Kan-chan?" She said faintly.

"Yes Tsukasa?" He smiled.

"A-about that thing you said this morning, that it wasn't what I wanted to say... It was true." Tsukasa muttered.

"Oh?" Tony smirked at finding out he was right.

"Ye-yeah. I was wondering if you would... like this?" Tsukasa shrank as she brought out the bento she had prepared and handed it to him. She had to look away as she handed it to him, a scared blush enveloping her face. Tony changed from smirking to surprise. "Please accept it!"

_That's unexpected!_ He thought to himself. "Thanks Tsukasa... I-..." Tony said, already picking up that he was about to start stuttering **again.**_ I really must find out why I do that..._ He thought. "Thanks. But wait... what are you going to eat?" He asked.

"We-well, I made an extra... So I have lunch to eat!" Tsukasa said. Tony smiled a very warm smile that she could see a lot of joy behind. Kagami couldn't help but smile herself. She also couldn't help but expect the comment about a flag being triggered that was inevitably going to come. When it didn't, Kagami looked to see Konata looking down into her lap and otherwise avoiding attention and eye contact with any of them.

"Konata? Are you okay?" Kagami asked, worry easily discernible in her voice. The table quieted down as they listened.

"Yeah, I'm fine. There's nothing to worry about." Konata said in a despondent tone.

"Bull. Now tell me what's wrong." Kagami said sternly.

"I told you, I'm fine." Konata sighed.

"No you are not! Don't try and tell me that, it's written all over your face! Your cheeks are puffed and red!" Kagami shouted, luckily not attracting very much attention. Konata could feel herself about to tear up.

"Kagami, I told you not to worry! I'm fine! Just drop it!" Konata shouted much louder then Kagami, attracting the attention of most everyone in the class. Tony looked at them all staring at their table.

"Hey, this is none of your business! Turn back around unless you want a drying rack strapped to your chest!" He threatened. Everyone went back to their own conversations promptly.

"... Fine. You can tell me when you're ready." Kagami got up and started to walk out. She stopped at the door and looked back, Konata looking back down into her lap again. Kagami sighed. _I hope she's alright..._ She worried. She left.

_Okay, I have to ask her after school. Though... If Kagami couldn't get it out of her, I don't think there's any hope for me._ Tony thought, starting on the bento Tsukasa had made. The first bite was ecstasy. "Tsukasa, I swear, it's like every piece of food you touch is transformed into something amazing." He said through a mouthful.

"Th-thanks Kan-chan!" Tsukasa blushed. The rest of lunch was spent in silence as Tony was too busy eating to talk, Konata was too depressed, Tsukasa was too embarrassed, and poor Miyuki was completely left out again.

* * *

**After School**

As Konata got up from her seat, Tony walked in front of her. "Hey, we need to talk. That's right, it's your turn." He said.

"I don't want to talk." Konata said.

"Oh, it wasn't a choice, you have to do it." Tony said rather matter-of-factly.

"If I don't?" Konata muttered defiantly, the most emotion Tony had heard her put into any dialogue.

"I think you're forgetting who you're talking to. Tsukasa, could you go keep Kagami busy for me? Undoubtedly she's going to try and listen in." Tony asked.

"Sure thing!" Tsukasa went outside the room and waited for her sister. Tony waited for the room to empty before confronting Konata.

"Wha-" Konata started ask before Tony shushed her. Tony crept over to the door.

"You know, it's rather hypocritical to listen in on friends the day after you scold someone for doing the same thing." Tony shouted in a loud voice. He heard a "Darn!" from the other side by the foiled Kagami. "Alright now. Who am I going to kill?" Tony asked, turning his attention on Konata.

"What do you mean?" Konata asked.

"I mean, who made you cry? Tell me what's wrong Konata. What happened that you can't even tell Kagami?" Tony asked.

"Nothing's wrong, I keep telling you guys!" Konata pleaded.

"If you're going to lie to someone trained to know when you're lying, you should at least put some effort into it." Tony sighed.

"There's no need to worry!" Konata shouted as loudly as she had to Kagami.

"Horse Hockey!" Tony shouted, easily overpowering Konata's voice. The sheer volume made Konata's ears ring. "Look, just tell me. I can help. We can." Tony said in a much calmer voice.

"Alright, you wanna know? I have Girl Problems!" Konata shouted. Tony blinked a couple times. He suddenly raised both hands up.

"Say nothing more. I have no need to know anything more." Tony said as he walked to the door. Konata sat thinking about what she had said.

_Oh... he thought I meant... wow, I lucked out. I really don't want anyone to know right now._ Konata thought to herself as she walked to the door herself. The two left the room, Kagami pacing impatiently like one would imagine an expecting father to.

"We're done here." Tony said, walking out. Kagami gave him a look, then Konata, then caught up with Tony.

"Tony, what's up? What's wrong with her?" Kagami asked. After all, Tony had allegedly diagnosed Konata before when doctors couldn't.

"Nothing I need to have anything to do with." Tony continued walking.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kagami asked.

"It's not my place to say." Tony said. He stopped, realizing he was ahead of everyone else. He waited for everyone to catch up, by this time he was out of the school. "Alrighty, you guys wanna go ahead to the preliminaries? Bro's gonna meet us there."

"Yeah!" The unanimous answer rung out.

"Kan-chan, what's the preliminaries?" Tsukasa asked as they walked.

"Well, it's how they determine who fights who based on strength or skill. I'm not sure how they're going to do it, but we'll just have to see!" Tony smiled. "By the way, thanks so much for lunch Tsukasa. I really needed something to eat before this or I wouldn't be able to do my best! Needless to say, it was food fit for the gods." Tony said.

"Any time Kan-chan!" Tsukasa said, blush crossing her face again. Kagami, however, missed this entire exchange, the whole while looking intently at Konata with an extremely worried look.

"...What is it Kagami?" Konata looked away.

"Are you angry with me?" Kagami asked with a look of sadness. Both Tony and Tsukasa fell silent as they listened to what was happening.

"What? No! What would make you think that?" Konata asked, looking Kagami in her eyes for only the second time all day.

"You're very quiet and unresponsive today. Whatever I say, you just seem to brush off." Kagami said, worried.

"Kagami..." Konata was about to say it had nothing to do with her, but then she thought about how much it did, in fact, have to do with her Tsundere. Before Konata could continue, however, they heard the loud barking of a dog. They all looked over to see a large dog barking at a much smaller cat. The dog was probably about half the size of Kagami.

"Tony, you have to-" Kagami shouted, looking at Tony. She saw a weird sort of fear, something she hadn't really seen before. She knew he was useless. Miyuki didn't know anything about fighting, Konata was depressed, and Tsukasa was trying to comfort Tony over whatever was happening to him. _Then it's up to me!_ Kagami determined. She ran over and started yelling at the dog. The dog ignored her and continued barking at the cat.

"Kagami, what are you doing!" Konata shouted. Kagami ran up and kicked the dog. It had barely any effect. The dog stopped and looked at her. Without warning, the dog jumped at her, Kagami falling to her rear in fear. "KAGAMI!" Konata shouted, leaping between them and, by nothing but instinct, catching the dog on the top and bottom of his head. Seeing her new situation, she landed a blow to the side of the dog's neck, turning it so that his side was facing Konata. Konata brought up her leg and threw the hardest kick she had ever thrown, including every bit of power she could put behind her foot. It was enough to make the dog hesitate, then leave. Konata looked at her hands and realized that the only reason she hadn't sustained the injuries she had expected was from her martial arts training.

"Konata you... saved me. Thank you so much..." Kagami breathed in relief. "Tony, it's okay. It's gone." Kagami called back, figuring that he must have been afraid of big dogs or something. "Are you okay Konata?"

"Yeah, I'm fine... Thanks Kagami." Konata thanked. She turned around and helped Kagami up while averting her gaze even more.

"Konata! Please tell me what's going on!" Kagami pleaded. "It doesn't matter what you say, I still feel I'm responsible for your misery somehow!"

"Kagami..." Konata said, speechless. _After all the crap I put her through... She seems so concerned! I wish I could tell her, but then I'd end up losing her forever._ "Kagami, don't worry. I can honestly tell you that you're causing me no misery. It's just something I've gotta work out myself, ya know?"

"I guess I understand..." Kagami sighed as she went and picked up the cat to check for injuries. She noticed Tony hadn't moved. "Tony?" She asked as she walked closer. Once she was within ten feet, he back up ten yards in even less time. "T-Tony?" She walked closer.

"Kagami. Don't come near me with that..." Tony warned.

"What do you mean? The cat?" Kagami asked, confused as she walked closer.

"Stay away!" Tony yelled with such a power that Kagami had to drop the cat to cover her ears. The cat merely landed on it's feet and walked away. Tony saw what he had done and felt guilty instantly. He ran over to Kagami. "Are you okay Kagami? I'm so sorry!" Tony said while Tsukasa and the others checked on her welfare. Luckily, her ears just really hurt.

"Geez Tony, you sure have a loud voice when you want to..." Kagami commented as she rubbed her ears. "So, are you afraid of cats?" She asked rhetorically, considering he had just screamed and ran from one.

*Sigh* "I was hoping you wouldn't find out... Not that I don't trust you, but still. It's embarrassing..." Tony looked dejected.

"It's alright Tony, we all have stuff we're afraid of." Kagami said.

"Hey Tony..." Konata said, her voice seemingly regaining a bit of it's normal excitement.

"Yes Konata?" Tony asked with a raised eyebrow, curious to see where this was going.

"A super loud voice... Abnormal fear of cats... Are you a merman?" Konata asked with her a shine in her eyes akin to what she usually had.

"Hehe, as hilarious as that would be, it was just a hilarious coincidence. I just happen to have a loud voice." Tony smiled a little at seeing Konata regain her usual humor. Konata suddenly seemed to realize something and shrunk down again.

"Konata, you were like normal again!" Kagami smiled as they resumed walking.

"Yeah... Sorry..." Konata looked down.

"Sorry? What for? I... like the way you are..." Kagami blushed as she took her turn to avert her gaze. Konata gave her a shocked look.

"Wait, I thought I annoyed you all the time with my anime references and comments and stuff! I thought you might hate me for it..." Konata said, tears coming to her eyes.

"Is that what this has been about?" Kagami asked in disbelief. "Konata, if I hated you, why would I be here? Why would I have come to lunch?"

"So... You don't hate me?" Konata seemed uplifted.

"Of course not. Konata, you're one of my closest friends." Kagami smiled. The only reason she said one of was so that no one felt less significant.

"Woohoo!" Konata cheered as she brought Kagami into a massive bear hug.

"H-hey! Come on now!" Kagami shouted as she struggled. However, Konata seemed to have no intention of stopping, and Kagami could see that she was being vastly overpowered. She gave Tony a pleading look. Tony chuckled and walked over. When he spoke, he spoke with an Australian accent.

"Okay, now what we see here folks, is the Otaku's attempt to attract a mate! This is very rare, be careful not to make any sudden movements, as the mates are generally very easily startled. Very dangerous to get involved, VERY DANGEROUS! Exchanges like this could go on for hours! 'd be best just leave them to it and see what else we can find around here." Tony said, talking to Tsukasa and Miyuki, who both giggled throughout the entire "explanation". The three started walking ahead.

"Yo-you're just gonna leave me here? !" Kagami yelled after them.

"Well, you two are just going to miss the tournament!" Tony shouted back. "I bet there will be all sorts of interesting people there!" Tony shouted. Seeing that that wasn't going to cut it, he decided to try something else. "Hey Tsukasa, are there any particular singers or actress' that Konata likes?"

"I think she likes Aya something..." Tsukasa put a finger to her lip in thought.

"Aya Hirano?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, that's it!" Tsukasa confirmed.

"... She must love herself then..." Tony muttered. He shouted behind him. "Yeah! I heard Aya Hirano might be opening the tournament!" Within seconds, Konata had caught up with stars in her eyes, Kagami in tow by the hand, and speeding forward. Tony sweatdropped as they only ended up with enough time to hear Kagami say half a letter. "Such a reaction... Let's at least try and make it there within half an hour of her, eh?" Tony chuckled.

"Okay!" The two girls started jogging while Tony merely sped up his walking to match their speed.

"Hey Miyuki, I have a rather... sensitive question for you." Tony said.

"Yes Kanpeki-san?" Miyuki replied with a smile, already knowing what Tony was about to ask. Also, a little side note here, Miyuki's first words were the 5571st word. I feel so bad for her.

"Well... What do you think about homo-"

"I support Konata-san and Kagami-san." Miyuki interrupted.

"-se... Oh. Well then. That was easier then I thought it was going to be." Tony said.

"Well, your brother asked me the same thing." Miyuki giggled.

"Well then, that would explain that. Tsukasa had an excellent idea yesterday about the festival after the tournament. The five of us are gonna go to the festival, then Tsukasa will seem to get excited by something and pull me off really quickly. You'll follow to calm her down and voila! Those two are alone together! Quite an ingenious plan. Almost flawless..." Tony smiled as Tsukasa blushed a little. She was still getting used to being praised more... _She's cute with a blush..._

"Absolutely flawless!" George Michaels echoed.

"Does it do that every time?" Tsukasa asked. Disembodied voices were a little unnerving.

"Yeah, kinda does. But are you with us on this Miyuki?" Tony asked.

"Yes of course! I would be happy to help." Miyuki eyesmiled.

"Thanks!" Tony said.

_Those two do seem to be getting along quite nicely. Maybe I'll see what I can do for them..._ Miyuki smiled as she thought of a plan herself. She giggled at the simplicity of it, yet how well it could potentially work.

"What's so funny?" Tony asked.

"Nothing, don't worry." Miyuki smiled._ I think I'll give them a little push as well..._ Miyuki thought as they arrived. They walked into the building to see Konata and Kagami waiting, Konata looking quite antsy. Tony and Konata locked eyes for a moment.

"Go Kagami! Use Twin Tailed Tornado!" Konata shouted, pointing at Tony.

"Go Miyuki! Use Multi Moe Missiles Mark 3!" Tony shouted, pointing at Konata.

"UWAG! Super effective!" Konata grasped her heart dramatically.

"Yes! Over 9000 experience gained!" Tony posed triumphantly. Two swift knocks to the head later, both Konata and Tony were sitting on the ground with a lump on each head.

"Hey, you're drawing too much attention, people are staring! You can't just start yelling stuff like that, it embarrasses us! Tony, you're going to be on TV pretty soon during your matches, so you can't just act like that anytime you want to! Now, what do you say?" Kagami shouted. Konata had shrunk to the same state she had been that morning and Tony could tell it was his job to do something about it and make a snappy comeback. He leaned over to Konata and said, just loudly enough for Kagami and the others to hear,

"Meanwhile, Aunt Martha, having taken a tramp through the woods, lies in a ditch on the edge of town..." Tony muttered. Konata lit up and started laughing. Kagami just looked confused.

"Did I miss something?" She asked.

"I guess so." Tony smirked as Kagami started wondering how his statement made any sense in any context. Which conveniently gave Konata and Tony time to sneak away. Kagami noticed they were gone and, Miyuki and Tsukasa in tow, went to find them. They ended up finding them at the desk, about to get into the tournament with Masutā.

"Okay then, that'll be ¥ 10,000 for each ticket, so your total comes to ¥ 60,000!" The girl handling entry said.

"But I thought it was free for family members? I'm participating in the tournament." Tony said.

"Name please?"

"Ryū Tora no Kami." Tony said, causing all of the girls to look at him funny.

"And what is your relation with these girls and man?" The girl asked.

"This is my brother." He said, referring to Masutā.

"Heya." Masutā waved.

"This is my cousin, Miyuki."

"How do you do?" Miyuki bowed.

"This is my sister, Konata."

"Yo." Konata said distractedly. Her and Tony had discussed exactly what he had to do to get the Hiiragi's. Tony smirked.

"This is my wife, Tsukasa, and her sister, my sister-in-law, Kagami." He grinned ear to ear as he saw Tsukasa's face turn the reddest he had ever seen it. That only made him smile wider. One could imagine the edges of his mouth touch on the back of his head.

"Well alright then, we don't usually count in-laws, but I'll make an exception this time. Enjoy the tournament and please try not to get too hurt in the ring Ryū!" The girl said.

"Thanks!" Tony bowed as the lot entered the area. There were all sorts of vendors everywhere selling who knows what.

"You're entering as the God of Fighting? Isn't that a little presumptuous?" Kagami asked. "And why don't you just yell out "Smite me almighty smiters!" 'cause I don't think the gods like being impersonated..." Kagami scolded.

"I'll change it when someone proves me wrong." Tony chuckled.

"Let's go see what everyone's selling!" Tsukasa said excitedly.

"The preliminaries are starting soon." Tony said, poking Tsukasa in the forehead. "Sorry Tsukasa, another time?"

"Alright Kan-chan." Tsukasa giggled. Konata's eye sparkled a bit.

"FLAG!" Konata pointed to the two.

"No flag. Let's go." Tony said, walking to the biggest crowd of people who looked like fighters. He turned out to be right.

"Okay! Let's begin! When I call your name, come up and hit the machine with everything ya got!" Akira shouted. Tony saw a machine with a punching pad. "First is... Recoome!"

"Make way for the champion!" They heard the giant man with a small of orange hair yell as he made his way to the bag. "RECOOOOOME~! PAWNCH!" He hit the bag. A reading showed up of 279.

"Oo~, That's gonna be tough to beat! Next fighter, Mr... Gisō-shin!" Akira announced. Shin was a bald man and... Tony noticed something. Shin was looking directly at Tony. He didn't know how he knew it was at him and not anyone around him, but Shin wasn't breaking eye contact. He walked up to the bag, looking at Tony with a wicked grin. He seemed to lightly tap it. A reading showed 490.

"Hey Otōto... I have a weird feeling about that guy." Masutā said, unblinkingly staring at Shin.

"Yeah, me too. Something's up."

"Four hundred... and ninety? That's crazy, it must be malfunctioning..." Akira said. "Well, next contestant I guess, we'll just work with the new numbers!" Someone walked up and hit the bag to a reading of 160. Person by person, everyone ended up going to and hitting the bag, each scoring between 134-279. Then it was Tony's turn. Neither him nor Shin broke eye contact the entire time, each looking intensely at the other. "Next, Ryū Tora no Kami!" Akira called. Tony walked to the bag, greeted with sneers from his competition. He brought has hand up and, putting a great amount of strength into it, hit the bag in the same manner Shin had. The reading showed 505. Needless to say, the sneering stopped. Shin's grin, however, only grew wider.

_What's up with that guy... _Tony thought. He broke contact and walked back to his friends.

"Good job Kan-chan! You got the highest score!" Tsukasa shouted in joy for her friend.

"Nice going Tony!" Kagami smiled.

"That was so cool!" Konata shouted.

"Real nice Otōto, make the others afraid of you." Masutā smirked.

"It would seem that's the case..." Miyuki eye smiled as they all looked to see most people staying clear of him. Recoome, however, came over.

"Ryū, our fight is one that Recoome looks forward to. Recoome knows it will be a life changing experience... for us both." Recoome smirked.

"You bet it will buddy, but be warned! I'm gonna beat you to a pulp!" Tony said playfully.

"Oh please, you can only try." Recoome responded.

"Yeah, you just watch pal. I'm gonna wipe the floor with you!" Tony smirked.

"Yeah? Well Recoome will smash your face in with a brick." Recoome replied.

"Hehe, you ain't go-... Wait, what?" Tony asked confusedly.

"And then Recoome will set fire to your house in a pagan ritual." Recoome continued.

"What... the hell man?" Tony said.

"And then if we play a game of Monopoly, Recoome will take your turn when you go to the restroom."

"Okay dude, you seriously have issues..."

"And then Recoome will rape your mother."

"Necrophilia?" Tony raised an eyebrow.

"And then Recoome will kick your dog."

"I.. don't even have a dog."

"Well then Recoome will buy you a dog."

"Well that's very nice of yo-"

"And then Recoome will kick it." Recoome finished. There was silence for a second.

"... Why the hell are yo-"

"And then Recoome will make you listen to Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber."

"You wouldn't DARE!" Tony looked defensively.

"We'll see Ryū! We'll see..." Recoome laughed as he walked off.

"... What the hell was that?" Tony asked.

"I... don't know. He didn't have to be such a jerk." Kagami said.

"Well, this tournament will certainly be interesting." Tony smiled.

"Indeed it will be Otōto." Masutā smiled.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya Luckies! I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami!"

"And I'm the assistant, Minoru Shiraishi!"

"Did you all see me? I was totally in this chapter! I'm gonna get a lot more parts, which means a lot more pay!" Akira shouted excitedly.

"I'm happy for you Akira-sama!" Minoru said for the unpteenth time.

"I swear I'mma get you a part or something Shiraishi-san!" Akira shouted.

"Whatever you say Akira-sama!" Minoru said. Akira had promised this several times before. Odd after she had said he was probably gone for good earlier.

*Music Tone*

"Aw~, I guess we ran out of time! I'll see you all next chapter! Bye nii~!"

"..."

"So what's with the attitude?"

"What?"

"The way you said 'whatever' just ticked me off. Almost like you don't expect I'll do it."

"No, no, of course I believe you Akira-sama!"

"Believe what you want, I'm getting something for you."

*End*

* * *

**After section**

Hey, I hotfooted this chapter! I told ya I was excited for the tournament! I've been debating on whether to include the fights in the chapters or make them separate chapters, let me know what you think :P Yay Stealth is back! Welcome back Stealth! I'm glad to hear you're lovin' Tony now XD And by the way, your assumption about my name, I'm afraid, is incorrect :P Ac is my name XD I can't say I blame you for being able to review Flygon Master twice and not my story, it'd be like me trying to blame you for commenting on Team Four Star instead of my abridged series or something XD As for the Disney parodies... I do enjoy them. I think I have 6 so far, not including what's in the story XD The four masters of the Lucky Star Shrine, eh? That's freaking awesome. I've read both Lucky Star Z and Lucky Life (both fairly obviously) but I'm afraid to say I haven't gotten to Beyond Friendship with everything I've been needing to work on :P. Hey, maybe I'll take a month Hiatus and read it XD A chapter a day! Fact of the matter is, I kinda had to stop myself from keeping this chapter going on longer so that it didn't take a week to read XD I just noticed I'm laughing a lot... It was crazy, I saw that Flygon had made another chapter in something like 2 days and I was like "Holy crap!" So I sat down and started writing this chapter. It was the longest session I've ever written, at 4K words in one sitting. It was crazy XD And Konataism, who's to say Matsuri didn't explain things to Tsukasa while she was dressing her up? XD Anyway, review! Maybe I'll make the same threat Flygon made! So review or I'll drop the project, and the whole 2+ Mbs I've written ahead will GO TO WASTE! REVIEW!


	18. Chapter 18: The First Two Matches

Chapter 18: The First Two Matches

ALRIGHTY! Three reviews, huh? I'll take it, it hasn't been a particularly long time since the last update... This is how this is going to work. I'm gonna make the tournament chapters very short for what I usually put out, but I'm gonna see if I can't them put out quickly. In fact, this chapter was actually finished twenty four hours ago to the minute! XD I might make the first two fights in this chapter, then see where that goes. Enjoy the fights!

* * *

**At the tournament**

"The first match up is Ryū Tora no Kami vs JC!" Akira shouted. "It will begin in half an hour, fighters please use this time to prepare!"

_JC... Isn't he some famous actor or something?_ Tony thought to himself.

"So what do you think you need Tony?" Kagami asked.

"Well, I could use some window shopping if you all are up to it." Tony turned to the girls. "How about it?"

"Yeah!" They all agreed. They all started to walked around the various vendors, each looking at different things and not really seeing anything in particular.

"Otōto!" Tony heard his brother call. Tony turned around to see Masutā with a large necklace and a small jeweler's glass, looking at it. Tony ran over.

"What's up?"

"This is real, and it's rare." Masutā held up the necklace. It was a platinum necklace with a large gemstone in the shape of a diamond. The gem had a sunburst design and was surrounded by diamonds. "I didn't see anything wrong with it. No miscuts, no pieces missing, nothing. This is probably one of the finest pieces I've seen in a long time, if not ever. It's one of those few things the vendors have that is seriously worth what they ask." Masutā whispered to Tony.

"Really? It's very pretty... How much does it cost?" Tony asked.

"A steal at only 300,000 yen! You won't find a better Alexandrite necklace anywhere else! See how it changes from blue-green to violet!" The vendor shouted.

"Whoa, that's expensive... but..." Tony looked back at Tsukasa, currently looking at a stuffed animal display. "It would be amazing for her birthday..." Masutā laughed.

"Even if you could afford it, do you think you could wait that long?" Masutā laughed.

"Maybe I'd make it an early birthday present." Tony smiled, knowing if he got it, he wouldn't be able to keep it from her until her birthday. He suddenly realized he was starting to sound a lot like her boyfriend. He blushed as he realized that was the real reason his brother was laughing. "Um... Do you have anything less expensive..." Tony almost stuttered.

"You don't want anything else, that was one of the only real pieces of jewelry here." Masutā said, much to the objection of the vendor.

"By the way bro, how do you know how to check jewelry like that? They certainly didn't teach you that in the forces..." Tony asked.

"A friend taught me the basics. If you end up buying it, we can take it to him for a real evaluation." Masutā offered. Tony noticed Tsukasa turning from her place at the stuffed animals.

"Thanks, but it's too expensive." Tony said, getting away quickly. Luckily, none of the girls saw him.

"That was a pretty necklace you were going to buy for Tsukasa." Konata catgrinned. Okay. Maybe one, but I didn't see her.

"Wha! ? What are you talking about? Ehehehe!" Tony shouted in a feeble attempt to cover his tracks.

"Don't worry, I won't tell." Konata grinned.

"Re-really?" Tony asked before their friends were upon them.

"Yeah, that's what sisters are for, right?" Konata smiled to him.

"... Yeah. Thanks a lot Konata." Tony smiled.

"What was that Kan-chan?" Tsukasa asked, a question mark appearing above the three girls' heads.

"Nothin'! Don't worry about it!" Tony shouted with a bad poker face on.

"Geez, if I hear that line one more time today..." Kagami muttered.

"Well I won't say it anymore, so no need to worry." Tony smirked. Before Kagami could go off, however, the fighters were called to arena.

"Let's go find some seats girls." Masutā started to shuffle the girls off. Tsukasa turned around while being pushed.

"Good luck Kan-chan!" She shouted.

"Thanks!" Tony smiled back. He took one last look at the vendor with the necklace and decided to mark his location for future reference._ Just in case._ He thought. He made his way to the area where he would enter the ring from. There, they made sure he was ready and fit.

"You're name?"

"Ryū Tora no Kami."

"Opponent?"

"JC."

"That's right, good luck!" The man asking the questions smiled as he let Tony into the ring.

* * *

**Round 1- FIGHT!**

As Tony entered the square ring, he found the entire thing to be surrounded by stone walls and seemed sunk below the seats, almost like a pit. The floor was also made of stone. The seats themselves were incredibly numerous, about a football field of them on all sides. There was oddly one wall that had seats, but only one lone group in it. Tony decided it wasn't important and decided to concentrate on his match.

"We're here live at the World Martial Arts Tournament! Behind me we have Ryu Tora no Kami about to fight JC! Let's watch!" Minoru said into the camera recording him.

_No out of bounds here, eh? Cool. So my first opponent is JC, huh? This should be easy._ Tony thought as his opponent came out. The shirtless JC was incredibly muscular, having an easily visible six pack. _Show off... _Tony thought as he removed his own shirt. A chorus of gasps followed by whispers was heard at Tony's scars. It even almost threw the girls through a loop since they had only seen it once. "Still have a chance to step out man. I don't wanna hurt ya." He called out.

"I'm fine." JC called back.

"Go Kan-chan!" Tsukasa shouted from her place in the front row.

"You can do it Tony!" Kagami shouted.

"Woohoo!" Konata shouted. Tony snickered.

* * *

**Back at the Hiiragi household**

"Ah~! So that's little mister Charming!" Matsuri grinned.

"What's with all the scars?" Inori asked, though knowing no one around could know.

"I dunno..." Matsuri said. "You gotta admit though... He is pretty built."

"True." Inori smirked.

* * *

******Back at the plot**

"Ready?" Akira shouted.

"Ready!" Tony and JC both shouted.

"Fight!" Akira shouted as she sprinted off. Neither one moved, however.

"You ain't got wires to help you now pretty boy!" They heard from the crowd as laughter erupted from the man and his friends. JC just snickered as he took a fighting stance.

"Fans think my moves are all wire work and special effects. Truth is..." JC smirked as he swiped the bridge of his nose with his hand. "I AM the special effects." He said as he started glowing green. The next thing Tony knew, he was slammed into the wall twenty feet away, JC's foot raised in the air where Tony's head had been only a second ago.

_Okay, OW! _Tony thought as he realized he had barely seen JC's movements. Resounding gasps were heard from the audience as a green ball formed in his hand. _*Sigh* Looks like this isn't going to be as easy as I hoped..._ Tony thought as the green ball was sent hurdling towards him. He evaded it, but the wall behind him was now cracked, not only from the force of his impact, but by the Force of the Ball.

"I'm gonna get that prize money AND show the world that I'm not faking in my movies!" JC shouted, forming another ball.

Tony picked himself up as he ran towards the actor, sidestepping another blast. Tony threw a punch to have it caught in the hand of JC. Tony used his forward momentum and pushed off the ground, grabbing his opponent by the arm before doing so. Tony was now behind JC with the actor's arm stretched over his shoulder, and pulling.

"Kan-chan, look out!" He heard as he suddenly felt a force hit him, sprawling him on the ground for an instant before jumping back up. He looked at JC to see him rolling the arm that had been practically torn off.

_Force Ball... Right..._ Tony mentally slapped himself for grabbing something that essentially just shot him. Tony rushed JC and faked another punch, instead ducking down and sweeping JC's legs out from under him. Tony kept spinning and straightened his leg slightly, catching JC on the cheek. Everything suddenly went slow-mo as a picture of JC's skull appeared, the effects of the knee's bone-shattering force looking prominent until they seemed to vanish with the picture. JC was propelled away, but not faster than Tony as he leaped up and caught him in the stomach, slamming him into the ground. Everything slow-moed again as a picture of JC's stomach exploding appeared. However, due to the in-continuity of the kombat, JC wouldn't die from his injuries. JC got up dazedly, looking around and seeming like he was going to pass out at any moment.

"Finish him!" Tony heard Konata yell from her seat, front row and elevated over the wall. Tony looked at her.

"Fine." Tony said as he walked over. As he did, JC started to fall, but was caught by his former opponent. The boy helped JC to his feet and helped him walk out of the pit.

"Friendship! FRIENDSHIP!" Konata shouted.

"Winner! Ryū Tora No Kami!" Akira shouted. "The next round will be held after the fighting in this round is over! It will be fought with weapons chosen by the fighters!"

_And that was just the first fight. At least it looks like a good turnout, the prize money will probably be epic. _Tony thought as he walked off.

* * *

**Outside the ring**

"Good job Otōto!" Masutā called as they met outside the ring.

"That was awesome!" Konata shouted.

"A good fight indeed." Miyuki eyesmiled.

"Way to go Tony!" Kagami smiled.

"Co-congratulations Kan-chan." Tsukasa blushed. Tony had forgotten to put his shirt back on.

"Thanks guys, that was tougher then I thought it would be. He was a pretty good fighter, almost like this wasn't his first tournament." Tony smirked. "Though, I have no clue what kind of experience these fighters have."

"Well with your strength and speed, I would think most of these matches should be pretty one-sided, right?" Kagami asked.

"You may be right, but don't forget Hercules against Aladdin. I think it was Hercules and the Arabian Nights. Sure, if I were to use Hachiman, it probably would be a one-sided fight the entire time, but where's the fun in that?" Tony smiled.

"I guess that's true..." Kagami said.

"I'm here for fun as much as I am for the money at the end." Tony reminded. "Besides, if I do win, that means I'm the strongest on Earth, right?"

"Unless there are people who just didn't compete." Masutā reminded.

"Yeah, that's true... But I think if I run into someone who's super strong, I can always cop out with Hachiman hehe." Tony chuckled as they started walking about.

"Hey, Otōto... Let's go see that Shin guy fight. Just to see if that score means anything..." Masutā said.

"Yeah..." Tony said as they started walking to where the seats were. As they were climbing stairs to get up them, the ground started to shake for an instant. "Whoa, what the-" Tony shouted as he tackled Tsukasa and Kagami to the ground, Masutā getting over Konata and Miyuki to provide whatever protection they could. The ground stopped without any apparent damage. Tony and Masutā got up warily and helped the girls up.

"Winner! Gisō-shin!" They heard Akira announce as they walked into the seats.

"Holy mother of Haruhi!" Konata shouted as they beheld the stone floor of the pit. It was broken with boulders that were obviously not placed there and even deeper parts of the floor that were missing entirely. Actually, it was probably where the boulders came from.

"Dear gods..." Tony muttered. Shin turned and looked straight at Tony with the same smirk from before. _I'm... gonna have to fight that, aren't I?_ Tony thought.

"Otōto..." Masutā said.

"Yeah, I know. That score was no lie." Tony said, returning Shin's stare. Shin walked out. "What's up with him?"

"I dunno." Masutā said. "Come one Otōto, let's go get something to eat."

"Right..." Tony said as they left, uninterested in the rest of the fights. They made their way to a food court nearby, talking about random generic topics, the most recent stench, the usual. They got to the court, ordered their food, and sat down at a table.

"You know what I find funny?" Kagami asked.

"What's that Onee-chan?" Tsukasa asked.

"The fact that they closed colleges to save money, but we're not paying to take our college classes at school. Doesn't that kill the point? They're losing money!" Kagami pointed out.

"Yeah, I never thought about it like that!" Tsukasa started laughing. "What's up with that?"

"That, my dear Hiiragi's, is bad thinking on the writer's part." Masutā explained.

"What's with you and Tony always talking about 'writers' and 'plots' and stuff like that?" Kagami asked, her irritation and curiosity mixing. Odd combination... "You make it sound like you're as crazy as Konata when she talks about 'flags'."

"Not crazy, just well informed." Masutā smirked.

*Sigh* "Whatever..." Kagami sighed. They continued eating until they finished, after which they probably didn't eat anymore. Or did they? No, no they didn't.

"So let's go see if we can't find something good from all these vendors. Tsukasa, I noticed you looking at the stuffed animals." Tony smirked.

"Eh! Well I like them..." Tsukasa's ribbon rose frantically

"Haha, no reason you shouldn't!" Tony laughed.

"Any place you want to go Kagami?" Konata asked almost hesitantly.

"I didn't really see anything before that looked interesting, but we could go look some more. Who knows, maybe we'll find something cool."

_She said she liked me the way I am, but she just called me crazy! I'm still afraid of pushing her away if I go overboard on the perversion or comments. Damn it! I'm so scared she'll hate me now for anything or everything I do! Life was so much less confusing when I was confused... _Konata thought. "Sure, let's go." Konata said as they all got up. Konata and Kagami walked around, more just seeing what people were selling then looking to buy anything. Kagami did, however, note a lack of energy in Konata again. Kagami sighed as she may never be able to read Konata like the older girl could her. Tony and Tsukasa, however, knew exactly where they were going. They walked over to a stuffed animal vendor they had seen earlier, Tony knowing Tsukasa wanted one since she had seen a different display earlier.

"So Tsukasa, which do you like?" Tony asked.

"Um~..." Tsukasa peered around the display.

"Buying a doll for your girlfriend?" The mustached man selling the animals asked.

"She's not... No. I'm buying one for my wife." Tony sighed. Tsukasa's face lit up in blush again.

"You're a little young to have a wife, aren't you?" The man asked.

"You're a little old to be having all these stuffed animals, aren't you?" Tony retorted.

"...Okay..." The man looked dejected.

"May I buy this one?" Tsukasa picked up a small unicorn.

"Allow me Tsukasa." Tony smiled as he brought out some money.

"Actually... You know what?" The man said.

"What?" Tony asked.

"NO DOLL FOR YOU!" The man snatched the animal back. He then held up one finger. "Come back, one year!"

"...Wha?" Tony looked confused.

"NEXT!" The man yelled. Tsukasa's ribbon drooped as she she teared up.

"Hey, no reason to be a doll nazi. We just want to buy a stuffed animal, that's all!" Tony shouted.

"You want a doll? 300 hundred extra!" The man yelled.

"Wait... what?"

"You want to buy an animal?" The man asked.

"... Yes please." Tony gritted his teeth.

"FOUR HUNDRED!" The man yelled.

"What?" Tony yelled.

"NO DOLL FOR YOU!" The man yelled. He closed his cart, locked it, and left.

"..." Tony glared at the man. "Tsukasa, if I went to jail, would you visit me?"

"Kan-chan, it isn't worth it!" Tsukasa shouted in a panic, unsure if Tony would actually do it. He sure sounded like it.

"Alright then..." Tony sighed. "Sorry Tsukasa."

"It's okay. But..." Tsukasa stopped.

"Yes?"

"Why did you call me your wife instead of saying I wasn't your girlfriend?" Tsukasa blushed, looking away.

"It was simply easier to say then that you weren't my girlfriend, then people will say 'whatever you say!' then all that kind of stuff happens. It was just quicker." Tony explained.

"Oh... Okay..." Tsukasa muttered as she went to walk around.

_Hmm..._ "Let's see what else we can find!" Tony smiled.

"Alright!" Tsukasa smiled. As they started looking around, Tony noticed they were only appearing in pictures.

_What is this, some music montage?_ Tony thought to himself. _Could they have at least picked better music? This is so faint, I can't even hear it..._ As the montage ended, they heard Tony being called to the ring.

"Wow, has it been that long already?" Tsukasa wondered.

"Whew, time flew by really quickly. That was a lot of fun though." Tony smiled._ Man, we hung out through at least 13 matches..._ _and then some downtime..._

"Yeah it was." Tsukasa smiled back.

"Well, let's get going!" Tony started to run at about the speed Tsukasa could so she could keep up. They quickly got to the place Tony would go in and they met the others there.

"You two were alone for a while." Konata catgrinned.

"So were you and Kagami." Tony responded. Had he not turned his attention away, Tony would have seen a blush creep onto Konata's face. However, it went unnoticed.

"So what did you two do?" Miyuki asked.

"We don't have a lot of time, so we better get seats while we can..." Masutā looked up.

"Yeah, I'll talk to ya after my match! Cheer for me!" Tony smiled as he started walking to the preparation room.

"Good luck Kan-chan!" Tsukasa shouted.

"Thanks Tsukasa!" Tony walked into the room.

"You're name?"

"Ryū Tora no Kami."

"Opponent?"

"Ingo Montoy."

"That's right, good luck!" The man asking the questions smiled as he let Tony into the ring.

* * *

**Weapons match!**

"Onee-chan, I have to go to the bathroom..." Tsukasa said as she got up.

"Why didn't you go before we came all the way up here?" Kagami chided.

"I.. I don't know, I guess I didn't need to go before! I'll be right back..." Tsukasa slid down between the wall and the people behind her. She exited the arena

Igno Montoy stepped into the ring to face Tony. Tony noticed that he was a Spaniard.

"I do not mean to pry, but you don't by any chance happen to have six fingers on your right hand?" He asked Tony.

"Do you always begin conversations this way?" Tony responded, being interrupted by Akira before anything else could be said.

"Alright! What weapons do you choose?" Akira shouted from the mostly empty seats, revealing a melee weapon cache in the seats behind her.

"What would you like?" Ingo asked.

"I'll fight with what you're fighting with." Tony responded.

"Smallswords?" Ingo suggested.

"Sure, I've practiced with them." Tony informed.

"Okay!" Akira cheered as two smallswords were thrown into the ring.

"I warn you, I have been using these for a long time, devoted my life to my ability to use one." Ingo shouted as he drew his from the ground with his left hand.

"You've done nothing but sword-play?" Tony asked, intrigued as he drew his own with his left hand from the place it had pierced the ground.

"More pursue than study lately. You see, I cannot find the man who killed my father... It's been twenty years now and I'm starting to lose confidence. I just entered this tournament to pay the bills. There's not a lot of money in revenge." Ingo explained. Tony was silent for a moment.

"Well I certainly hope you find him someday." Tony commented.

"Let the death match begin!" Akira shouted.

"DEATH MATCH?" Tony shouted in surprise. "There's got to be some kind of law against that!" He continued as he looked around. He suddenly saw two important people, protected by many guards. It was the lone group in the empty seats. _The Prime Minister? AND the Emperor? Geez, this has attracted some big names, I suppose this has to be legal..._ Tony thought. The girls followed his vision.

"The Emperor's here!" Miyuki said, the first to notice.

"You're right Miyuki, the Emperor is here!" Kagami confirmed.

"Well I didn't vote for him..." Konata commented.

"I understand that death is a possibility, but a fight TO the death? That seems a bit barbaric, don't you think?" Tony looked over to see Ingo waiting patiently.

"Are you done?"

"Well you could get a little irked..."

"I am, but the fact that I still have to kill you does not change."

"That does put a damper on our relationship..."

"You are ready then?"

"Whether I am or not, you've been more than fair to wait through my rant."

"You seem a decent fellow... I hate to kill you." Ingo sighed.

"You seem a decent fellow... I hate to die." Tony smirked. Ingo smiled back as he poised ready to attack.

"Begin."

Ingo struck out slowly, Tony easily repelling the attack. Tony thrusted slowly, it getting blocked with a few lazy flicks of Ingo's wrist. Tony smirked as the two started trading blows, neither sustaining an injury. Tony started to climb the boulders that had been the result of the past few fights, namely Shin's.

"You are using Bonetti's Defense against me, ah? " Ingo smiled as they continued.

"I thought it fitting considering the ruined terrain." Tony stated calmly.

"Naturally, you must suspect me to attack with Capa Ferro?"

"Naturally... but I find that Thibault cancels out Capa Ferro, don't you?" Tony asked as he jumped off of the boulder to the ground below. On the way, he looked to his friends, but noticed Tsukasa wasn't there. His heart felt like it dropped for an instant.

"Unless the enemy has studied his Agrippa... " Ingo smiled as he flipped to the other side of the boy. "Which I have!" Tony started the assault this time as he started to gain ground. He was pulled from his thoughts back into his fight.

"You are wonderful!" Ingo smiled at having a worthy opponent.

"Thank you. I've worked hard to become so." Tony smirked.

"I admit it, you are better than I am." Ingo chuckled.

"Then why are you laughing?" Tony asked.

"Because I know something you don't know."

"And what is that?"

"I am not left-handed." Ingo said as he flipped the blade to his right hand, gaining the upper hand.

"You are amazing." Tony said in admiration of the Spaniard's skill, still trading blows, but losing ground. _I'm even using as of much of Hachiman in my arm as I can and I'm still losing..._

"I ought to be after 20 years." Ingo smiled, pushing Tony against the wall of the ring.

"Oh, there's something I ought to tell you." Tony said.

"Tell me!" Ingo requested, pushing all the harder on his smallsword.

"I'm not left-handed either." Tony smirked as he threw the man off, tossing the sword up and catching it in his right hand. They started going at it again, Tony gaining the advantage again. He swung his sword to catch Ingo's and throw it from his hands. As Ingo looked slightly worried, Tony pointed to the fallen blade. Ingo looked at it and then back to Tony, who gestured to it more. Ingo ran and picked it up.

"Who are you? Really?" Ingo asked, curious to know who his opponent truly was.

"No one of consequence." Tony said.

"I must know." Ingo insisted.

"Get used to disappointment."

"'Kay..." Ingo shrugged as he started again. The fighting was fierce as the two blocked and parried each other's attacks. Tony caught Ingo's sword again and threw it from his hand, but Ingo leapt over and caught, Tony waiting for him to do so. Once, Ingo even jumped over Tony's smallsword. Tony started waving his blade in circles, causing Ingo to flail in an attempt to anticipate his next move. Tony used the opportunity to bring the flat of his blade through Ingo's hair, and then disarm him. Ingo looked astonished, then mortified.

"Kill me quickly." Ingo muttered as he fell to his knees.

"I would sooner destroy a shrine than an artist like yourself. However, since I can't have you winning either..." Tony said as he knocked Ingo out by a blow to the head from the butt of his sword. "Please understand, I hold you in the highest respect."

"Winner! Ryū Tora No Kami!" Akira shouted.

_Good man, I hope he finds his happily ever after. Meh, knowing his luck so far, he'll end up becoming a pirate or something... _Tony thought as he left the pit.

* * *

**Outside the pit**

"Hey, where's Tsukasa?" Tony asked soon as he came out.

"She said she went to the bathroom, but she really should have been back by now..." Kagami said. Tony started feeling uneasy. Suddenly, Kagami's cell phone started to ring. "Yes, hello? This is Hiiragi. … What? When?" Kagami's voice was getting alarmed.

"What's up?" Tony asked, everyone leaning towards Kagami in a vain attempt to hear what the other person was saying.

"Okay. Thanks for telling me." Kagami said before hanging up.

"Kagami, what's going on? You look horrified!" Tony shouted. Kagami looked up.

"Tsukasa's in the hospital."

* * *

******Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya luckies! I'm Akira Kogami, your navigator!"

"And I'm Minoru Shiraishi, the assistant!"

"I told ya I'd get you something Shiraishi-san! Even if it was only three lines!" Akira said.

"Yes you did, thanks Akira-sama!" Minoru smiled. _She actually did it. Frankly, I'm surprised._

"Maybe you'll make more appearances! Those were some good fights though, huh?"

"Well, they could have been better written." Minoru commented.

"Huh?" Akira turned her head to him.

"A-Akira-sama?" Minoru stuttered.

"Yeah, of course they could have been better written, but the writer's a freakin' amateur, give them a break. It's not like they have a hell of a lot of experience writing fights, now do they?" Akira said.

"Um, well... There was that time with Yutaka..." Minoru stuttered.

"You can't count that, no one who's reading now even freakin' knows what happened! Everyone who read that stopped reading the damn story right after it happened!" Akira shouted.

*Music Tone*

"Aw~, I guess that's all the time we have for today. I'll see you all later! Bye nii~!"

"..."

"You were defending the writer quite adamantly there, weren't you Akira-sama?"

"Yeah, so what? What's your point? Without them, I'd probably be out of a job..."

"Yeah, I guess so. You know Akira, if you really needed money that bad, you could always ask."

"... You're not serious."

*End*

* * *

******Aftersection**

Alrighty, how was it? First two rounds! Complete! I have three more fights to go, wish me luck! This story has officially reached past the 100,000 word mark! By the way, I have a new goal. As of now, and I do declare, this story shall be the longest Lucky Star story on the site. Which means for a single story, I would have to type more then Vossago at 218,380 words with his "Other Worlds Than These" story. For a complete story, I have to go even higher, to RezleVettems, one of my favorite authors, and topple his Lucky Future series at 242,769 words! (Meaning this story will have to more then double in length XD) Hopefully if I do it, little or none of it will be boring or out of character, but I have plenty of ideas! Uuu I'm getting pumped! See you next chapter!


	19. Chapter 19: The Hospital

Chapter 19: The hospital and the thereafter.

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! I totally missed something that would have made this whole tournament a ton easier to WRIIIIIIIITE! And I'm sorry for taking so much longer then I did with the last couple, my computer needed to be reformatted. Which means the entire system was wiped. As in, this chapter was deleted T.T I was even about 5K words in too! Anyway, now that that's out of my system, there's something that, while no one probably even noticed, I still think I should put it out there. Konata watches DBZ, obviously. She probably plays Mortal Kombat as well. If I use people from different movies and anime as opponents, she isn't gonna recognize them. That said, I'll let you check on Tsukasa now.

* * *

**Where we left off**

"Tsukasa's..." Tony muttered, his heart dropping past his feet while a pit that put Pittsburgh to shame formed in his stomach. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN?" He yelled, hurting everyone's ears.

"Ow! I mean she was found unconscious and sent to the hospital. She's-"

"Which hospital?" Tony asked.

"I'll tell you on the wa-" Kagami was interrupted by a grunt from Tony.

"**Which hospital is it?**" Tony repeated.

"U-Umehara Hospital!" Kagami stuttered, having never had that voice directed at her.

"**Gotcha. Thanks.**" Tony said. He took off, a gust of wind accompanying him.

"Come on... Let's go get a taxi..." Kagami muttered as they ran out of the area.

**_Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay_!** Tony shouted in his head. He turned corner after corner until he finally found his destination. **"****Yes! Finally...**" Tony breathed. He wanted to let himself ease up, not wanting to push himself too far, but he couldn't back down now. He grunted as he redoubled his efforts. He ran in and up to the front desk. "**Ma'am, my friend was checked in here earlier today, Tsukasa Hiiragi, could you please tell me which room she's in? Or how she's doing? Or both? Both would be best!**" Tony shouted.

"Calm down sir, it'll just be a moment." The woman seemed to back up a bit as she started clicking on her computer. "Ah, yes. Tsukasa Hiiragi, came in with multiple bruises and unconscious. Room A212. Currently, she's doing well. She has woken up since then and is staying after for routine exams before she will be released. Her room is right down the hallway sir." The woman pointed. Tony finally let himself relax.

"Thank you ma'am." Tony said as he walked down the hall, no longer having energy to run._ It's a good thing the matches are over for today..._ He thought as he found her room and knocked on the door.

"Come in!" He heard Tsukasa shout. He opened the door to see Tsukasa sitting up in a bed. Suddenly, Tony felt an unimaginable wave of relief wash over him and refresh him. He hadn't realized how concerned he had been.

"Yo, what's up? I came as fast as I could." Tony waved. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay now. Thanks." Tsukasa smiled, but she looked almost... sad. "I still have a few bruises, but the doctors said it isn't anything to worry about."

"Tsukasa... I would like to know what happened to you, but I won't ask until the others are here. You shouldn't have to relive this more then once." Tony said as he walked in and sat down.

"Where are Onee-chan and the others?" Tsukasa asked.

"They probably took a taxi or something." Tony said.

"Didn't you?" Tsukasa asked.

"Well... no... I ran here... It was quicker." Tony scratched his head. Tsukasa smiled.

"While we wait for everyone, could we just talk normally?" Tsukasa asked.

"Sure thing." Tony smiled.

"So how is everything in Miss Kuroi's class?" Tsukasa asked.

"Wait... what?" Tony said.

"Am I going to be in trouble for missing school?" Tsukasa asked, a smile crossing her face.

"... You still remember that? Quite frankly, that surprises me. No offense." Tony smirked as Tsukasa pouted a bit. "Wasn't the whole 'Kan-chan' thing supposed to be your revenge?" Tony asked teasingly. Tsukasa smiled as the two continued to talk.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

"Come on... Let's go get a taxi..." Kagami muttered as they ran towards the street. It took them ten minutes, but they managed to flag down a taxi.

"So what's up Kagami? Is Tsukasa okay?" Masutā asked.

"Yeah, she's okay. She just has some bruises and she's come to since they found her. Still, I want to know what the hell happened." Kagami said.

"I hope it wasn't intentional or Otōto might end up killing whoever did this." Masutā said. When the girls looked to him, they could see he wasn't joking or exaggerating. "Not that the bastard wouldn't deserve it, but still."

"Hey Masutā, has Tony said anything to you about how he feels about Tsukasa?" Kagami asked.

"He has, more or less." Masutā stated.

"Would you mind telling me? He seems like he likes her, I mean, he just ran more than a mile to see her when he could have waited for a taxi like us instead. What did he say?" Kagami asked.

"As a tribute to Otōto, that's classified." Masutā chuckled. Kagami groaned.

"Come on, we gotta know!" Konata begged.

"Sorry. Nope." Masutā said.

"What if I gave you a hundred yen?" Konata asked.

"Don't start that." Masutā looked at Konata.

"Aw..." Konata looked down. They arrived.

"Go ahead and see Tsukasa, I'll pay for the cab." Masutā dismissed. Usually Kagami wouldn't accept it, but she was in a hurry to see her sister. They got out and ran in.

"Hello Ma'am, my sister was checked in here earlier today, Tsukasa Hiiragi. Could you tell us where she is?" Kagami asked.

"She's in room A212. And I must thank you for not storming in here and yelling at me to find her like the last gentleman who came in asking for her." The woman thanked.

"Last... Was it a boy with a really scary voice?" Kagami asked. By this time, Masutā had walked up from behind.

"Yes, he was very concerned for the girl." The woman said.

_I knew it..._ Kagami smirked. "Thank you for the help." Kagami said as they walked down the hall. As they approached the room, they heard talking from inside.

"Thanks for visiting from Cancun." Kagami heard Tsukasa say.

_Who does she know from Cancun? How are they here... She even mispronounced it._ Kagami smiled. They opened the door to see Tony sitting in the chair next to Tsukasa.

"I told ya, it's no problem." Tony smiled. "But you really should call your parents just in case they called them too."

"Yeah, I just wanted to wait for Onee-chan, you know?" Tsukasa said.

"I understand, it's just that-"

"Having fun you two?" Konata catgrinned. Tony and Tsukasa both jumped.

_They snuck up on me? Wow, I must have been caught up in the conversation._ "As a matter of fact, yes we are. I have fun talking to Tsukasa." Tony said. "In any case Tsukasa. Now that we're all here, please tell us what happened." Tony asked.

"Well..." Tsukasa started, her voice becoming timid.

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

Tsukasa was walking back to the stairs that lead to her seat.

"Hey, you're that girl that was with Ryū, aren't you?" She heard a voice ask.

"Ye-yeah..." She muttered, a little afraid.

"He's probably going to win this fight. His next fight, however, won't go smoothly, so there's something he should have." The voice called from a darkness.

"What?" Tsukasa asked.

"Here." The voice said, holding a clenched fist.

"What's that?" Tsukasa walked closer.

"A message!" The man shouted.

* * *

**Back to the room**

"And then he... he..." Tsukasa was crying by now.

"Tsukasa, that's enough. We know what happened after that." Tony interrupted.

"And I-..." Tsukasa stopped for a beat. "...The next thing I knew, I was here." Tsukasa said, her ribbon drooping onto her head.

"The doctors say that it could have been a lot worse though. If the man had half a mind to, he could have done some unspeakable things..." Kagami trailed off.

"Yeah..." Tsukasa shrunk, now incredibly afraid.

"You don't remember what the man looked like or anything?" Tony asked.

"Uh-uh." Tsukasa shook her head.

"Damn." Tony punched his hand. "I wish I knew who it was. If I ever find him, he'll wish he were never born." Tony could feel his rage raising. Tsukasa got a little alarmed.

"Um... So Tsukasa, are you in any pain?" Kagami asked.

"Not anymore. I was when I first woke up, but now it only hurts when something touches a bruise." Tsukasa said.

"Well, we better call home and tell them you're okay. If they called me, they certainly called mom and dad." Kagami walked over. Tony stepped back so the twins could be nearer each other.

"So Otōto, you were pretty concerned." Masutā smirked as the girls crowded around Tsukasa.

"... I told you... I'm confused right now..." Tony looked away.

"Come on, you went full blown Hachiman just to get here." Masutā paused as they heard:

"Voice mail..." Kagami sighed. "Well, couldn't hurt to leave a message."

"Okay!" Tsukasa said. "Beep." She said when the phone beeped. "Dearest darlingest Momsie and Popsicle-" she started. Tony smiled.

_So cute!_ Tony yelled in his head.

"That's a new one..." Kagami commented.

"There's nothing to be confused about Otōto. Do I need to get the Muses out here? They've handled situations like this before." Masutā chuckled.

*Sigh* "Fine. I hereby relinquish my right to say different to you." Tony said before dropping his voice to a whisper that only Masutā could hear. "I like Tsukasa." Tony muttered. _This time... It's different from Kagami. A different feeling._

"I know. But now you know. I'm guessing that now the courting begins?" Masutā whispered.

"No. As much as I... I can't betray Sarnia like that." Tony muttered. Masutā sent him a look.

"Otōto... you're disrupting the plot..." Masutā whispered.

"Screw the plot. I don't care. I'm not going to betray her." Tony whispered.

"Otōto, she's..." Masutā started, but stopped. Anything against the girl was walking on a mixture of eggshells and broken glass. "Not here anymore."

"Masutā..." Tony muttered.

"She would want you to be happy. Besides, you had no problem going out with Kagami." Masutā accused.

"How do you know about that?" Tony asked in a surprised whisper.

"You forget who you're talking to."

"Look, that was different." Tony said, his voice rising.

"How so?" Masutā continued.

"Because I said it is!" Tony almost shouted.

"What?" Everyone turned around and looked at Tony.

"Nothing." Tony waved a hand dismissively. As the girls shrugged and turned back to their conversation, Tony sighed. "Look. I just can't... My feelings have no say in this."

"Man. You like her! Come on!" Masutā whispered loudly.

"Subject dropped." Tony said adamantly. Masutā sighed.

"Fine. Whatever you say." Masutā said, frustrated. It was at that moment, Tadao and the other Hiiragis walked in.

"My daughter!" Tadao shouted as he ran over to Tsukasa. He began checking her over. Miki and the other daughters stood back and gave him space. Matsuri elbowed Inori and pointed to Tony.

"Little mister Charming." Matsuri giggled.

"What are you planning?" Inori asked cautiously.

"Nothing, nothing." Matsuri grinned.

"Okay, Tsukasa, you're good to-" The doctor walked in, but stopped at the nine extra people in the room. He had expected a couple of people, not nine. "Anyway, you're okay, just take it easy a few days and try not to irritate your injuries. As of now, you're free to go." The doctor said.

"Thanks doc, come on Tsukasa. Let's go home." Tadao said, relieved. He turned around and saw Tony. "... Have we met before?" Tadao asked.

"I don't believe so." Tony said.

"Hmm... Okay then. Well, let's go Tsukasa."

"Dad... if you don't mind, I kinda wanna stay for the rest of the tournament. Kan-kun is competing!" Tsukasa said. Kagami's eyebrow raised.

"It's alright, the tournament is over for the day." Tony said. "Go home and get some rest. You don't have to come tomorrow, either."

"I wanna come tomorrow though!" Tsukasa protested.

"You need rest." Tony argued.

"I'm coming tomorrow, no debating!" Tsukasa determined. Tsukasa and Tony locked eyes for a moment. Tony closed his eyes and sighed.

"As you wish." He said. Tadao looked between Tsukasa and Tony.

"Tsukasa, are you seeing this boy?" Tadao asked.

"N-no dad..." Tsukasa blushed as she got out of bed. "We can go now."

"Alright, let's go everyone." Tadao said as he and Tsukasa left the room. Miki and Kagami left next. Matsuri walked over to Tony.

"Hey, I've got Tsukasa pics." Matsuri whispered as she pulled out the phone, giggling as Tony blushed the instant she said it. Tony looked away, but not before he saw the picture of Tsukasa in the catgirl suit.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." Tony said. _I don't know whether to have a panic attack or a nose bleed..._ He thought.

"I didn't say anything that warrants that response." Matsuri grinned before whispering, "Here's one of her naked." Tony closed his eyes and put his hand over the phone's screen.

"I have no interest in seeing pictures of that sort." Tony said. Matsuri grinned wider as she pulled back her phone.

_Well, at least he's a gentleman. _Matsuri thought before she was pulled away by Inori.

"They're gonna leave without us, come on." Inori pulled her out. Once they were out, Inori started scolding her younger sister. "What the hell was that? Where did you even get those? And what's the big idea showing the boy she likes?" Inori scolded.

"What? I was just showing him what he'd be getting out of the deal!" Matsuri laughed. Inori took the phone from her sister and went to delete the picture of her nude sister. She didn't find it.

"Where's that picture? Did you already delete it?" Inori asked. Matsuri giggled.

"There never was a picture other then the catgirl picture. I was just testing him." Matsuri smiled.

"... Even so, if she wants him, let HER get him. Besides, even if that reason of yours worked, we don't want him getting with Tsukasa for perverted reasons. We don't know what kind of boy he is." Inori said.

"You sure are being level headed for once. Usually you're more like Tsukasa than Kagami..." Matsuri sighed.

"Maybe that's why I'm looking out for her and you're not? You just need more insight into stuff like this. But then what can you expect from someone who doesn't have a boyfriend?" Inori smirked.

"Hey, you don't have one either." Matsuri retorted.

"Yeah, but I have a choice in the matter. I've been asked out before, have you?" Inori picked. The sisters continued bickering all the way to the car and all the way home, confusing their parents and sisters. All they really heard was,

"Pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little, cheep cheep cheep! Talk a lot, pick a little more." The two basically said the whole way home with a boyfriend related theme.

"So Tsukasa..." Kagami smiled.

"Hm?"

"It's Kan-kun now, is it?" Kagami asked.

"Ye-yeah! It's.. kind of a long story..." Tsukasa scratched her head.

"It's okay, you just caused a bit of confusion." Kagami smiled.

* * *

**Back at the hospital**

"Tony, what's up? You look redder than the inside of a watermelon!" Konata teased. "What did she show you?" Konata asked. Soon as Tony heard it, his face lit up again.

_Gotta think... Didn't I get some sort of failsafe for moments like this... Watermelon... Brainblast!_ Tony got an idea. "Konata, may I have my phone back?" Tony asked. Konata remembered she still had his phone from when she was sick and had been carrying it around since then in case she remembered. She got it out and handed it to him. He got on the internet quickly. _Thank you internet._ He thought as he found the picture he was looking for. He showed it to Konata. It was a picture of a cat in water with his paws on a watermelon. "This cat is pushing a watermelon out of a lake. Your argument is invalid." Tony said. Masutā raised his eyebrow in disbelief, as if to say,

_Did you REALLY just try that?_

"Well, I guess I can't argue with that logic." Konata shrugged. Masutā's jaw dropped.

"Well, shall we go home?" Miyuki asked.

"Yeah, I'll walk you home Miyuki-san. Otōto,you take Konata." Masutā said.

"Sure thing bro. You ready to go Konata?" Tony asked.

"Well, Tsukasa, the reason we came here, is gone. No, I think I'll stay a few more hours." Konata smirked.

"Alright smart aleck, let's go." Tony snickered as they left.

"Right, right." Konata muttered as they left.

"So Miyuki-san, what's the latest theory?" Masutā asked Miyuki after Tony and Konata were out of earshot. They started on their way to Miyuki's house.

"Kanpeki-san and Tsukasa-san seem to like each other." Miyuki informed him.

"I can confirm Otōto likes her. But he refuses to pursue her." Masutā said.

"Why's that?" Miyuki asked.

"He feels it inappropriate."

"Because he dated Kagami-san?"

"No, other reasons."

"I was going to try helping them get together. A little push, you know? What do you think?" Miyuki asked.

"I could lend a hand. What did you have in mind?" Masutā asked.

"Simple..." Miyuki explained Tony and Tsukasa's plan to help Konata and Kagami, then her own.

"That'll work. That'll work fine." Masutā smiled. "Pretty clever."

"Thank you. I hope it works." Miyuki eyesmiled.

"Even if it does, I wonder how Otōto will react." Masutā said.

"Here we are Masutā-san. Thank you for making sure I was safe on the way." Miyuki bowed.

"My pleasure Miyuki-san." Masutā bowed. "Let me know what you need me to do to help." He said before he turned and started jogging off.

* * *

**POV Tony**

"So Tony, about Tsu-" Konata started as they ran towards their respective homes.

"Why must you pursue that subject?" Tony asked.

"Because, you're so funny when I do. It's so hard to startle you, but a mention of Tsukasa, and you're red as a beet!" Konata laughed.

"I could easily run faster and leave you behind you know." Tony said.

"That's what I'm talking about! If you don't talk about it, your emotions get all built up and then it's no good!" Konata said with a grin.

"Coming from personal experience, I take it?" Tony retorted.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Konata shouted.

"Nothing. Nothing." Tony said.

"Come on! You can tell me what you think of Tsukasa! I'm your sister after all!" Konata shouted against the wind.

"What I think of Tsukasa?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, yeah!"

"She's Tsukasa. Simple." Tony said.

"What's that mean?" Konata asked.

"Whatever you want it to mean." Tony replied.

"Come on Tony, tell me. I absolutely promise I won't tell anyone." Konata promised.

"Not on your nelly." Tony responded. "The promise of Konata Izumi. As I understand it, that's not a lot." Tony said. If she could have, Konata would have pouted.

"There's nothing I can do to get you to tell me?" Konata asked. Right before Tony answered to the negative, he started to think.

_Hmm... This could be beneficial to me. If I can get a secret out of Konata, there may be some way I can use it to help her and Kagami. If it's embarrassing, it's almost guaranteed she'll keep it to herself. _"You're on Konata. Tell me an embarrassing secret. The most deepest secret you have and I'll tell you my intentions as far as Tsukasa is concerned." Tony shouted.

"Hey, I'm not stupid! I know you're gonna say something vague that makes it so that what I told you would be way deeper than what you tell me!" Konata yelled.

_Damn, that's exactly what I was going to do. I was gonna tell her that my feelings didn't matter._

"Alright, so I tell you a real deep secret of mine, you tell me how you feel about Tsukasa." Konata said.

"... Very well." Tony sighed. "Not here though. Somewhere where no one would hear us."

"Your house? My dad and Yu-chan are in mine and I know your brother shouldn't be home yet." Konata said.

"Very true. Let's go!" Tony shouted as he rose the bar, starting to go speeds Konata was starting to actually try in order to keep up. It was a few minutes until they reached home. Tony walked up to his house, Konata following. They entered and turned the lights on. They closed the door and checked the rooms for inhabitants. _Whatever she's going to tell me is gonna be big. I hope it can help them..._ Tony thought as he finished confirming that the house was empty other than the two.

"...Tony..." Konata blushed massively. Tony turned around and looked at her confused. Her attitude had changed dramatically.

"Yes?" Tony asked.

"I'm... like your sister... right?" Konata asked.

"As much so as any." Tony stated. It was then he started questioning exactly what Konata was about to tell him.

"So... no matter what I tell you... you're gonna stay my friend?" Konata asked. Tony smiled.

"Of course Konata. Don't worry your little head about it. Short of planning mass genocide, I'll be your friend and support you whatever you say." Tony smiled, putting his hands on her shoulders. She gave him a smile.

"Thanks..." Konata smiled, slightly reassured. She was still afraid, but she thought it might be okay. "Alright... Any way I can get you to tell me about Tsukasa before I tell you my secret?" Konata asked.

"Hmmmm... And you won't back out?" Tony asked.

"Nope. I swear on my secret." Konata said.

"Well. I like Tsukasa." Tony said.

"On the record?"

"Off it. No telling anyone." Tony said.

"Well I could help you get her if you want~." Konata chimed.

"No thanks. I have no intention of pursuing her." Tony said.

"What? Why not?" Konata asked.

"Konata, you're changing the subject." Tony reminded.

"No I'm not, Tsukasa's still the subject!" Konata protested.

"Konata. I held my side of the deal, now you have to too." Tony said sternly.

"... You did, didn't you... Fine. Tony... I... I like Kagami. Like, a whole lot. More than friends..." Konata admitted, blushing the whole time. To say Tony was startled was only slightly accurate.

"Well..." Tony said. _I hadn't imagined... This early? I know I told Tsukasa that anything could happen, but I never thought either would know so soon..._ Tony was about to tell Konata of his acceptance, but he got a better idea. _I think a little payback might be in order..._ He smiled inside. "Konata. You have no idea the sheer disgust-" He started saying with incredible contempt. Konata's heart dropped as she was about ready to cry. "-I have for people who can't accept things like that." He smiled.

"Wait... You don't think I'm some disgusting Yuri freak?" Konata asked, tears in her eyes. Tony laughed.

"Of course not! Konata, you're my sister. Nothing can change that." Tony smiled.

"Except mass genocide?" Konata giggled as she cheered up.

"Except mass genocide." Tony smiled, glad to see Konata cheering up. "Thank you for trusting me with this Konata."

"You too. Let's make a deal, if there's something we can't tell our girls, we can always tell each other. Deal?" Konata put her hand out.

"While Tsukasa isn't 'my girl', I understand what you mean. Deal." Tony shook her hand. "You should probably be getting back home, shouldn't you?"

"Just one question." Konata said.

"Yeah?"

"Why did you feel the need to do that?" Konata asked him.

"Think before you put people into other people's beds next time." Tony smirked.

"That was kind of overkill, don't you think?" Konata smiled.

"Perhaps. Maybe you'll learn from it though!" Tony laughed. Konata did as well.

"Alright then, I'll see you tomorrow Tony." Konata smiled.

"See ya tomorrow!" Tony waved. _This is quite unexpected. This may be a help or a detriment. Which it will be remains to be seen though. I wonder how far along Kagami is if Konata has already discovered her feelings. Hmmm..._ Tony sat down in his living room as started to think. Masutā walked in.

"Yo Otōto, What's up? You just get home?" Masutā asked.

"What makes you say that?" Tony asked.

"I saw Konata walking home, I just assumed you only just got here. But you didn't, did you?" Masutā said, more a statement than a question.

"Nope, I had a talk with her." Tony said.

"About what?"

"Stuff."

"Just stuff?"

"Just stuff."

"Big stuff?"

"What stuff?"

"Big stuff?"

"Kinda." Tony said.

"Combo breaker." Masutā chuckled. "Any word on the two lovers?"

"Konata and Kagami?" Tony asked for confirmation.

"Yeah." Masutā confirmed.

"..." _Do I tell him? It is kinda personal to Konata__ after all. Tsukasa should know so we can see about planning more stuff for those two, but Mas-... Will you listen to me? I'm telling Tsukasa stuff before I am my older brother! I really have started liking her a lot..._Tony thought.

"Otōto?" Masutā said to snap Tony from his thoughts.

"Hm?"

"What's wrong? You were looking thoughtfully so don't try and tell me you weren't thinking." Masutā asked.

"Don't worry... I was thinking about Tsukasa." Tony said.

"Otōto, come on. You know you like her. She likes you, without a doubt. Hook up!" Masutā shouted, completely off the original topic as Tony had intended.

"That's not the issue. And that's three times you've mentioned it. Can't you call it a day at least?" Tony asked.

"I just want ya happy, that's all." Masutā sighed. "You've suffered enough, ya know?"

"Thanks. Either way, I'm gonna go to bed. Goodnight bro!" Tony called as he walked to his room.

"Goodnight ya idiot." Masutā called after him. He sighed._ Otōto, you've gotta let go of the past. It'll only hurt your future. You've never questioned my advice before, so why now?_

Tony walked into his room and collapsed on his bed, the exhaustion from earlier hitting him. He heard his phone go off. He opened it to see he had a text.

_Good night Kan-kun! -Tsukasa_

Tony snickered at the excessive use of emoticons after the message not shown above. He could feel a large smile one his face as he replied his own good night. _How did she know I had just hit the bed? Geez, she's not gonna make this easy for me, is she?_ He thought with a smile. While he texted her back, he saw the time read 9:00. _Man, I'm going to bed pretty early... Then again, I ran miles in god mode today and used it a little in my fight with Ingo. Now that I think of it, that man was brilliant. He must have seen my strength in my fight with JC. Smallswords are too thin for strength to have much effect before it breaks the sword. Nice... I wonder if Tsukasa's done the hom-... Homework... Damn it!_ Tony thought as he brought himself from his bed. He finished his homework in about an hour and drowsily got back in bed. Sleep took him instantly.

* * *

**Hiiragis!**

**...**

**What, we don't have that section? Crap, thought we had that section. Okay then, on to the morning then.**

**Morning  
**

Tony woke up feeling refreshed, though still tired from yesterday. _A nap in Ms. Kuroi's class should fix that right up... She said she had something exciting to tell us, I wonder what... _Tony thought as he prepared for the day. Though he was thinking of different things, the most prominent was his concern for Tsukasa. _I hope she's okay..._ He choked down his breakfast and actually remembered to make himself lunch for the day. With a quick goodbye to Masutā, he left for school, making this the shortest morning section made to date. As he walked out the door, he met up with Konata.

"Yo lover boy!" Konata waved with a giggle.

"Yo lover girl." Tony responded. Konata got a frustrated look.

"You can NOT tell anyone, you hear? Never, ever, ever!" Konata shouted the last part.

"Don't worry Konata, I'm very good at keeping secrets. Why, there are some things I won't even tell myself!" Tony said cheerfully.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. I shouldn't have worried." Konata smiled.

"Darn right." Tony smirked. As they walked, the passed an alley and heard a shriek. They both stopped and looked down to see a middle aged woman getting mugged by three guys with knives.

"Just move along kids if you know what's good for you." One of the shouted.

_Is he threatening us?_ Tony thought.

_He doesn't have a clue..._ Konata smirked. Tony started walking down the alley.

"Good morning good sir. I couldn't help but notice you have some rather sharp sticks. I happen to be rather fluent in their use. And I also can't help but notice this kind lady here looks rather startled. I don't think she likes your sticks very much. Perhaps you should leave?" Tony said as he walked ever closer.

"The hell is this guy saying?" A different man asked.

"Never mind, just kill him!" The third guy yelled as he ran towards Tony, blade swinging wildly. Tony leaned back to dodge his swing and thrust his elbow after he straightened back up. His elbow caught the generic thug in the chest and threw him back, unconscious.

"What the- Let's get him!" The first thug yelled as they both ran towards him. As the first arrived at him, Tony spun and hit him in the back of the neck, knocking him out instantly. By this time, the second guy was on him. The thug swung his dagger towards Tony. Tony hit the arm of the thug and started throwing very light fists at extreme speeds. However, very light fists was a term for Tony. Hitting like a truck was more accurate by the thug's standards. After the sixtieth hit, Tony finished him with a large punch to the stomach. The thug doubled over in pain and swiftly lost consciousness.

"Th-thank you kind sir!" The woman ran over and hugged him. Once she broke the hug, she looked him over. "You know who you look like? That fighter in that tournament, Ryū Tora no Kami..."

"I get that a lot, being Ryū Tora no Kami." Tony chuckled.

"Well no wonder you beat those crooks so easily. My son is a big fan of yours, would it be too much trouble to ask for your autograph?" The woman asked.

"Well, I didn't expect that! Hang on a minute..." Tony said, opening his bag and taking out paper and a pen. _ I didn't expect to have fans or anything..._

"Um..." The woman interrupted.

"Hm?" Tony hummed quizzically.

"Could I maybe take your picture and you could sign that?" The woman asked, taking out an old camera.

_The way this is going, I'm gonna have to run to get to school on time..._ Tony thought. "Well, sure!" He smiled.

"Thank you so much!" The woman bowed before taking a picture. The picture developed and came out of the camera.

_Who carries around a camera like that? And for what? Just such an occasion? I guess it paid off..._ Tony thought as he signed the picture.

"Thank you so much Mr. Ryū!" The woman bowed. "My son will love this!" She said before walking off. Tony smiled as he watched her leave.

"That was unexpected." Tony smiled.

"Thank you." Konata thanked as she got off the phone. During the time Tony had talked with the lady, Konata had called the police and told them of the attempted robbery and where they were. They set out on their way, jogging leisurely now. "Just wait until after you win the tournament, you're gonna have to beat people off with two sticks!" Konata laughed. "Tsukasa's sure gonna have her work cut out for her with all the girls swarming you!"

"Cut it out Konata, I'm not interested in that." Tony smiled.

"In what, fame or Tsukasa?" Konata smirked. She only got a grunt as a reply as Tony quickened the pace a bit.

"Remember the word on Tsukasa Konata." Tony said.

"Mum?" Konata asked.

"Exactly. Same with Kagami." Tony said.

"Sounds good." Konata agreed.

"Did you do the homework?" Tony asked.

"Nope..." Konata said.

"Wanna copy?" Tony asked.

"Sure, thanks!" Konata smiled.

"No problem sister!" Tony smiled as they arrived at school. They arrived at homeroom and walked in, making it with five minutes to spare. The two sat down and Tony gave Konata the homework.

"Morning Kan-kun!" Tsukasa chimed from behind Tony. Tony turned around.

"Morning Tsukasa! Hey, would you mind telling me what time you went to bed?" Tony asked.

"I think it was about 9:00, why?" Tsukasa asked. "You got my text, right?"

"Hehe yeah, it was just weird. I got it the second I hit my own bed." Tony chuckled.

"That's crazy! We must be pretty in sync..." Tsukasa smiled.

"Yeah..." Tony smiled, getting pulled into the conversation. It was then he remembered what had been plaguing his mind since he had waken that morning. "Tsukasa, are you okay? Do you hurt anywhere?" he asked.

"I'm alright Kan-kun, don't worry. I only feel a little pain when something touches a bruise..." Tsukasa said, looking a tad sad.

"Tsukasa... You sure you only got hurt physically?" Tony asked.

"What do you mean?" Tsukasa asked.

"Thanks a ton Tony!" Konata said as she handed Tony's work back while Kuroi wasn't looking.

"No problem." Tony said dismissively. "Tsukasa, you seem sad. And a bit scared. Or embarrassed. What's wrong?" Tony asked. Tsukasa got fidgety.

"Um... I didn't do the homework either... May I please..." Tsukasa started.

"Sure, no problem." Tony smiled, though unconvinced as he gave her his homework. _Something's wrong..._ Tony thought. It was a minute before Tsukasa finished.

"Thank you Kan-kun." Tsukasa smiled.

"Any time." Tony said.

"Alright, let's begin class. First I'll call roll, as if I haven't done that a million times." Kuroi announced as she sighed. After roll had been called, Kuroi stood at the front of the classroom. "Alright, before we check homework, I'll make the announcement I announced that I would announce during yesterday's announcement." She said. She waited a couple seconds for most everyone in the class to give a confused look as they puzzled over what she had just said. After everyone had figured out what she had said, she continued. "You all will have the next two days off for studying purposes. Or, for those of the divine persuasion, for fighting purposes. You'll also have some time after the exam to recuperate while they sort everything out." Kuroi smirked at Tony, her fang prominent. The entire class cheered.

"Thank you ma'am!" Konata shouted.

"No problem, just study so you can do your best." Kuroi said.

"Well that's cool..." Tony smiled.

"Okay, settle down everyone. Let's check homework..." Kuroi said as she started walking around.

* * *

**Lunch Time**

"Hey everyone, I'm here for lunch!" Kagami said as she walked in."

"Hey Kagamin!" Konata welcomed as everyone moved to her desk. "How awesome is this break we're getting?" Konata shouted.

"It's great, it's more time we have to study!" Kagami smiled. "... You're going to do nothing but play games, aren't you?" Kagami asked flatly.

"Probably..." Konata tried to mimic her usual tone. She was slightly off, but only Tony and Kagami caught it.

"Okay... You hear about the amount of teenagers getting pregnant and abandoning their kids these days?" Kagami changed the subject to the first thing she had read in a paper that morning.

"Yeah, they shouldn't do it if they don't want it..." Konata said.

*Sigh* **"So** don't forget folks... That's what you get folks... for makin' **whoopie..."** Tony recited.

"Kan-kun, what's whoopie?" Tsukasa asked innocently. Tony smirked.

"I'll be with you in a minute Tsukasa." he said without thinking.

"Let's stop with the pervy comments, huh Tony? I get enough of that already..." Kagami sighed.

"Tony's not a perv!" Konata defended. Kagami gave her a skeptical look.

"And how do you know?" She asked.

"Because I'm one, and he's never at the meetings!" Konata smiled to Tony.

"...Could someone change the subject?" Kagami sighed.

"Why? Did it wet itself?" Tony asked.

"Ha ha, very funny. It's time for me to go." Kagami said as she heard the five minute bell. She got up.

"Bye Kagamin!" Konata waved.

"Bye Onee-chan!" Tsukasa chimed.

"See ya Kaga- man, she's already gone." Tony sighed. "Hey Tsukasa, do you have your cell phone? I left mine at home..."

"Yeah, hang on..." Tsukasa said as she started looking in her pockets. She came up empty. "Um... I guess I forgot it..." She smiled sheepishly.

"That's alright. Do you have yours Konata?"

"Yeah, my dad made me start carrying it until the tournament's over. Whacha need?" Konata asked.

"Could you call the arena and see who I'm up against next? The number is 123-4567." Tony said.

"That seems... made up..." Konata giggled as she typed in the number. "Hello, is this the arena that the World Tournament is being held at? ... It is? Cool, is there a way I could figure out who Ryū Tora no Kami is fighting in the next round? ...What?" Konata asked. "Look, I'm just trying to find ou-..." She seemed interrupted.

"What?" Tony asked.

"He has a suggestion, but I think it's physically impossible..." Konata muttered after she covered the phone's speaker.

"Let me see it." Tony beckoned for her to give him the phone. When she did, he said, "Hello? Who is this? Shiri? It's Ryū Tora no Kami here, I just wanted to know who I'm fighting in the next round. What? ... Uh-huh." Tony said flatly as he hung up.

"What did he say?" Konata asked.

"You're right Konata, he has a lot to learn about anatomy..." Tony sighed as the bell rang to end lunch.

* * *

**Afterschool**

"Hey Kagami!" Konata waved.

"Yo, time to go to the tournament?" Kagami waved as she arrived at her friends.

"Are you sure you're up to it Tsukasa?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, just say the word and we'll take you home..." Kagami joined his concern.

"I'm fine guys, let's just go and see who Kan-kun beats up next..." Tsukasa blushed slightly as she turned and walked away. Tony shot a glance to Kagami that reeked of concern, Kagami returning his look. They both took a breath and shrugged.

"Alright..." Tony muttered as they followed Tsukasa. Konata and Kagami started talking between themselves, which suited Tony, Tsukasa and Miyuki fine. That's all the closer they grew.

"Kanpeki-san, Tsukasa-san?" Miyuki said in a way to get their attention.

"Hm? What's up Miyuki?" Tony asked.

"I'm afraid I failed to remember a dentist's appointment I have on the day of the festival, so I'll be unable to attend. You'll have to go through with the plan without me..." Miyuki did her best to look sad. Of course, she had no dentist's appointment, but that was hardly common knowledge. The only two others who knew were her mother and Masutā.

"We'll have to come up with something else then... Darn, it was such a good plan though..." Tony sighed. "Tsukasa could fake illness and I could offer to take her home?"

"That'll work I guess..." Tsukasa agreed.

"Then it's settled! It sucks you can't go Miyuki, but I guess it can't be helped..." Tony sighed.

_Yes, it worked!_ Miyuki cheered in her head. _Now Konata-san and Kagami-san will be alone as will Kanpeki-san and Tsukasa-san! ... I'm such a romantic..._ Miyuki realized. The three talked while Konata and Kagami talked until the lot of them arrived at the tournament. They met Masutā there.

"Yo guys, what's up?" Masutā waved.

"Hey bro, nothin' much!" Tony waved back.

"The dog and wolf are at the meeting." Miyuki eyesmiled to Masutā.

"Well that's good." Masutā said as they entered the area.

"Hm? Who's dog? And what wolf?" Tony asked.

"Nothing Otōto! I have no clue WHAT you're talking about!" Masutā laughed.

"You're not even trying to hide the fact that you're lying!" Tony shouted as he pointed a finger accusingly. The call for the first fight interrupted their conversation.

"Will the following fighters please make it to the arena! First match: Ryū Tora no Kami vs. Recoome!" Akira shouted over the PA.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya Luckies! I'm Akira Kogami, your navigator!"

"And I'm Minoru Shiraishi, the assistant!"

"We here at Luckier Channel would like to wish Flygon Master a very happy birthday! Sure, we're a little late, but technical difficulties delayed us for a week. We're sorry for the delay, but almost the entire chapter had to be rewritten!"

"Yeah, but the fight with Recoome is already rewritten so it should be pretty quick!"

"Shirashi-san, don't tell them that! If it doesn't come out soon, the readers might get annoyed!" Akira warned.

"What? I didn't tell them that all the fights had been written since before Chapter 10!"

"Hey. Come on now, show some tact." Akira scolded.

*Music Tone*

"I guess that's all the time we have for now! I'll see you next chapter! Bye nii~!"

"..."

"I'm sorry Akira-sama, i didn't know I wasn't supposed to tell them that!"

"Come on Shiraishi, that's not stuff you tell the readers."

"I'm sorry Akira-sama!"

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

Okay, I'm seriously going to have to cut Shiraishi's pay for that. Yeah, those fights have been written for a long time. Then I finally got to use them and they get erased with everything on my computer *Sigh* Ain't that a kick in the head? I'm telling you, I did not expect the story to get this amount of words from this far into the story. I don't mind telling you, I have entire arcs still in my head... I'm coming up on one now, in fact! One's gonna start right after the next one starts! WHAT WILL HAPPEN? ... No seriously, what's gonna happen? 'Cause I have no clue... or do I? I get those confused sometimes... REVIEW! Please, it's my motivation!


	20. Chapter 20: The Second Two Matches

Chapter 20: The next two fights

Hehe, Recoome vs Ryū Tora no Kami. This will be fun. While I did have those fights written, I can't count how many times I've rewritten and edited them. It's insane when I look on my laptop at the first editions and now at the ones I have. In fact, I edited the Recoome fight just a minute ago! By the way Killa, the Whoopie was a reference to M*A*S*H, one of my favorite shows ever. Two of my favorite characters outside of anime are Hawkeye Pierce and Groucho Marx. I tried to raise Akira's pay, but her mother got to it. She's making a couple hundred extra yen now though! And I simply must say thank you to BlackLuigi7. The site isn't allowing them to review my chapters for whatever reason. I might have(and probably would have) just given up, but Luigi sends me PMs with their review. That simply makes my day. Maybe my week. So thanks Luigi! Also, thanks to Flygon for reading my chapters beforehand, I do like to know if my chapters are any good before I post them. And Stealthmomo, you're not the only one who noticed how slow going those two have been. I noticed too. To be perfectly honest, I never realized how long these chapters got and they slowed down a little bit. I think I might have to change a few things that were going to happen to speed things up a bit... :P Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**The Area**

"Ah, I get to fight that jerk. He was mean for no reason." Tony smirked.

"Yeah, this is gonna be fun to watch." Kagami smiled.

"Alright, I better get going. I'll see you after the match!" Tony waved as he jogged to the starting area.

"Kan-kun!" Tsukasa shouted.

"Yeah?" Tony turned and smiled.

"Good luck!" Tsukasa waved. Tony smiled wider as he felt his heart warm a bit.

"Thanks!" He waved before he went through the process to get in.

"Name?"

"Ryū Tora no Kami."

"Opponent?"

"Recoome."

"Correct! Good luck Ryū."

* * *

**Third fight: Recoome**

Tony entered the pit that served as the ring to see his latest opponent. It was the same jerk from the test earlier. He looked like a man on some form of super steroids, only a small mat of orange hair on his head.

"Hit! RECOOOOME'S MUSIC!" Recoome shouted as a soundtrack was played.

_Is... Is that from Doom?_ Tony thought as he recognized the song that was apparently Recoome's theme.

"SO RYŪ! You~ think that just because you call yourself the God of Fighting, that you're the best there is at what you do. But let Recoome tell ya somethin' brothah! You ain't no Wolverine! And YOU~ ain't got what it takes! To step up! To a FIVE! TIME! CHAMPION!"

"How can you be a champion when this is the first time this tournament has ever been held?" Tony asked. It was ignored.

"You see Ryū. You stand there and brag about how you scored so~ much higher than the rest of us. How you're the stro~ngest in the world. Well look at where you are now. HERE! You~ talk about your strength, and~ your pride, and~ your skill. BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN A DAAAAAAAMN THING TO THIS MAN! BECAUSE THE NAME'S RECOOME! AND IT RHYMES! WITH DOOM! AND YOOOOOOOUUUUU'RE GONNA BE HURTIN'! ALL! TOO! SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONAH~!" Recoome shouted, striking poses near the end. Tsukasa's eyes widened as she recognized the man.

"Ka...Kan-kun!" Tsukasa shouted, afraid to alarm Tony's opponent.

"Tsukasa!" Tony shouted as he ran up to the wall. He jumped and held himself on the edge to talk to his airhead. "What's up? Are you in pain? Do you need something?" He barraged her with questions before he realized it. He quickly quieted and turned his head while he blushed in embarrassment.

"He... He's the one! The one who beat me!" Tsukasa said, surprised as she didn't see an emotion change in Tony. That was only because he had turned away. From Recoome's point of view, Tony was looking at him, pure fury in his eyes.

"You're sure?" Tony asked.

"Yeah..." Tsukasa muttered as Tony dropped to the newly repaired ground. He started walking slowly to his opponent.

"Hey Whore Biscuit! How's that mark treating you? Where'd you get it? BAHAHA!" Recoome laughed as Tsukasa turned away in fear, revealing a bruise on her cheek. "If it's any solace, she cried for you to come save her the entire time, _Kan-chan_! 'Kan-chan! Kan-chan! Help! Save me!' but you never came! It was hilarious."

_Tsukasa... _Tony looked back to Tsukasa. "For giving her that bruise-" Tony's voice had begun changing during his sentence as he turned back to Recoome. Recoome could see a vein throbbing. Recoome didn't want to admit it, but he was getting shivers.

"**I'll repay you 100 fold.**" Tony finished, glaring pure death. His voice wasn't the same. Only Recoome's amazingly resilient confidence kept him from getting scared. Tony approached Recoome, now only a foot away from him.

"Hmhmhm~! So, _Kan-chan_, You want to fight REEEEECOOOOOOOOOOOME?" Recoome taunted.

"**Fight you? No. I want to kill you.**" Tony said. It was obvious by his tone and looks that he truly meant it.

"Bwahaha!" Recoome laughed as he drew back his fist. "RecOOOOOME! PAWNCH~!" He threw a strong punch, one that usually knocked out his opponents easily. It was stopped cold by Tony, only raising one hand to block the attack and not looking any the more fatigued. Tony's other hand was clenched into a fist of rage. Blood was starting to drip from his fingers.

"**Wash your neck and wait, bitch.**" Tony said, staring at his victim. The girls were taken aback.

"Wa-wait, he... he isn't serious, is he?" Kagami asked in disbelief. Masuta's eyes widened.

"He's gone beyond 'I'm going to kick your ass' and actually _issued_ Recoome a death sentence..." Masuta said in a tone of disbelief. Tsukasa gasped.

"Kan-kun wouldn't really ki-kill him, would he?" She asked. _Kan-kun..._

"... I don't know." Masuta said. _I'd say Recoome's already hung, drawn and quartered..._

Tony turned to Akira. "**On your call.**" Akira shuttered.

"G-go!" She barely managed to squeak out before running out. It wasn't half a second later that Recoome was in a wall, Tony's fist in his gut. The wall was half destroyed from the impact. Tony pulled his fist back as Recoome started to fall to a knee. He jumped back up.

"STUPID BOY! Recoome will KILL YOU!" Recoome shouted. Tony made no comment as Recoome drew his fist back. "RECOOOOME! PA-" He was interrupted by Tony, who had kicked Recoome's foot with such force, Recoome would have fallen if Tony hadn't spun around and backhanded him into a corner the next second. Recoome got drowsily up, though furious. He looked around quickly, but saw nothing.

"**Psst. Hey. Behind you.**" He heard as he spun around to see Tony. "**Hi, nice day.**" Tony said. It infuriated Recoome, but he was finally downright scared. He started to back up slightly. "**What's the matter? I thought you said something killing me.**" Tony taunted.

"I WILL! I WILL KILL YOU!" Recoome shouted, his fear outweighed by his anger. He dashed towards Tony, but seemed to pass right through him. "What?"

"What was that..." Kagami muttered as Tony shimmered and faded.

"Afterimage. I didn't think he had that kind of control, especially in Hachiman..." Masutā explained, in awe of his brother. He had surpassed everything Masutā had ever thought he would attain. Tony reappeared behind Recoome spinning and landed a hard kick, sending Recoome into the wall again.

"**Done already?**" Tony muttered as he appeared at the wall and caught Recoome, pulling him back to his feet by his hair. He effortlessly tossed the man in the air and smashed his fist into the man's gut, sending him back into the air. "**This will end you.**" Tony said as he pulled back for a lethal punch. He heard the one he liked from the sidelines.

"Kan-kun, no!" Tsukasa shouted. Tony stopped just in time for the shock wave his abrupt end had caused to hit Recoome. As he heard Tsukasa, he eased, the veins disappearing and his voice returning to normal. Tony ran back over to Tsukasa.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Don't kill him! Everyone deserves a second chance. Let him have his." Tsukasa pleaded.

"You're too forgiving Tsukasa. Far too forgiving. But I will respect your wishes." Tony said VERY reluctantly, bowing. The meanwhile, Recoome was standing up.

_I can NOT be defeated by this loser! I AM A CHAMPION! AND YOU ARE NOT!_ Recoome thought in rage. He put his fists crossed at his forehead and opened his mouth. "RECOOOOOME! ERASER~! GUUUUUN~!" He shouted as a pink beam shot from his mouth. Tony came off the wall and saw the blast coming at him.

_Easy to dodge._ Tony started to move but realized something. Tsukasa was right behind him. If he moved, she would catch the attack. _DAMN IT! _Tony shouted in his mind, flashing into Hachiman. **_I can't dodge!_** "**GRAH!**" He yelled with all his might as he made contact with the beam, smacking it out of the way and disintegrating part of the roof. The beam exploded in the sky. To say Recoome looked incredibly surprised was a vast understatement. "**Ahhh, bitch please.**" Tony panted, his hand feeling as if it were broken in every possible way it could be broken and even some ways that were physically impossible. In all his life, this pain was probably the most excruciating he'd ever suffered. And that was saying a lot. "**You're gonna pay for that one. Because that was your second chance.**" Tony muttered before looking from his hand to his poor, condemned opponent. "**Close your eyes!**" He rushed Recoome and threw an upper cut with as much strength as he could muster in his left hand, though his concentration broken by the searing pain in his right hand. As Recoome flew up, Tony appeared in the air above him, oddly able to stop midair. "**Say goodbye!**" Tony yelled as he kicked Recoome to the ground and disappeared again. He reappeared as Recoome bounced on the ground. Tony kicked him up so he was shoulder level with Tony. "**It's over now!**" As Tony pulled his searing right hand back upon noticing it wasn't actually broken. "**IT'S TIME TO DIE!**" He pulled together the rest of his strength and threw a devastating punch. The punch was sufficient enough to almost kill Recoome as he crashed into a wall and faceplanted on the stone floor.

"Winner! Ryū Tora No Kami!" Akira shouted. Tony walked over to Recoome and spat on him.

_You lucked out you bastard. Pray our paths __NEVER__ cross again. _He thought as he turned and left the pit.

* * *

**After the match**

Tony walked out of the pit to see his brother and the girls walking up. Tony shot Masutā a look that Tsukasa could almost feel a sense of distance from. Masutā nodded.

"Hey, let's go get some food, I'm starved!" Masutā shouted, shuffling Konata, Kagami and Miyuki away. As Tsukasa started to follow, Tony grabbed her by the sleeve on her elbow.

"Tsukasa... Why didn't you tell me?" Tony asked.

"It... just seemed childish to think you would come and save me... You know? I know, I sound like a little kid and all, it's... it's just..." Tsukasa started to tear up. Tony turned her around and put his hands on both her shoulders. He looked her straight in her eyes with a serious look on his face. Tsukasa felt paralyzed under his intense stare.

"Hear this now. I will always come for you." Tony said with unwavering certainty. Tsukasa's entire face blushed as intensely as Kagami's ever had, her heart fluttering. _Just because I won't pursue her, doesn't mean I shouldn't protect her as if I were._ Tony thought. _I will protect Tsukasa. I will not fail her. I can __not._

"Are you two gonna kiss or not?" Konata shouted. Tony erupted in a massive blush as he realized his head had moved a tad closer to Tsukasa's.

_Damn it! I started to lose myself..._ Tony thought. "Well... Let's get going, hm?" He looked the opposite way of Tsukasa so she couldn't see the crimson that was his face.

"Ye-yeah." Tsukasa agreed as they started walking towards the others.

_Betrayal by the brother... _Tony thought. He had told Masutā to get the three girls out of there. _Then again, who knows what I would have done if Konata hadn't interrupted. Man. I need better control._ Tony scolded himself as they joined the others. Tsukasa joined the girls while Masuta lagged behind slightly to talk to his brother.

"So, what will you do Ototo?" Masuta asked.

"What's there to do?" Tony asked. He started feeling quite tired from his previous use of Hachiman. "You know my plans."

"I didn't mean that Ototo. What about when you win? What will you do with the money?" Masuta asked with a smirk.

"Well... I know where I'm putting some of it. And... I think I will get that necklace for Tsukasa if there's enough."

"I thought you weren't going after her?"

"I'm not. I'm getting it for her as a friend." Tony said.

"She might get the wrong idea Ototo." Masuta warned.

"..."

"You want her to like you." Masuta said accusingly.

"No! That's not it..."

"Whatever you say Ototo. Whatever you say." Masuta sighed. "So you okay? That blast DID disintegrate the roof."

"Yeah, but my hand hurts like hell. I'm worried about the next match, though. If I use this hand anymore, I'll end up passing out."

"Man, the pain must be pretty intense to make you doubt yourself. Don't worry, I'm sure it'll be fine." Masuta said reassuringly as they arrived at the food court. Konata ordered a small meal, Kagami ordering mostly the same, except a diet soda. Kagami took a breath, ready to retaliate the attack she knew would come from Konata. When it didn't, she let her breath out, puzzled. She decided it wiser not to question it though. And though Kagami wouldn't admit it, she felt a little... let down. Kagami sighed as she got her food and took a seat with Konata at a table. The rest got food and sat down with them, starting random conversations. Tsukasa looked over to Tony to try and talk, but found him staring without seeing. It was obvious, even to her, that he was thinking about something. Something she couldn't figure out, but it sure got her curious. Tsukasa looked to her sister to see her deep in conversation with Konata. Not wanting to interrupt the two, she looked at Miyuki. She, however, was talking with Masuta about wolves and dogs and the incredible compatibility the two apparently had. Tsukasa's ribbon drooped as she realized she had no one to talk to. After about ten minutes, Tony excused himself. Tony would return ten minute later and return to his previous daze. Akira came over the PA after yet another ten minutes:

"The third round is complete! Will the following fighters please report to the Arena! Ryu Tora no Kami and Naruto!"

"Hm? Wow, that wasn't near the amount of time it was between the other fights..." Tony said, pulled from his thoughts. His stomach growled as he realized he had been lost in thought the entire half hour and not touched his food.

"Well, there were sixteen matches to be fought in the first round and now there were only four matches." Kagami figured in her head.

"Makes sense." *Sigh* "This isn't going to be fun..." Tony sighed as they all go up and walked over to the arena entrance.

"Don't worry Kan-kun, I'm sure you'll do fine!" Tsukasa smiled.

"Thanks Tsukasa..." Tony averted his gaze. They arrived at the entrance and Tony walked in.

"Name?"

"Ryu Tora no Kami."

"Opponent?"

"Naruto."

"Correct! Good luck Ryu!"

* * *

**Semi Final round!**

Tony entered the pit to see his next opponent. It was an average height male with short, spiky, yellow hair and a jumpsuit on. _What a silly headband..._Tony thought to himself as he saw the metal headband adorning the enemy's head.

"Fight!" Akira shouted.

"SURRENDER!" Naruto yelled as he punched his fist out.

"You mean you wish to surrender to me? Very well, I accept." Tony smirked.

"Wait, wh-"

"Winner! Ryū Tora no Kami!" Akira shouted.

"WHAT?" Naruto yelled.

"Sorry kid, this was the obligatory short fight that's in all of these tournaments." Tony shrugged. _Whew, that could have been bad. I can't believe that actually worked..._ Tony thought with a snicker as he left the pit.

* * *

**Outside (Just realized, the title of this chapter is incredibly misleading. That was the last of Tony's fighting this chapter...)  
**

"Well that's one way to win a fight Ototo..." Masuta chuckled.

"Yeah, way to use your head I guess..." Kagami said.

"That was anti-climactic..." Konata commented.

"Yeah, but necessary. There was no way I was winning that fight otherwise." Tony huffed. His hand was still searing. A man walked by them and grunted.

"Name?" The person asked. Tony turned to his friends.

"Hey, this is the other semi-final match, let's go see who I'm fighting in the next fight. I wonder if Shin made it..." Tony commented.

"Let's go Kan-kun!" Tsukasa smiled. They made their way up the stairs. As they took their previous seats in the front row, the man from before walked in to face Shin.

_Coulda guessed that..._ Tony thought. _So, which will make it? If I remember, this guy made a 235 on his strength test. Shin though..._ Tony thought to himself.

"You are ready?" Shin asked the man.

"What? Yeah, of course!" The man shouted.

"Very well then." Shin said.

"Fight!" Akira shouted before she ran out. The man ran up and punched at Shin. Shin leaned to the opposite side lazily and swept the man's legs out. The man fell to the ground. He jumped back up, trying to put it into an upper cut. Shin leaned backwards to dodge and sent a punch of his own into his stomach. To most eyes, his fist had appeared instantaneously in the fighter's stomach. It was only to Tony and maybe Masuta that Shin had moved. The crowd "Wow"ed as the man was thrown into the wall. As the man picked himself up slowly, Shin looked up at Tony.

_What the hell? It's like he knows..._ Tony stared back at Shin. The opponent ran and threw a kick at the back of Shin's head. Shin raised a hand up and stopped it with little apparent effort, never even looking away from Tony. In a flash, this time only Tony seeing it, Shin hit the man in the chest. Fight: over.

"Winner! Gisō-shin!" Akira shouted. Shin smiled as he left the ring.

"Jeez. That wasn't much of a fight..." Konata complained.

"Ototo... That guy..." Masuta muttered.

"I know. He's got insane fighting abilities. This is gonna be..." Tony trailed off.

"Come on, let's go." Kagami beckoned. They all descended the stairs, Tony in the lead. As they got down, Shin came around the corner inches from Tony. Tony got startled and stepped back a bit.

"Hello, oh Almighty God." Shin bowed.

"Hello Mr. Shin." Tony bowed.

"I look forward to our fight. It will truly be a life changing experience for the both of us." Shin said.

"You're not gonna talk about raping my mother, are you?" Tony asked cautiously. Shin laughed.

"No, that's quite impossible. Anyway, our fight will be tomorrow. Good luck, oh Divine One." Shin snickered before leaving.

"... Was he trying to praise me or insult me?" Tony asked.

"I... don't know..." Konata commented.

"How did he get over here so quickly? The entrance he took was on the other side of the pit! That's a long way." Kagami said.

"Very true, in the time it took us to descend stairs, he made it around the pit and to this entrance. There's about 92 Meters of seats without the ring itself. That's a long way to run without being tired. And after a fight." Masuta observed.

"Yeah. Plus, he has a full day to recover, if he lost any energy at all..." Tony said.

"But so do you Kanpeki-san!" Miyuki reminded.

"Very true." Tony said.

"And if you need, you have Hachiman!" Konata said in support. "Even Recoome, who scored third highest, couldn't keep up!"

"Yeah... Yeah, that's right." Tony smiled.

"And we'll be cheering you on the whole way!" Tsukasa cheered. Tony's smile widened considerably.

"Yeah. If you guys are cheering for me, I know I'll win for sure!" Tony cheered.

"So just do your best Tony and have fun! Whether you win or lose, don't push yourself too far. The prize money won't do you any good if you're dead." Kagami stated.

"If I win and die, I want you guys to have my money!" Tony shouted over dramatically.

*Sigh* "Let's hope it doesn't come to that." Kagami said flatly. "Well, Tournament's over for today. We should probably get home."

"Alrighty, we need to find out who's going home with who." Tony said as they started to walk out of the area.

"Why does anyone need to go home with anybody? Other then me and Tsukasa, that is." Kagami asked.

"Kagami, I'm not letting you two go home alone." Tony said.

"What about Konata?" Kagami asked.

"I'll come with ya!" Konata cheered.

"What about Miyuki?" Kagami asked.

"I'll take her home again." Masuta offered.

"That would be fine with me Masuta-san." Miyuki eyesmiled.

"Well, alright then, I guess if everyone's okay with it. I assume you're okay with Tony walking us home Tsukasa?" Kagami asked as a formality.

"Of course!" Tsukasa cheered.

"Well then it's settled. Tony and Konata are gonna walk us home and probably go home afterwards. Masuta will walk Miyuki home." Kagami confirmed.

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Tony smiled. "I'll see ya at home bro!" Tony waved as the two groups split.

"See ya Ototo!" Masuta waved. "So Miyuki-san, anything new?" Masuta asked. It was a bit of a bother that he couldn't be in Tony's class to see these things for himself, but luckily he had a willingly and rather observant spy to help him.

"Nothing really. I have noticed a few small things, but it's probably inconsequential." Miyuki eyesmiled.

"Oh? What kind of small things?" Masuta asked.

"Things like a slight change in Konata-san's behavior. As of late, she seems to have stopped making perverse comments about Kagami-san, or even in general. It's probably nothing though." Miyuki restated.

"Hmm... Well I guess you would know best Miyuki-san." Masuta said. "After all, you have been friends with her for much, much longer then I have."

"That's true, but you're also very smart too. You realized the Konata-san and Kagami-san liked each other from the first time that you saw them." Miyuki stated. Masuta gave her a look of surprise. Miyuki turned and, seeing his expression, continued. "I read your lips when you asked Tony if Konata-san and Kagami-san were "Hot for each other"." Miyuki explained.

"I didn't know you could read lips Miyuki-san." Masuta said.

"Well, it doesn't tend to be of much use if you can't see the other person's lips, so it doesn't help me very much. Luckily, it was a very short distance." Miyuki explained further.

"That's pretty cool, glad I'm not the only one who can do that. Though, it is cool having a corner on the market with stuff like that..." Masuta smirked.

"Yes, it is rather helpful to be able to do useful things others can't." Miyuki agreed.

"This is it, right Miyuki-san?" Masuta asked as they walked up to the gated house that was the Takara household.

"Yes it is, thank you Masuta-san." Miyuki bowed.

"No problem Miyuki-san. You're house is pretty close to the arena." Masuta observed.

"Yes, so we don't really have much time for conversations..." Miyuki sweatdropped a bit as she eyesmiled.

"Oh well, let me know of any new developments, okay Miyuki-san?" Masuta asked.

"As always Masuta-san." Miyuki bowed as Masuta turned around.

* * *

**The other group**

"So, anything new guys?" Tony asked.

"Nothing really..." Konata said as they walked to the Hiiragi house. All of the sudden, Kagami started giggling.

"Kagami?" Tony looked confused.

"It's nothing, just a really silly thought. Maybe you would enjoy it Tsukasa?" Kagami asked her sister.

"Well, sure Onee-chan, if you want to tell me!" Tsukasa smiled as Kagami leaned over and whispered something. Tsukasa joined her sister in the laughing fit. "I had never thought of that Onee-chan!" Tsukasa laughed. Tony and Konata exchanged looks a mixed worry and curiosity.

"Think for just a moment on this. Ariel was a hoarder." Kagami said.

"Ariel... The Little Mermaid?" Konata asked.

"Yeah!" Kagami laughed. Tony smiled and laughed as well.

"That's true! I mean, who REALLY needs 20 Thingamabobs?" Tony asked.

"But look at that stuff! Isn't it neat?" Tsukasa laughed.

"No Ariel. It's garbage. I think you have a serious problem." Konata said with a serious tone before starting to crack up.

"Alright, alright, let's look at this from her point of view. Is she REALLY a hoarder, or an anthropological collector? I mean, she's studying a foreign culture with little more then whoits, whatsits, gadgets and thingamabobs! Not to mention her own culture is totally xenophobic, so she has to keep all the stuff to herself!" Tony defended the mermaid.

"I think you mean HOARD all the stuff to herself." Konata smiled.

"Well hey, at least she's an OCD hoarder. I mean, all of her hoarded goods are placed neatly on shelves." Kagami said.

"I love these conversations..." Tsukasa sighed in pleasure.

"Too bad we're here..." Tony said, saddened by the fact that they had arrived at the Hiiragi household.

"We need stuff to do tomorrow since there's no school though!" Tsukasa said.

"We can study." Kagami 'suggested'. The suggestion elicited a groan from the group. "Fine..." Kagami sighed.

"We could go see my work!" Konata suggested.

"... You work?" Tony asked.

"Yeah! I've just... been calling in a lot..." Konata scratched the back of her head sheepishly.

"That's really irresponsible Konata, you got better a while ago." Kagami scolded.

"But they said they understood because of the exams coming up!" Konata excused herself.

"But you haven't been studying!" Kagami yelled.

"Hmmm... I'm sorry to say I can't see you successfully working anywhere Konata." Tony smirked as he put a hand to his chin in thought, interrupting Kagami.

"Gah! I work at the Cosplay Cafe!" Konata shouted defensively.

"That makes... way too much sense for you. We'll have to visit there then!" Tony smiled.

"Alright!" Konata cheered. "Good night Kagami! Good night Tsukasa!" Konata waved as she started to jog for her house.

"Night Tsukasa! Night Kagami!" Tony shouted as he matched Konata pace.

"Good night you two!" The twins shouted after them. They walked into the house.

"Hey Imotos!" Matsuri shouted from the living room. "Dinner's in here!"

"Hey, usually you're out near the door when we come home..." Kagami commented.

"Well I can't stalk you all the time! Besides, I thought you might need some privacy~!" Matsuri teased.

"What? Why?" Kagami asked as they sat down in the living room, completely ignoring the stalking part. Both Kagami and her twin started to eat.

"Well, mister Kan-chan was out there with ya, wasn't he?" Matsuri poked Tsukasa teasingly. She blushed.

"Ye-yeah, he was... But he was just walking us home!" Tsukasa said.

"And Konata was there too." Kagami pointed out.

"Ah, your sick friend? She's okay?" Matsuri asked.

"Yeah, it passed. Thanks." Kagami smiled.

"I-I do have a question though..." Tsukasa stuttered, pulling a Naruto and flashing back to something that happened in the same chapter.

_**I will always come for you.**_ Tony's words echoed through Tsukasa's mind.

"What's up?" Inori asked.

"H-How do I know if a boy is telling me the truth?" Tsukasa asked hesitantly. Kagami looked at her questioningly.

_What did Tony say to her?_ She wondered.

"Well, there's one sure fire way to find out if a man is honest. Just ask him! If he says "Yes," you know he's a crook." Matsuri giggled.

"Wh-what! ?" Tsukasa asked in a panic. Inori sighed.

"She's teasing you. Did he sound honest when he said whatever he said?" Inori asked.

"... Yeah. He sounded really honest." Tsukasa decided.

"Then he was probably being honest!" Inori told her. Tsukasa smiled.

"Thanks Onee-san." Tsukasa smiled.

"No problem kid." Inori smiled.

"What did mister Tony say that has you wondering Imoto?" Matsuri asked.

"It's nothing..." Tsukasa smiled to herself. _Kan-kun will always come for me..._

"Anyway, what do ya wanna do Tsukasa? We don't have to get up really early or anything, you know?" Kagami asked.

"Wait, they let school out? Aren't exams coming up?" Miki asked.

"Yeah, they let us out so we can study more without being in class. I don't know how that makes sense, but I'll take the free time." Kagami said.

"Well then shouldn't it be used for studying instead of playing?" Miki asked.

"I think we'll be alright, we already studied a lot." Kagami excused. _If I don't do as well, maybe I can get in the same class as Konata..._ Kagami thought to herself. Her head started to question her. _Who cares?_ It asked. Something that felt like it was in her chest suddenly whispered to her. _You do, stupid._ She didn't know why, but the thought made her blush a bit.

"If you say so..." Miki said. Kagami's phone began to ring.

"Hello?" Kagami asked. "Oh, hey Konata! What's up?" She asked. There was a pause as Konata spoke. "Yeah, let's do that! I'll ask Tsukasa." Kagami said. "Hey Tsukasa, do you wanna go to the mall tomorrow with Konata, Tony, and Miyuki?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah! That sounds like fun!" Tsukasa cheered.

"Awesome!" Kagami smiled as she turned back to the phone. "We're in Konata! Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow at the cafe!" Kagami said with unusual excitement. Tsukasa smiled as Kagami seemed so ecstatic about seeing Konata, even if it meant going to the cosplay cafe. "So what do you wanna do until tomorrow Tsukasa?" Kagami asked after she hung up the phone.

"Wanna watch a movie Onee-chan?" Tsukasa shouted in excitement.

"Sure! Um... Matsuri, could we borrow your dvd player?" Kagami asked.

"Sure thing Imoto!" Matsuri shouted.

"Thanks! Which movie do you want to watch Tsukasa?" Kagami asked.

"Hmm... Let's watch Be-"

"Beauty and the Beast?" Kagami finished for her. Tsukasa grew a slight blush at being read so easily.

"Ye-yeah. I know you like that one." Tsukasa smiled.

_True enough, with all the times I've watched these movies with her, it's the one I still can't watch enough. Especially that first song..._ Kagami thought. "Okay, let's go!" Kagami and Tsukasa got up and walked to their elder sister's room. They got the player and walked to Tsukasa's room, where the dvd they seeked laid. Tsukasa found it instantaneously. Kagami would guess she could have found it even if blindfolded and turned several hundred times. They turned the lights off as the dvd started to play. They sat down on the bed and watched. The first song got to Gaston's part. Kagami blinked a couple times as she noticed something she never had. "Hey... Why does he have a quiver on his back if he's using a gun?" Kagami asked the Disney fanatic. Tsukasa thought for a moment.

"... I don't know Onee-chan..." Tsukasa blinked. As the first song ended, Kagami smiled.

"You know, they must sing that song every day." Kagami said.

"What makes you say that?" Tsukasa asked.

"Well, look at how unfazed she is by the singing! I don't know about you, but I think I would notice that many people singing around and about me!" Kagami observed.

"Yeah! Wouldn't it be great if that happened in real life?" Tsukasa said.

"That would be pretty cool. But I would hate to know someone like Gaston. Look how crazy that guy is, he's sliding down roofs!" Kagami pointed out.

"I don't think I would like that part..." Tsukasa's ribbon drooped.

"Hehe, don't worry. I bet if someone like Gaston tried to hit on you, Tony would beat him to a bloody pulp." Kagami snickered.

"Yo-you think so?" Tsukasa asked. Kagami giggled at her embarrassed sister.

"Yeah, he totally would." Kagami giggled. They continued watching. Tsukasa got a weird feeling as they watched the bar sing about Gaston.

_I guess that does happen in real life..._ Tsukasa smiled to herself, though her smile was hidden by the darkness of the room. They saw Belle surrender to the Beast and kept watching. As Beast invited Belle to dinner, Kagami giggled again.

"You know, the Beast has to be my favorite Disney prince."

"Why's that Onee-chan?" Tsukasa asked.

"Just because he has no magic words. He really doesn't have any clue what the hell he's doing here. See?" Kagami smiled as Beast was rejected again. He pointed to the door accusingly. Tsukasa giggled.

"Hehe, I see what you mean..." Tsukasa giggled. They watched more and saw the next song. "You know, there was one thing that always kind of bothered me..." Tsukasa said.

"What's that?" Kagami asked.

"Belle never got to eat anything but that one taste of the gray stuff!" Tsukasa pointed out.

"How did she get to sleep without eating anything?" Kagami laughed.

"I don't know!" Tsukasa laughed. "And how did the Beast NOT hear that?"

"I dunno, you'd think he would wake up!" Kagami laughed. They continued to watch until Something There was done. Kagami sighed. "This is the cutest case of Stockholm Syndrome ever."

"Onee-chan, what's Stockholm Syndrome?" Tsukasa asked.

"Well, Stockholm Syndrome was named after an incident at Stockholm in which a lot of people got held hostage. The criminals, however, were really nice to the hostages and eventually, the hostages started to really like their captors. It almost seemed to them that they we're held against their will anymore! In fact, they even resisted their rescuers!" Kagami said, happy to be the one who could explain things instead of Miyuki or Tony.

"Wow, that's crazy!" Tsukasa said.

"Makes a good movie though..." Kagami smiled.

"Yeah." Tsukasa smiled. They watched until Gaston rounded up a mob to kill the Beast.

"You know, those people must be really easily influenced. It doesn't seem to take much to turn them against Belle and the Beast." Kagami observed.

"Well... Singing has a weird effect on people. It makes them take things from your words that they probably wouldn't if you just said them..." Tsukasa said knowingly.

"You sound like you're talking from experience. Wait... Don't tell me..." Kagami's mouth gaped slightly. "Tsukasa... Did you sing in public?"

"...Yeah... A song from this, actually." Tsukasa said sheepishly.

"What did you sing and why?" Kagami sweatdropped.

"... Kan-chan..." Tsukasa mumbled. Kagami facepalmed.

"I shoulda known it had to do with Tony. When and why?" Kagami asked.

"A week ago or something... It was for the same reason as in the movie. He was depressed about something and feeling like he was completely unwanted. So, I sang..." Tsukasa blushed. Kagami was silent in sorrow for a moment as she realized she was the reason for his depression. Then she remembered his words and that he was probably going to ask Tsukasa out soon anyway.

"And how did that go?" Kagami asked.

"Singing songs like that are a lot harder then I thought they would be, coming up with all that stuff on the spot! Actually, I blanked out a few times and the only reason I didn't embarrass myself is because a couple of the other people in the bar picked up the song for me! Even the bartender-"

"Wait wait wait. You mean people actually joined you?" Kagami asked, bewildered.

"Yeah, I was surprised too! The bartender and Kan-kun became quick friends because of it!" Tsukasa shouted.

"That's... insane..." Kagami mumbled._ Maybe... I'll have to try something like that..._ Kagami thought to herself. They looked back to the T.V. to see people getting beaten up by furniture. A man started melting Lumiere. Clockwork shot off a gun and charged the man with scissors. _Couldn't he have shot the man in the leg or something? That would have been easier..._ Kagami thought to herself. Another man was seen pulling feathers out of the feather duster. _Wait... Wouldn't this be rape if she was still human and not a feather duster? Disney was bold back then..._ Kagami thought. _It's a shame what happened to them..._ At the moment, Gaston was swinging something at the Beast as Belle yelled for him to stop. The Beast turned and grabbed him, roaring into his face. _How did Gaston NOT soil himself from that..._ Kagami thought. "The Beast sure has some control. I would have dropped him like a sack of dirt." Kagami commented as Gaston was dangling over the edge. The Beast brought him back over the roof and brought him close to his face.

"Get out." He muttered.

"I guess I can understand that, he's trying to kill you so it would be self-defense..." Tsukasa muttered, the thought of killing anything sickening her. Whether it be jerks like Gaston or scum like Recoome, she hated the thought of death. The movie closed with Belle and the Prince dancing, staring lovingly into each other's eyes. Tsukasa sighed. _It's so romantic. I wish my life could be like a Disney movie but..._ Tsukasa thought. However, the one she liked seemed all but beyond her. She held a hand to her heart in sorrow. _Why... Why do I have to feel this way about someone who can't like me back?_ Tsukasa thought, the same melancholy from after Tony had told her his story plaguing her mind. She was brought out of it by the light being turned on. She shielded her eyes, slightly stunned by the sudden brightness. Kagami walked to the dvds.

"Do you want to watch anything else?" Kagami yawned.

"Well, any Disney movie would be fine by me Onee-chan!" Tsukasa said sleepily.

"How about Hercules? I think it fits who you were just thinking about..." Kagami giggled as she watched Tsukasa.

"H-how did you..." Tsukasa started to ask. Kagami smirked.

"I didn't until you just told me." Kagami smiled. She saw the disc and developed a scowl. "Aw~, the disc is all scratched up..."

"It still works Onee-chan, it just skips sometimes. Once, it skipped back to the beginning of the movie!" Tsukasa said.

"What did you do?" Kagami asked as she put the disc in.

"I watched it again!" Tsukasa cheered. Kagami turned the light back off and sat back on the bed. Before Hercules had started to go the distance, they were both asleep. Hercules, however, kept playing. And playing. And playing. Every time it got near the end, it would skip to the beginning again.

* * *

**Tony and Konata (Holy freaking crap, the Hiiragi section ended up a LOT longer then I intended. I half considered ending the chapter here...)**

Tony and Konata were jogging home.

"So Konata, a cosplay cafe, eh?" Tony asked.

"Yeah! By the way, I'm going to go early so I can get in "uniform"." Konata smiled.

"Hmmm... Who could you cosplay as... You could be a Flame-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter!" Tony suggested. Konata laughed.

"I have to talk to my boss about that! I never thought about cosplaying as Shana!" Konata laughed.

"Yeah, some contact lenses and a LOT of hair dye and you'd be set!" Tony laughed. "Whatcha doing for their birthday?"

"Kagami and Tsukasa's? I don't know... Oh! We could go to the mall tomorrow and look for presents!" Konata shouted.

"Yeah! Wanna call Kagami and ask her?" Tony asked.

"Why don't you call Tsukasa and ask her?" Konata asked in reply.

"Because, Kagami will be the one who will need convincing. And you're the one to convince her." Tony informed.

"Makes sense! Alright, I'll call her and see if she'll say yes!" Konata cheered as she looked around in her pockets. She failed to find her phone. "Aw crap, if my dad finds out I forgot my phone... Hey Tony, could I borrow your phone?" She asked as they slowed to a walk.

"Sure thing, here ya go! Just don't wait 12 chapters to give it back." Tony chuckled as he gave Konata his phone.

"What?" Konata asked as she dialed Kagami's number.

"Nothing..." Tony chuckled. Konata held the phone to her ear.

"Hey Kagamin! ... Me and Tony were talking and we wanted to know if you and Tsukasa wanted to go to the mall tomorrow! ... Okay then..." Konata took the ear piece off of her ear and held a hand over the voice input. "She's asking Tsukasa!"

"Wait, she agreed that easily? That's surprising... I thought it would take more to convince her..." Tony muttered.

"Me too! ... Alright, we'll meet you at the cafe!" Konata answered as Kagami came back to the phone. She hung up the phone with a smile on her face.

"Is that a smile on your face or are you just super super happy?" Tony asked with a smile as Konata handed him back his phone.

"I dunno, she just sounded really excited is all... Even coming to the Cosplay Cafe..." Konata smiled.

"I suppose she would be the kind who wouldn't really enjoy that, huh?" Tony asked as they started jogging again.

"That's what I thought, but she seemed happy to come..." Konata smiled. Tony had to restrain himself from telling Konata that he practically knew that Kagami liked Konata back. But he had his reasons why he kept that tidbit of information between himself and Tsukasa.

"That's cool. I have a good feeling about tomorrow." Tony smiled. They arrived at their respective homes. Tony walked up to his door and opened it. Or at least he would if it weren't locked. Tony checked his pockets. "Um..." He checked his other pockets. "There's no way... Did I leave my key inside? Damn, I guess I'll have to wait for Masuta to get home..." Tony sighed.

"You're free to wait over at my house Tony!" Konata waved.

"Thanks Konata!" Tony shouted as he jumped over to Konata's house. They entered her home.

"Welcome home Onee-chan!" Yutaka chimed from the living room. Konata and Tony walked inside. "Who's he?" Yutaka asked.

"He's my fiance, Tony." Konata catgrinned.

"Hello, my name is Kanpeki Otokonoko. I'm pleased to meet you ma'am." Tony bowed, playing along. Yutaka's face went blank for a second. Then it turned to a surprised look.

"We-well, um... Welcome to the family Mr. Otokonoko." Yutaka got up hurriedly and bowed. She seemed panicked, not having this happen before and being extremely surprised. She looked over to see Sojiro almost unsurprised. "Oji-san, did you know about him?"

"No, they just got me with that already." Sojiro chuckled.

"Wh-what?" Yutaka asked.

"I was just kidding Yu-chan, he's just my long-lost brother!" Konata said. Tony laughed.

"Now that one is true." Tony smiled.

"Oh, well hello Onii-san." Yutaka bowed again. Tony was caught slightly off guard by Yutaka actually calling him brother, but when neither Konata nor Sojiro interrupted or protested, he decided he wouldn't either.

"Again, I'm pleased to meet you Yu-chan." Tony bowed with a smile. "Now, would you like to tell me your full name so that I can call you by that instead of Yu-chan. A boy you've never met before calling you something so informal must be uncomfortable."

"My name is Yutaka Kobayakawa, but you can call me Yu-chan if you want!" Yutaka said cheerfully, but hurried through the last part as if she was trying to appease Tony. Tony chuckled.

"Thanks Yu-chan. So..." Tony got an idea. He bent over so he was face to face with Yutaka. "How old are you~?" He said in the same way he would talk to a child. Yutaka pouted.

"I am NOT a little kid!" She shouted. Tony smirked.

_Okay, she's as moe as I thought she was, maybe even more so!_ Tony thought with a look to Konata. The look she gave back confirmed his thoughts. "Well, you may call me Tony or Kan-chan, which ever you prefer." Tony bowed again, though this time, it wasn't as deep.

"So Tony, what's up? You're welcome here, but it is late..." Sojiro said.

"Well... I sorta locked myself out of my house and-" Tony started. Sojiro interrupted him.

"Say no more! You can take my bed, I'll sleep on the couch." Sojiro said. Tony smiled.

"I thank you for your incredible generosity, but I was going to say I just need to wait for my brother to get home so I can get in since he has a key while he's here." Tony said.

"Oh.. Well... I'm glad to hear you can go home, but you're welcome to stay here whenever you need to!" Sojiro said.

"Thanks a lot, I appreciate it!" Tony smiled.

"Well, Konata told me about how she's always welcome in your house. That's really makes me feel good considering if something happens to me, she'll be taken care of by a god..." Sojiro laughed. Tony blushed a bit as Konata had told her father about what he had said to the girls. He had meant it, but it was still embarrassing. "Since you said that to her and not me AND you haven't spoken a word about it, I can tell you were being genuine and it wasn't just some cheap phrase you used to get on my good side. You are welcome in my home anytime." Sojiro smiled.

"Wow, I... Don't know what to say..." Tony smiled, speechless. Konata had already said that he was welcome, but to hear it from Sojiro, someone he hadn't exactly been on good terms with not a week ago and the ACTUAL owner of the house, really made it something incredible for him. "Masuta... is probably home by now..." Tony muttered.

"Masuta...? Is that your brother's name?" Sojiro asked.

"Yeah... It makes sense in context. Wanna hear something even worse?" Tony chuckled.

"What's that?" Sojiro asked.

"Think of my name. Thank you so much and I'll see ya later!" Tony waved as he walked out. Sojiro thought for a minute.

"... Perfect... Really?" Sojiro sweatdropped. Konata laughed.

"Isn't he though?" She shouted to see her fathers reaction as she laughed. "Anyway, I've gotta call Miyuki-san..." Konata muttered as she went to her room for her phone.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony walked home with a smile on his face.

"Well... That was... Awesome..." Tony smiled. He arrived at his house and opened the door, par his prediction.

"Yo Ototo! What's up?" Masuta asked. "Where were you at? I thought you would have been home before me!" Masuta called.

"I was, but..." Tony said as he picked his key up and held it in front of him. "Forgot my key."

"Pretty clumsy Ototo..." Masuta chuckled.

"Yeah, but I did learn something interesting. I had no clue that Mr. Izumi knew what I had said to Konata!" Tony said as he sat down in the living room.

"And what did you say?"

"Well, that the girls will always be fed and have a roof over their head should they ever need it." Tony said.

"Ah, and what did he say?" Masuta asked.

"He extended the same to me. It was incredibly surprising though, I thought he was only just accepting me... To say I was welcome in his home should the need arise is mind boggling with the past we've had..."

"Why, wha... Did you knock him out?" Masuta asked, surprising Tony.

"Yeah, how did you know?" Tony asked.

"Kagami told me when I first met her. But she only said you knocked a man out. Well, it would seem he's gone from thinking of you as an arrogant prick to absolutely loving you. I think you're set as long as Konata doesn't turn into a demon, take out a sword and wave..." Masuta chuckled. Tony sweatdropped.

"That's kind of a weird imagination you've got there bro..."

"I'm just saying..." Masuta chuckled. "By the way Ototo, where did you go today? During lunch that is." Masuta asked.

"I went to go tell that merchant that I would buy the amulet if I had enough after the tournament. He even let me take it home on the condition that I signed something that said I would pay for it if I won and had enough. If I win, he's to stay for a few days or so to give me time to get to him and pay for it." Tony said, taking the necklace out.

"That's great Ototo, but... If you give her that, she WILL get the wrong idea. It goes past any doubt in my mind." Masuta warned. Tony stared at the necklace and what it symbolized. He sighed as he closed his eyes in contemplation.

"Yeah. I might... hold off." Tony sighed. _Staying faithful sucks when you fall for someone..._ Tony almost cried. _I need to seriously think about this._ "I'm gonna go to bed. I think I'm gonna need all my strength for tomorrow." Tony excused. He left the room.

"Ototo..."

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya Luckies! I'm Akira Kogami, your navigator!"

"And I'm Minoru Shiraishi, the assistant!"

"Shiraishi-san, I have great news!"

"What's that Akira-sama?" Minoru asked.

"Remember how Ac said your pay was gonna get cut?" Akira said.

"Wait, what?" Minoru shouted in surprise.

"I convinced 'em to let you keep your pay! Just don't mess up again~." Akira chimed.

"Well... Thanks Akira-sama..." Minrou said, honestly surprised that Akira would stick up for him.

"It's no problem, Ac tried to raise my own pay with it, but I figured I would barely get any of it anyway. So now you get to keep it!" Akira chimed.

_That's so unexpectedly nice of her..._ "Akira-sama, please see me after the show." Minoru said.

"O-okay Shiraishi-san..." Akira said.

*Music Tone*

"I guess that's all the time we have for today! I'll see you all next chapter, bye nii~!" Akira shouted.

"..."

"So what is it Shiraishi-san... What's this?"

"Shhh... Don't say anything about it or someone might take it."

"! ... Thanks..."

*End*

* * *

**After Section**

MarroTekatsu, thanks for the review, if you reviewed every chapter, that would be **Amazing**. If all 21 of you who actually read this did that, that would be fantastic beyond belief. But you know what? There was something in your review that just made me ecstatic. I don't know why, it was the smallest thing, yet it just seemed awesome when I read it. Everyone (myself included) has called it either TonyXTsukasa or OCXTsukasa, I've only ever seen stuff like Konami (Name melding) with characters from the original story. Calling it Kankasa... I read that on my phone while I was going to make dinner, almost ravenous with hunger. I instantly stopped myself, walked to my computer, and got to work on this chapter, forgetting how hungry I was instantly. I wrote more then 1K words with ease. I'm glad I could reinspire you, that's almost as incredible as the Kankasa bit! I know, I'm probably overreacting to this, but damn it, that just seems crazy for me XD Thank you for that review, it really lifted my spirits. Sorry to all the other reivewers who didn't get such a long section to thier review, but I loved the Kankasa comment. You just have no idea. None. Anyway, now that I got that out of my system, like I said at the beginning, Konami is going slowly. However, that's not the only thing. So, would you all be opposed to the next few chapters being REALLY short? Like, between 2K-4K words? Just review and let me know!


	21. Chapter 21: Title wouldn't fit Sigh

Chapter 21: Something Something Something Cosplay. Something Something Something Cafe.

Hello everyone, I hope all of you are well, so far I am! Everyone reviewed within a day of the last chapter's release XD that's awesome. Okay guys, I have myself a little challenge for you! In the story so far, I wrote in several mistakes. These are really subtle things that you probably don't notice the first time through. So, if you think you can, go find them! Good luck! Thanks to everyone who reviews my story, and Holyriot, you realize that now I'm just gonna make several thousand chapters so you HAVE to review every time XD Can you say great-grandchildren? I jest, but still, I think I found out what I'm gonna do about speed. I'll put it to a vote. Now, I have a lot of stuff written about later, but I can rewrite the story if need be. It would be relatively easy I think, but I kinda like the stuff I've come up with. Anyway, I think I'll just leave it up to you, is the current speed okay, or should I speed things up a bit? This note is getting long, I'm rambling way too much. Anyway, here's the next chapter!

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony was walking through a forest. All of the sudden, he heard the shouting of a girl.

"No! Let go!" He heard her enchanting voice. He started sprinting through the woods. He got to a clearing and saw a purple haired girl with a yellow ribbon in the grasp of a centaur. She struggled. "You don't know what you're-"

"Halt!" Tony shouted, walking up. The Centaur and girl turned towards him.

"Step aside two-legs!" The centaur shouted back.

"Pardon me, my good... uh... um... sir! I'll have to ask you to release that beauty young-"

"Get away wonder-boy!" The girl shouted.

"-lady... Aren't you a... damsel in distress?" Tony asked. The girl seemed to ponder the question.

"I'm a damsel-" She struggled. "I'm in distress-" She struggled more. "I can handle it! So get away!" She shouted, sounding desperate.

"Uh... *Ahem* Ma'am, I'm afraid you may be too close to the situation to realize-" He was cut off by the centaur hitting him into a tree. _Ouch. Okay then..._ Tony got back up. He concentrated on a strategy. _If I... Then he'll... And then... Got it._ Tony thought, smiling and nodding to himself. He ran up and jumped, spinning around and kicking the centaur's arm, forcing him to let go of the girl. Tony put his hand down, said hand landing on the centaur's arm after it tried to punch him. He used the movement from the centaur's punch to spin into front flip. He brought his foot out and kicked the centaur again, this time breaking him arm. Tony landed and jumped onto the centaur's back as the centaur howled in pain. Tony directed the charging centaur into a wall. Just before the impact, Tony backflipped off of him. Tony smiled as his plan went off without a hitch, rendering the beast unconscious. He walked back to the girl. "Are you alright Meg?" He asked, clueless as to how he knew this girl's name.

"Yeah, thanks. So, did they give you a name along with all those rippling muscles?" The girl giggled.

"I'm... Um... uh..." Tony stuttered.

"Are you always this articulate?" The girl asked, not exactly knowing what it is she had just asked.

"Hercules! My name is Hercules. But some call me Tony." Tony said.

"Hm... I think I prefer Herc. … Or Kan-kun." The girl smiled, though she knew not where the second name came. The girl and boy sat and talked for what seemed the longest time. Tony would call the girl Meg and she would seem to go between Herc and Kan-kun randomly. After what seemed centuries, the girl got up. "Well, thanks for everything, Herc. It's been a real slice." She smiled. "Bye-bye Kan-kun!"

"Bye..." Tony waved. As the girl disappeared into the wood, Tony fell onto his back. Tony opened his eyes to feel the floor, having fallen out of bed. The fall had left him half in his blanket, half on the floor.

"... What the HELL was that? Geez..." Tony sighed. He rose. He noticed his hand barely hurt anymore from yesterday. He got dressed in some regular clothes, remembering he was going to Konata's work that day. He realized he would have to get to Kagami and Tsukasa before they got too far from their house since he had no clue where Konata's work actually was. Tony went into the kitchen and started to make himself breakfast. Once he had finished, he walked into the living room to eat to find Masutā awake.

"Yo Otōto! What's up, you look a little shaken." Masutā waved.

"I just had a weird dream..." Tony said, the dream still fresh in his memory. "You've seen Hercules, right?" Tony asked.

"The Disney version?" Masutā asked.

"Yeah."

"Yeah, I have." Masutā said.

"I was Hercules." Tony said. Masutā laughed.

"I'm guessing Tsukasa was Meg?" Masutā asked.

"I think so." Tony thought. Masutā laughed again.

"You're dreams are trying to tell you something Otōto. You like her. You know it, your body knows it, your mind knows it. Why continue to deny yourself?" Masutā asked.

"I gotta go." Tony sighed before leaving the house.

"I don't think there's anything I can do..." Masutā muttered sorrowfully. His little brother was getting more and more defiant all the time. And Masutā was reluctant to say it, but he didn't mind it when Tony was followed his every order. At least Tony would be doing what his brother was sure was best for him. Masutā leaned back and went back to sleep in frustration. _That girl has some hold on him already... I wonder what will happen after a while..._

* * *

**POV Konata**

Konata woke up and yawned. She turned over and, sleepily, got out of bed. She saw it was rather early and so decided to do something. She picked up her diary and started reading her entries. She passed her previous entry with great melancholy. She sighed as she made another one.

_Dear Diary_

_I'm so confused! Kagami said she likes how I am, but she yells at me for it! Man, now that I read them, I realize that each of my entries have been about Kagami. Maybe I need to talk about something else... So I have a brother now. Yeah, he's really nice once you get to know him. My first impression was all wrong, even though he was a bit of a prick. He also-_... Konata started to think. "He seemed interested in Kagami. Was it... jealousy that made me hate him? I thought he was gonna steal Kagami from me..." Konata realized. She laughed out loud at the ridiculous notion, completely unaware of how much he had actually tried. After all, he had just told Konata that he liked Tsukasa, how could she have known? She looked down at her unfinished note. _He also... _Konata read, but her train of thought had been derailed. She no longer had any clue what else she was going to write. _I thought he wanted Kagami, but I guess I was wrong. I sure am glad I was too..._Konata wrote. _Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get ready for a short day at work. Bye Diary!_

_-Konata~_

Konata wrote before she put her pencil and diary down. She got up and walked out the door. Since it was still very early, Konata figured that both Yutaka and Sojiro would still be in bed. However, Konata walked out to see Sojiro on his computer, typing away.

"Hey dad, you're up early..." Konata commented.

"Oh Konata, what time is it? I kinda didn't go to bed last night..." Sojiro said.

"It's around 6:30 dad, why didn't you go to sleep?" Konata asked.

"Every good writer knows that when inspiration strikes, you don't put it off." Sojiro explained as he yawned. "You're gonna forget it." He warned.

"Ah. Hey dad, I wanted to ask you something..." Konata said.

"What's up Konata?" Sojiro asked.

"Did you mean what you said to Tony yesterday?" Konata asked.

"Yeah, of course! He's already promised you could stay there. The only thing that kind of surprised me is when you called him your brother, but I don't mind." Sojiro smiled.

"Really?" Konata asked.

"Yeah, all I can do is accept him as my son!" Sojiro laughed. Konata laughed too, happy her dad was as accepting of Tony as she was now.

"Anyway, I've gotta go to work so I'll see ya later dad!" Konata waved.

"Bye Konata!" Sojiro shouted. Konata made herself a piece of toast, not really hungry at the moment. She took a bite and was out the door, toast still in her mouth. She started jogging leisurely towards her work. She arrived relatively early and walked in.

"Yo boss, what's the job today?" Konata called. _You know... I never noticed, but boss looks oddly like the guy hosting the tournament on T.V..._

"Fumoffu~!" The boss shouted.

"Yeah, I was on vacation, but I thought I would come in for a little while today. You don't have to pay me!" Konata said.

"Fumoffu?" The boss asked.

"Yeah, really! But maybe my friends can come in for free?" Konata asked.

"Fumoffu!" The boss shouted.

"Awesome, thanks!" Konata cheered. "So what am I dressing as today? I remember Haruhi is next week again, but what's this week?" Konata asked.

"Fumoffu, fumoffu!" The brown haired boss shouted.

"Ooo~, doing that one, huh? I remember doing that before, sweet!" Konata shouted. She entered a dressing room and got into costume. "Excalibolg, Excalibolg, Excalibolg." She repeated, getting into her voice. "Pipiru piru piru pipiru pi!" She chanted, completely in character now. She walked out to see the first few customers trickling in, Patricia having greeted them. As Patricia came back in, she saw Konata and waved.

"Hey Konata! It's been a while!" Patricia waved.

"Hey Patty-chan, long time no see!" Konata waved back. Patty lifted a baton.

"Durandal!" She shouted. Konata held up a spiked mace she had.

"Excalibolg!" She shouted back. Several performances later(complete with bats) and there came a knock at the door. Konata somehow knew exactly who it was. She walked over and opened the door to reveal exactly who she thought it was.

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

Tsukasa was walking around a lake when all of a sudden, she found herself in the grasp of a centaur. She started struggling. "No! Let go!" She shouted, trying to get out of the mighty grip of the centaur. "You don't know what you're-"

"Halt!" She heard a male voice shout from the woods. She turned to see a muscular looking boy with short, brown hair walk out.

"Step aside, two-legs!" The centaur yelled. He yelled with such magnitude that Tsukasa got very scared for the boy's safety. Somehow, she knew subconsciously that he would be okay, but her current thoughts were mainly concern.

"Pardon me, my good... uh... um... sir! I'll have to ask you to release that beauty young-"

"Get away Wonderboy!" Tsukasa shouted. _I really don't want him to get hurt! _She thought.

"-lady... Aren't you a... damsel in distress?" The boy asked. Tsukasa started to think.

_I don't think I know him, but I feel like I do... I just really, really don't want him getting hurt because of me..._ "I'm a damsel-" She struggled. "I'm in distress-" She struggled more. "I can handle it! So get away!" Tsukasa shouted, getting desperate.

"Uh... *Ahem* Ma'am, I'm afraid you may be too close to the situation to realize-" The boy started to say before being beamed in the face by the centaur. Tsukasa was speechless in horror until she saw the boy get up. He seemed to think for a moment. Then he smiled, nodded, and went on the attack. Tsukasa saw she had aptly nicknamed the boy as he released her, broke the centaur's arm, and knocked him out with a wall. The boy walked back over to Tsukasa. "Are you alright Meg?" He asked. Tsukasa didn't know the name, but it felt right.

"Yeah, thanks. So, did they give you a name along with all those rippling muscles?" Tsukasa giggled.

"I'm... Um... uh..." The boy stuttered.

"Are you always this articulate?" Tsukasa asked. _Wait... What does that even mean?_ Tsukasa wondered.

"Hercules! My name is Hercules. But some call me Tony." The boy said.

_Tony... Where have I heard that name before?_ Tsukasa wondered. "Hm... I think I prefer Herc. … Or Kan-kun." Tsukasa smiled. _Where did Kan-kun come from?_ She thought. She and the boy sat down and talked for what seemed the longest time. The boy would call her Meg and Tsukasa would alternate between Herc and Kan-kun. After what seemed an eternity, Tsukasa got a sudden urge that she needed to leave. She got up hesitantly. "Well, thanks for everything, Herc. It's been a real slice." Tsukasa smiled. "Bye-bye Kan-kun!"

"Bye..." She heard him mutter. Tsukasa walked into the pitch black woods. A slight amount of light revealed the roof of her room. Tsukasa realized the dream she had had and got a massive blush.

_I... I actually dreamed about him..._ Tsukasa's face was completely red. _I wonder what brought a dream like that on..._ She thought until she saw the T.V. She saw the muses singing about love. _This movie is still playing? I must not have slept very long..._ Tsukasa thought. The fact that the curtains were drawn and Kagami was still asleep next to her didn't help correct her. Tsukasa looked at the clock to see it read 7:00. _That's weird, what happened?_ Tsukasa thought. As the song ended, the movie skipped back to when Hercules first met Meg. _Oooooh..._ Tsukasa realized what happened. "Onee-chan~!" Tsukasa shook Kagami awake.

"Hm..." She stirred awake. "Hey, you're up before me?" Kagami asked in surprise. She wasn't sure why she was so surprised, Tsukasa seemed to be getting up earlier more often.

"Ye-yeah... I had a weird dream..." Tsukasa said, her face a mix between cherry and burgundy.

"Wha-... Tony?" Kagami asked in a way that made it obvious that she knew the answer already. Tsukasa nodded. "In your dreams?" Kagami asked. Tsukasa nodded again. Kagami smirked. "I guess that makes him your dream guy, huh?" Kagami smiled. She would have thought it impossible that Tsukasa's face could turn any redder, but it did.

"I-I gu-gu-guess..." Tsukasa stuttered. Kagami giggled as she got up. The two left the room after turning the movie off.

"Winner! Ryū Tora no Kami!" They heard Akira shout on the T.V. Kagami walked out to see their sisters and mother, mouths agape. The tops of their faces were blue. Kagami looked to the television to see Tony spitting on Recoome. She giggled.

"So, what do you think?" She asked in a very told-ya-so manner. Matsuri's head creaked around.

"He's a god." Matsuri mumbled before turning back to the screen, causing Kagami to laugh. Naruto unwittingly surrendered to Tony. Inori laughed.

"Poor guy!" She laughed. "That was pretty funny..." She calmed down. "So I guess you guys weren't lying then. He seems like a good catch Tsukasa~!" She poked Tsukasa with her elbow. Tsukasa's blush flared up again. Kagami decided to come to her rescue.

"Tsukasa, shouldn't we be going?" Kagami asked.

"Ye-yeah. Bye mom! Bye Onee-sans!" Tsukasa waved.

"Bye Imotos!" Matsuri shouted. Kagami and Tsukasa left before their mother could say anything. As Kagami and Tsukasa were walking towards the train station, they saw Tony approaching fast.

"Hey Tony!" Kagami waved. Tony was about up to them.

"Hey Herc!" Tsukasa waved, but got a chill in embarrassment as the top of her face melted into blue lines..

"Hey Meg!" Tony shouted. He had much the same reaction. They both blushed massively, confusing each other. _Did we... _Tony started to think.

_Did we..._ Tsukasa started to think.

_How did they know?_ They both wondered as they started walking together. Kagami looked to one side, then the other, completely left out.

"Herc? Meg? Wait..." Kagami began to think. _Does this have something to do with Tsukasa's dream? I wonder if she dreamed about Tony being Hercules. But if that's the case, how would Tony know? Unless he's just watched Hercules and responded accordingly. But then why are they both embarrassed? Maybe-..._ Kagami continued thinking. Meanwhile, Tsukasa and Tony were looking concerned at Kagami, who had been deep in thought for quite a bit.

"I don't know Kan-kun, she gets like this sometimes..." Tsukasa said, responding to Tony's question as to the well being of Kagami.

"Kagami~. Kagami~?" He waved a hand in front of her face. No reaction.

"Th-there's something Kona-chan did once, maybe twice and it worked... But you have to turn away!" Tsukasa shouted.

"Hmm..." Tony tried pinching Kagami relatively hard. No effect. _Whoa..._ He thought in wonder. _That was almost enough to bruise her..._ He thought. "If you've got something that'll work, I'm all ears." Tony said.

"You have to turn away." Tsukasa said sternly. Tony complied as Tsukasa grabbed her sister and dragged her out of the public eye.

"KYAAAAA!" The dark crimson Kagami yelled from the alley way, causing Tony to snicker. "Tsukasa! Why the hell did you do that?"

"Well, Kona-chan usually does that when you space out for long periods of time like that…" Tsukasa mumbled, her ribbon drooping a tad. Kagami took a deep breath as she took in her surroundings and realized that Tsukasa had gotten her out of public before touching her. She gave Tsukasa a smile.

"Well, just try pinching me or something. And thanks for not doing that in public. That would have been embarrassing." Kagami smiled to her sister.

"I figured it would have been. But Kan-kun tried to pinch you!" Tsukasa said as the two walked back to the Tony, who had taken this opportunity to practice his waiting.

"He...he did?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah!" Tsukasa reiterated.

"..." Kagami suddenly noticed a rather searing pain in her arm. "Ouch."

"Hey Kagami, are you back amongst the living?" Tony asked as they approached him.

"Yeah, I was just wondering a couple things." Kagami said.

"Like?" Tony asked. Kagami smiled to herself.

"You don't want to know." She said. Tony hummed.

"If you say so." Tony said as they approached the subway. They purchased tickets and got on. The trio saw two open seats. "Please take them." Tony gestured. Tsukasa started to open her mouth, but Tony shushed her quickly. "Tsukasa, please. Do this for me. I can stand for five minutes." Tony smiled. Tsukasa silently nodded and the two took their seats. Tony sighed with his eyes closed as he grabbed a ring. He felt a tap at the shoulder. He opened his eyes and looked behind him.

"See! I told you it was him!" A girl squealed to her friend.

"It is! It's Ryū!" The friend squealed.

"Hey Ryū, do you have a girlfriend?" The first girl asked. Tony sweatdropped. He looked over to Tsukasa, who by this time was almost asleep and trying not to lean on Kagami's shoulder.

"... You could say that. I am... quite attached at the moment." He said in a voice low enough that Kagami and Tsukasa couldn't hear him. The girls were both disappointed.

"Aw~, you sure? Maybe we could... *work something out*?" She winked at Tony as she emphasized the last three words, catching him off guard. He sweatdropped again, almost blushing.

"N-No, I don't think so." He said. The girl sighed.

"Alright then..." She looked away dejectedly. As their stop was called, Tony looked back over to Tsukasa to see her asleep.

_After five minutes? Whoa..._ Tony thought to himself. Kagami was shaking her sister, but to no avail. Tony walked over.

"Last call!" The voice on the intercom announced. Kagami gave a slightly panicked look to Tony.

"Tsukasa, it's time to wake up." He said gently, shaking her with as much force.

"Hmm..." She stirred awake, much to the surprise of Kagami and Tony.

_That actually worked? Awesome._ Tony smiled. Meanwhile, Tsukasa had gained a light blush.

_Oh~! He saw me asleep when I didn't want to be! I'm so embarrassed..._ She blushed. Tsukasa didn't exactly want Tony to see that she was lazy enough to fall asleep on the subway, and in five minutes no less. Though he had already seen it once and fallen asleep before her beside. They exited the train seconds before it pulled away and were on their way. They got about halfway before someone stopped the group.

"Is that Akira?" An otaku shouted as he saw Tsukasa. Tsukasa got a bit startled as she had before and tried to hide slightly. The man started taking multiple pictures of Tsukasa, the latter trying to hide herself from view. Kagami got in between the two of them.

"Hey! Leave my sister alone!" Kagami shouted.

"I-It's Miku!" the Otaku shouted, taking more pictures. Kagami had half a mind to beat the man mercilessly. Before she could, however, Tony stepped up.

"Hey, my friends don't like having their picture taken like that by people they don't know. Please be on your way." Tony said. The otaku kept taking pictures around him and Kagami. Kagami clenched a fist, but Tony stepped closer. "Believe me buddy, you don't want to get her mad. Just please leave or she might attack you. She's very protective of her sister. And, quite frankly, **so am I**." Tony whispered to the man. The man seemed to hesitate. Then he took another picture. Within another second, Tony had to block Kagami from beating the everliving daylights out of the poor Otaku. With his other hand, Tony grabbed the otaku's camera and ripped the film out of it. _Who even uses film anymore?_ Tony wondered. Tony gave the camera back to the man and and shooed him off. The man left without hesitation now that his camera was gone, dejected. Kagami took a deep breath to calm herself down as they continued on their way. The trio found the building that housed the cafe and entered. The group started walking up the stairs to the cosplay cafe and opened the door.

"KCHYAAA!" Tony heard Dokuro yelled. Suddenly, he was on his rear as Konata's mace made contact with his chin.

"Ow! Are customers always treated this way? Tony asked. Konata giggled.

"No, it's mainly a functional prop. But I would think you could take it! You are a soon-to-be world champion after all." Konata smiled.

"Very true, very true." Tony said with a smile. Konata helped him to his feet and walked in with the group.

"Hey boss, these are my friends!" Konata waved to her boss.

"Fumoffu!" He shouted back.

"Yeah, it is! Wanna meet him?" Konata asked.

"Fu-fumoffu!" The boss shouted. Konata grabbed Tony by the hand and dragged him over to her boss.

"Tony, this is my boss! He's a big fan of yours." Konata introduced.

"Hello sir, my name is Tony. You've got a hell of a girl as your employee." Tony shook the man's hand, rubbing his chin with his other hand.

"Fumoffu!" The man shouted.

"Um... I'm sorry, I don't understand sir." Tony sweatdropped.

"He's asking for an autograph!" Konata whispered to Tony.

"How can you understand him?" Tony asked in a similar whisper. Konata shrugged.

"Just got used to it, I guess." Konata whispered back.

"Do you want an autograph?" Tony asked.

"Fumoffu, fumoffu!" The man nodded furiously. Tony chuckled in his head.

_Man, this kind of stuff seems so weird. It's kinda cool though..._ Tony thought to himself. He signed something the man had given him to sign and gave it back. Then, he got an idea. "Hey, would you mind if I came back here more often? This seems a nice little place." Tony smiled as he looked around. The boss was slightly more then frantic in his response. Though Tony couldn't understand a thing the man said, he could tell he meant yes. "Thank you very much." Tony bowed.

"Sit!" Konata commanded. The group complied and looked around. Then they spotted someone.

"Miyuki? Have you been here the entire time?" Tony shouted as the trio went to sit with her.

"Yes, I have. But I tend to be forgotten and ignored quite a bit." Miyuki eyesmiled. And though she said it in a very gentle tone, Tony couldn't help but feel a sense of fear from the _exact_ tone of her voice.

"Um... Miyuki, are you okay?" He asked. "Why didn't you tell us you were here?"

"I'm okay. And I didn't say anything to observe whether you missed that I was here and sat at another table or not." Miyuki said. Tony's sense of fear was now accompanied by one of shame.

"Miyuki, I'm sorry if we never make room for you in our conversations... But you never talk!" Tony said.

"Because I never have the opportunity to." Miyuki said. The meanwhile, Konata and the twins were watching intently to see where this was going.

"Well sometimes we pause in our conversations, but then you don't say anything." Tony stated.

"Because I have nothing to add at that point. Whenever I do, you merely keep talking." Miyuki argued.

"Well, if you do have something to say, you're completely welcome to interrupt me." Tony offered.

"I'll keep that in mind, but as of late I've been more observing something then thinking of conversation topics." Miyuki said.

"Ah, well okay then." Tony said, figuring she was talking about Konata and Kagami, but saying what she said so they wouldn't catch on. Little did he know, Kagami was having the same thoughts in vice-versa. Thus, no one saw fit to comment on it, or risk outing someone who didn't want it. "So Konata, what do we owe the cafe for our time here?" Tony asked, changing the subject.

"Actually, since I'm supposed to be off today, my boss is letting you guys in for free!" Konata cheered.

"You know Konata, I'm not entirely sure you're in character with Dokuro. Then again, I've never seen that anime." Tony commented.

"If you've never seen it, then how do you know who she's cosplaying as?" Kagami asked.

"Because I'm weird like that." Tony said.

"Well I guess it doesn't matter since I'm not on the payroll today." Konata catgrinned. "So the games are all free to play, the sweets are all you can eat, and the drinks are free refill! Oh, and you can read any manga from the shelf over there!" Konata smiled. Before she left, Kagami asked Tony a question.

"By the way Tony," Kagami began "Are we the four of us really the only friends you have? Shouldn't you try to find some guy friends?" Tony opened his mouth and rose a finger as if about to make a point, but put it down and looked down.

"I know..." He sighed. As the girls began to giggle, he thought of something. "Unless you count Masutā!" He pointed out.

"Yeah, but can you count him? He's your brother, so I'm not sure... I guess if you're friends, it doesn't really matter..." Kagami smiled.

"Yeah! Yeah! So I'm not hopeless!" Tony said excitedly. The girls laughed harder, attracting the attention of one Patricia Martin.

"Heya sempais!" Patricia waved as she came over. Tony somehow recognized her as Sabato, yet almost cringed at the blonde's voice.

"Hey Patty-chan!" Tsukasa waved. Tony found that the pure cuteness of Tsukasa greatly overwhelmed the grating voice of the blonde.

"So who's this?" Patricia asked, referring to Tony.

"This is Tony, he's relatively new. He transferred into Ms. Kuroi's class a week or so ago." Kagami explained.

"How do you do?" Tony asked.

"Very nice, Tony's an American name, isn't it? I'm American too! My name is Patricia Martin." Patricia said with excitement to find another American.

"Actually, my real name is Kanpeki Otokonoko, I just go by Tony." Tony nervously smiled.

"Wait, what? That makes no se-"

"It makes no sense to you, I know." Tony chuckled. "It doesn't to most people."

"Does it to you?" Kagami asked.

"Maybe." Tony said.

"I'm guessing "Classified Information?"" Kagami asked.

"I guess so." Tony said.

"Aw! No fair, that's my line!" Patricia shouted with a pout.

"Not this week Sabato." Konata grinned. "So what'll you all have?"

"I'm not too hungry quite yet." Tony said. Kagami's stomach growled since neither she nor Tsukasa had eaten breakfast that morning.

"... Um... I don't think I'll have anything either..." Kagami commented.

"Kagamin~, your tummy says different~..." Konata cooed, poking Kagami in the stomach.

"I-I told you, I'm on a diet!" Kagami shouted.

"If you say so, but you really don't need to be on one..." Konata commented. Oddly though, that small comment got into Kagami's head and made her blush incredibly. It seemed absolutely sincere, something that was all too rare for Konata. A smile decorated Kagami's face from the compliment.

"I'll have a vanilla soda!" Tsukasa chimed. Tony smiled to himself.

"You seem pretty excited for a vanilla soda..." He chuckled.

"Well, it's my favorite..." Tsukasa explained.

"Hmm... I woulda pegged you for a melon soda type." Tony smirked. Tsukasa seemed surprised.

"That's actually what I had last time I came here!" Tsukasa shouted, jumping forwards slightly in her seat. "I really like melon soda, but vanilla is my favorite!" Tsukasa commented. Tony laughed in surprise.

"Well, I guess I'm getting to know you better with each passing day, aren't I?" Tony smiled. Both Tsukasa and Miyuki smiled to themselves, but Tony only noticed Tsukasa.

_They are getting quite close. It's odd Kanpeki-san refuses to try for her, yet he continues to bond with her. At this rate, he'll find he can't simply deny his feelings for long._ Miyuki observed. "Kanpeki-san, may I have a word?" Miyuki asked. Tony looked over from the conversation he was having with Tsukasa, about to politely refuse until he remembered what Miyuki had said earlier and how he had said she could interrupt him at any time.

"Take any word you want, it's yours!" Tony shouted. He looked to see Miyuki with a serious face. "Alrighty, come on." He said as he and Miyuki got up. Miyuki lead them outside the door onto the staircase. "So-"

"Why aren't you dating Tsukasa?" Miyuki asked, an unusual fire in her voice. She seemed almost angry.

"Bu-but I don't-" Tony tried to lie, taken off guard.

"Don't lie to me! I know you like her, and I'm sure she likes you!" Miyuki shouted.

"...Am I that obvious?" Tony asked, a light blush coming across his cheeks.

"Yes! Tsukasa is my best friend, I want her to be happy! For that, she needs you. You better have a good reason you're not going to even try to go out with her!" Miyuki shouted.

"Miyuki, my reasons are personal, I would appreci-" Tony was cut off as a sharp pain on his cheek. He stood in disbelief as he realized what had happened, a red hand print starting to show itself on his cheek.

"Fine! Ignore your feelings, ignore Tsukasa! I can tell you don't care about her now..." Miyuki started to walk past him back into the cafe. Her prediction came to pass as she felt a furious grip on her arm. She turned and saw Tony, glaring at her.

"Miyuki. You can insult me, you can hit me, you can do anything you care to try to me, but Tsukasa IS incredibly important to me. Be you man, woman, or god manifest, NOBODY will insult her while I draw breath." Tony realized he had tightened his grip subconsciously. He let go. "You would do well to remember that." He muttered before he started walking back into the cafe.

"Tony!" Miyuki called. He stopped. "Just tell me why you refuse to take Tsukasa!" Miyuki pleaded. Tony glared back at her, still angry.

"That's none of your business." He said before turning back to the door. He took a deep breath to calm himself and walked in. Miyuki sighed.

_I do think I've gone about this all wrong..._ She eyefrowned to the floor as she followed. _It was difficult to act so rough though, that's how I pictured Masuta-san would have handled it. I suppose I shouldn't have tried for it...  
_

Tony walked in in such a way that he easily hid the slap print on his face. He sat down facing slightly away from the group to hide it.

"Kan-kun, what's wrong? You seem angry somehow... Are you okay?" Tsukasa asked. Tony scolded himself in his mind for being read.

_She saw through that facade pretty easily..._ "Yeah, I'm okay. No worries." Tony dismissed. He saw Patricia walking up with the soda. Tony gave a quick look around to see if there was anything he could use to change the subject. "So Ms. Sabato, this place seems rather empty. As in, we're the only ones here. What's up? Are you guys having an off day?" Tony asked.

"Well, you see... Before Konata came, our cook... um... wasn't very good, let's put it. The people who came here were only hardcore Otaku. He was doing other things while Konata was here and able to cook, but since she was out for a while, he started cooking again. But this time, it's worse then the last time! So now we've got a rep for bad food again..." Patricia sighed.

"That's kinda harsh to say about someone, isn't it? I mean, what if he heard you?" Kagami asked, coming out of her blush induced trance on her own for once.

"Oh, he knows he sucks at cooking, but no one else can really cook so~..." She scratched her head. "And he's kinda above us..." She commented.

"Boss?" Konata asked.

"Boss." Patricia confirmed. Konata suddenly got a bit of a twinkle in her eye.

"Hey Tsukasa, wanna make a few extra thousand yen?" She asked. Tsukasa was taken off guard by suddenly getting pulled into the conversation.

_I could use the money to buy Kona-chan and Onee-chan presents for their birthdays! Maybe I can find out when Kan-kun's birthday is, I'd like to buy him something._ "Sure Kona-chan, what do I have to do?" Tsukasa asked her friend. Konata opened her mouth, but interrupted herself. She grinned widely.

"All you have to do is get undr-" Konata started before she was silenced by Kagami's hands over her mouth.

"Don't even go there Konata! Leave my sister out of your perverted fantasies!" Kagami yelled. Konata shrank back quite a bit.

"O-okay Kagamin..." Konata muttered. Kagami felt guilt instantly.

"Kona-" Kagami started, but was cut off by Konata.

"What I meant was you could come cook for us and I'm sure boss would pay you for your time. I know if you were cooking here, we'd have a line out the door of people who don't even like cosplaying..." Konata muttered. Kagami started feeling very sorry as Konata seemed so sad now.

"True enough, any food she touches turns to instant ambrosia. If she threw dirt and butter in a frying pan, the resulting meal would still be a thousand times better then whatever I could make." Tony commented. Though Tony had complimented her cooking every time it was brought up, every time he did it gave Tsukasa the warmest feeling in her chest and made her feel all the cooking she did was worth just that.

"Su-sure Kona-chan, I can cook..." Tsukasa blushed.

"Awesome, thanks!" Konata regained her usual attitude. Her fear of Kagami's anger was the only reason she hadn't hugged Tsukasa.

"When do I start?" Tsukasa asked.

"Whenever you want! First we need to get people in though..." Konata put a hand to her chin in thought. "Well, let's worry about that later! We're going to the mall!" Konata cheered. Patricia seemed to perk up a bit.

"Oo~, that sounds like fun! I wish I was off..." She sighed.

"Oh well, we better get going if we're gonna have any time at the mall!" Konata said. The group got up.

"Yeah, we should probably go. It's been nice to meet you Patricia!" Tony waved as the group left minus one Konata, who had gone to change back to her normal clothes. The four left waited on the stairwell that Tony and Miyuki had occupied not too long ago. Tsukasa happened to look over at Tony and saw the red print on his cheek.

*Gasp* "Kan-kun, what happened?" She asked in a panic. "Yuki-chan, did you slap him?" Tsukasa turned to the moe goddess, who was hiding her eyes in her bangs. Tony quickly turned to hide the print on him.

"Don't worry about that Tsukasa, it was my fault. There was something she wanted me to do that I wouldn't. She got angry and slapped me. I don't blame her." Tony excused.

"Well what was it?" Tsukasa asked, having gotten Kagami interested too by this point.

"Er... She wanted me to capture something I don't feel I should." Tony said, trying to think quickly. Tsukasa looked Tony in the eyes, forcing Tony to look away.

"Kan-kun, are you lying to me?" Tsukasa asked. Tony sighed in relief that he technically wasn't.

"No, I'm not. Don't worry about it Tsukasa." He turned back to her with a smile. Before Tsukasa could further pursue the subject, Konata came out.

"Hey guys, did I miss anything?" She asked with a catgrin. She saw Tsukasa looking intently at Tony. "Whoa, what's up?"

"It's nothing Konata." Tony dismissed. "Come on, let's go or we won't have time to do anything." Tony started to leave. Tsukasa gave a worried look to Miyuki, who followed him. The remaining three started after them.

"Kanpeki-san!" Miyuki jogged up to him, the others out of earshot because of the door Miyuki had closed on the way. She got in front of Tony and turned.

"Yes?" Tony asked, stopping.

"I'm sorry for... slapping you." Miyuki apologized with a bow. Tony sighed.

"I'm sorry for grabbing you like that. You did underestimate Tsukasa's importance to me, though. She's so caring and kind and..." Tony trailed off, his heart warming merely from talking about her. "Look, I just really need to sort some stuff out, ya know?" Tony asked.

"I understand Kanpeki-san." Miyuki eyesmiled. "But please, don't take too long. I would rather like to see you two happy soon."

"Ehehe... Miyuki, I'm not sure if you quite unde-"

"How did you two get so far ahead of us?" Konata asked as the three caught up.

"We walked!" Tony shouted with a smile. "Think we should jog?"

"Sure!" Tsukasa answered for her as she started off in front of the group.

"Tsuka- !" Kagami shouted, but was too late as a man bumped into Tsukasa. The group rounded the corner to see him looking up Tsukasa's skirt, her promptly covering up. He started laughing insanely.

"Character print, eh?" He laughed. Tsukasa's face exploded into red, on the verge of tears of embarrassment.

"Well I can see you're no gentleman!" Kagami yelled in anger.

"I can see she isn't either!" He retorted with a laugh, pointing at Tsukasa. Tony had had enough.

"**Pray. ****Now.**" Tony cracked his knuckles as he stepped towards the man. The man quickly lost his nerve and started running for his life. Tony was about to give chase, but something nagged at him not to. It was almost as if Tsukasa was still calling for peace. He looking around to see a tear slide down her cheek, causing his heart to break. He didn't know what to do, the girl he really liked was crying in front of him and he was clueless as to what to do. He gave a questioning look to Konata, who looked like she knew what to do. Tony looked pleadingly, but Konata just gave him a look that practically told him he was on his own. He sighed and looked back to Tsukasa, whom Kagami was trying to comfort but having little success. Tony followed his instinct. He walked over and brought Tsukasa into a hug, causing a gasp from the other three girls. Tsukasa quickly returned the embrace, thankful. Tony sighed. _This is getting out of hand. My pulse is rushing. My heart is racing. My face is flushing. What am I facing?... DAMN IT! I... I think I've fallen in love with her..._ He shouted in his head. He broke the embrace and stared into Tsukasa's eyes, his arms almost trembling. Tsukasa looked back with a small smile that made Tony smile. "F-feel better?" Tony asked.

"Yeah... Thanks Kan-kun..." Tsukasa smiled, though wishing the hug had meant more to Tony. She held a hand to her heart, unknowing how far from the truth she really was. And this gesture did not go unnoticed by one Miyuki.

"That's good... We had better get a move on..." Tony VERY reluctantly turned, having only seen Tsukasa's face and, thus, missed where her hand had went. He had wanted to kiss the girl so badly, he could practically hear the percussion, strings, winds and words. As Tony walked away, Kagami shot a look to Konata. Konata sweatdropped at why everyone seemed to be looking to her for answers. She just shrugged and caught up with Tony. Kagami walked up to her sister and put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to put her hand down while the twins started to catch up. Miyuki giggled to herself.

_He can't hold out forever._ She smiled.

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya Luckies! I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami!"

"And I'm the assistant, Minoru Shiraishi!" Minoru shouted.

"So you got another part, eh Shiraishi-san?" Akira asked.

"Yeah, I got to be the boss of the cosplay cafe!" Minoru smiled.

"That's awesome Shiraishi-san! I'm super jealous~!" Akira smiled.

"Well, with that comes a minor raise in pay since I'm doing a new part too!" Minoru said.

"What, are you gloating?" Akira asked, being reminded of her own fiscal problems.

"No, actually, I'm not. I know how you stuck up for me and let me keep my pay along with the opportunity to get more. So..." Minoru started to whisper in her ear, not loudly enough for anyone other than us to hear. "I'm giving you the pay from the cafe boss. Don't tell anyone or it's gonna get taken!" He warned. Before he knew it, Akira hugged him for a split second.

"Thanks. Not a lot of people try and help, ya know? So, um... Thanks." Akira whispered. "But be careful when hugging girls, they might get the wrong idea~!" Akira teased.

*Music Tone*

"Well I guess that's all the time we have for today! I'll see you all next chapter! Bye nii~!"

"..."

"So what's the big idea?"

"What do you mean?"

"What is it you want? You're being awfully generous..."

"I'm just trying to help..."

"Is that so? Well... Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

* * *

**Aftersection**

So I can't write short chapters. I really can't. To be perfectly honest, I was wondering a few things about this chapter, I hope your reviews will answer my concerns! Just so you know, I'm being aloof about my concerns for a reason, I don't want you guys to know about what insecurities I have, but then again, I have doubts about at least a couple things every chapter. In most every chapter, once I post it, I just want to curl up in a ball for about a week in anticipation XD By the way Sqweebs, thanks for the challenge. It was a tad difficult to find ways to get references back at ya, what with how different our plot lines are, but I did it! Hehe, Ivory, you've given me an amazing idea. Thank you very much :-) Sir One, I'm glad you're liking the story, there's a lot of improvisation here :P I'll go ahead and admit that there were a few parts of this I didn't plan before I wrote them. But still, I hope you all continue to read and review. And to those I didn't mention specifically, thanks for reviewing to you too, each one makes me feel great, no matter what it says! See you next chapter!


	22. Chapter 22: The Mall!

Chapter 22: The Mall

Yo! How is everyone? This isn't going to be the only authors section other then the aftersection in this chapter, so Be Prepared! It will also contain a fun fact about this chapter! And I forgot something in Chapter 19... So if you want to reread it, you're completely welcome to! By the way, there are songs in this story that will make an appearance with maybe a word or two changed. That's not due to laziness so I don't have to parody it, but more that it would _pale_ in comparison to the original while the original fits perfectly. There are certain songs that don't need nor should be changed. And as for the speed of my story, I'll probably end up doing something I didn't originally intend, but I must admit. I like the idea of what I just thought of much better than my previous one. Bahaha! Sqweebs, I look forward to this war, it's so rare I get good challenges with references! Though, I do have another reference already planned in a future chapter, though I don't know the exact chapter. I do, however, know exactly when it's going to happen. Glad to see you got the Haruhi reference lol. And Killa, I enjoy your story too much to not reference ya! Quite frankly, I'm surprised I haven't done so yet... But just typing this gave me an idea... Holyriot, she-who-must-not-be-named? You mean Justin Bieber? Glad to see you're enjoying the story Maverick, I hope you continue reading! I hope you all like this chapter!

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony was walking down the street when Konata came up behind him.

"So, what was up with that?" Konata asked with a sly, teasing look on her face. Tony blushed and looked away.

_I wouldn't mind talking to Konata right now..._ He thought. "Oh, so you wanna race?" He yelled. Konata got a confused look until Tony gave a wink.

"Yeah, I bet I can win this time!" She yelled back. They both smiled as they took off towards the mall. Once they were sure they were out of earshot, Tony felt he was safe.

"Konata, it's gone beyond liking now. I... I think I love Tsukasa." Tony sighed.

"Really? Go get her!" Konata cheered.

"I can't! I just... I don't know what to do Konata." Tony said, clearly despairing. Konata sighed.

"Well, what does the little man inside you tell you to do?" Konata asked.

"My little man doesn't know!" Tony shouted desperately.

"The little man knows ALL!" Konata said knowingly.

"My little man's an idiot..." Tony said depressingly. Konata looked over at the poor boy.

"Look, I can't tell you what to do. It's something you've gotta work out for yourself." Konata said.

"I was really hoping you weren't going to say that..." Tony sighed as they arrived at the mall. They had only run slightly faster then Miyuki, probably the most athletic of the group besides the two, could run, so they had stayed ahead of them while barely using any energy.

"So why don't you wanna go out with her?" Konata asked.

*Sigh* "Look Konata, there are reasons..." Tony sighed.

"Is it about that thing we asked you when you were in bed?" Konata asked. Tony drew back in surprise.

"Yeah... Yeah that's right..." Tony sighed.

"Well? Can't you tell me? Please?" Konata asked.

"..." *Sigh* "Al... Alright then... It was... a while back... My-"

"Hey, you two can't just run off whenever you want!" Kagami shouted as she and the others caught up.

"You're right, I'm sorry, let's go." Tony said as he entered the mall. Konata turned to Kagami in frustration.

"KAGAMIN~! YOU HAVE HORRIBLE TIMING!" She cried as she hugged onto the Tsundere.

"What the- What do you mean? AND GET OFF ME!" Kagami tried to wiggle out. She failed, but Konata released her.

"Tony was about to tell me something really, really important!" Konata explained.

"And what's that?" Kagami asked.

"I can't tell you, but it was super important!" Konata shouted as the four walked into the mall.

"Well, if it's so important, he'll tell you again later." Kagami sighed.

"I don't know about that..." Konata mumbled under her breath. They took their first steps into the mall to find themselves beside Tony.

_I wonder... if... It worked for Tsukasa..._ Kagami thought. She had gotten an idea. She started walking in.

* * *

**The Mall**

As the five walked to the mall to browse Kagami's and Tsukasa's birthday present, Kagami started to sing. (By the way, might not refer to this, but for future reference, if an entire statement is bolded, it means more than one person are singing. Didn't know if I had put this in here, but there you go! And this isn't the Author's note I mentioned at the beginning.)

**"It's **a mall~, Its a shopping center~,  
Every store, selling more and more~,  
It's the mall, filled with some shopkeepers,  
Opening~ To~**Say~..."**

**"Buy this!"  
****"A Sale!"  
****"Buy now!  
****"Come **on**************in!"**

**"There **goes Konata to buy games as always,  
She's prob'ly gonna buy a ton~,  
Every visit just the same,  
Since the first time that we came,  
to this large Saitama**mall,"**

"Kagami-san?"

"Yes Miyuki?"

"Konata-san seems to be waiting for us."

"Alright, lets go! Hurry up!"

The owners of Gamers caught eye of Konata and Kagami then,  
**"Look** there she goes it's Legendary Girl A! I wonder, who's that girl revere?  
Legendary Girl A,  
Should be watching anime,  
But it looks like she might come and stop in******here~!"**

Konata: "What's this?"  
Kagami: "What's what?"  
Kagami: "Where are you going?"

Konata: "IT'S HERE!"  
Kagami: "What's where?"  
Konata: "My new manga!"  
Konata: "I NEED. THIS NOW!"  
Kagami: "It's too expensive..."  
Kagami: **_There_**_ must be more to her than ****__Anime..._

They entered the shop, ringing the bell above the door as they went in. The cashier perked up and welcomed them.

"Ah~, come on in folks! What can I get for you today?"

"Hello~, I happened to see you had some new Manga in. May I browse your collection~?" Konata asked, already looking at what he had.

"Sure, may I help the rest of you?"

"No thanks, we're just here with her... Oooh~, what's this?" Kagami asked excitedly, picking up the last copy of a complete book set of her all-time favorite light novels. It was 3000 Yen, and she had 4500 between her and Tsukasa. She knew Tsukasa would let her buy it.

"Kagami! I don't have enough!" Konata yelled in tears. Kagami picked up the manga that Konata was crying about. _She's __2000 Yen short? What the hell?_ "Why is this so much?"

"It includes two DVDs..." Konata said in a small voice, sniffling.

Kagami looked at it for a long moment. She reached into her purse and handed Konata 2000 Yen. "You owe me..." She said, lowering her head so her eyes were shadowed by her bangs. Konata seemed to notice as she took Kagami's money, suddenly reluctant.

"Hey Tony, could you lend me 2000 Yen really quick?" Konata asked in a hopeful whisper.

"Sorry, all my money is... tied up right now."

"Crap. How about you Miyuki?" She asked in the same tone.

"I'm sorry Konata-san bu-"

"Man~, I really want this but I feel really guilty about taking Kagami's money... Just the way she looked..." Konata muttered to herself as she went to buy her game.

"Hey guys, could you do me a big favor?" She asked Meito Anizawa, the owner of that particular shop.

"Are you going to buy that manga?" He asked extremely hopefully.

"Yeah... I guess so..." Konata looked reluctantly at the manga in her hand.

_YES~ SHE'S FINALLY GOING TO BUY SOMETHING! _"Yeah, what can I do for you?" He asked, barely able to contain his excitement.

"Can you put that last book set from over there on hold? Please don't let anyone buy it!" Konata said in a small whisper, hoping Kagami wouldn't hear it. She was going to surprise her soon as she got more money.

"Sure, anything for you!" He said with a bow.

"Thank you so much!" Konata cheered up as he said it.

"Come back anytime!" Meito yelled as they left. _Well that manga is going to be gone soon!_

As they left, they heard the mumbling of the store staff from behind.

**"Look **there she goes that girl has such great taste man, I wonder what that's all about~?,  
With her friends all in her tow,  
She seems all but aglow,  
But now that she's bought it, it'll probably sell**out~!"**

As they were walking, Tony excused himself to go see a seemingly random store. Konata suddenly took off forward faster than Kagami could keep up. Kagami sat at a nearby fountain at seeing she couldn't keep up. Putting her head in her hands, she began to sing,

**"Ah~,** Isn't this annoying?  
Konata has run~ away~, you see~,  
Just~ Cause she thinks it's funny,  
Doesn't mean that she can always run, away from**me~."**

Sojiro and Yukari (who had met while at the mall) saw the face of Kagami and Konata, the former of annoyance and the latter of joy. The beat took hold of them, Yukari starting to sing,

**"Now** it's no wonder that her name means Mirror,  
Her life does seem quite truly**Blessed~"**

Sojiro starting next,  
**"And **though it may be cliche,  
She's a massive Tsundere,  
Those two are the very best of**friends-"**

Yukari: **"-To **stick with each other til the**end-"**

**"-And **that's something that no one can**contend~****!"** Sojiro ended.

Meanwhile, Tony was in a store, looking for something that he thought that Kagami and Konata would enjoy together.

"I've got Tsukasa's present... Maybe... But I still need something for Kagami..." Tony thought aloud. He suddenly got the perfect idea. "Man, I wish I could get her something really special, though this is probably the best for her birthday. And doesn't she deserve the best?" He asked to himself smirking. He suddenly adopted a very deep voice and sang

**"Right **from the moment when I met her, saw her, I said she's so nice cause you'll see~,  
At our school there's only she,  
Who was first a friend to me,  
So I'm making plans to pay back**Kagami~."** He finished as he left the store, thinking of every detail of his new plan. He started to walk back to his friends.

This being a Saturday, of course EVERYONE was here, every other character was present.

Hiyori: **"Who **is, that guy? What could his name**be?"  
Patricia: ****"His **name's,**********Tony."  
Hiyori: ****"He's **kinda******************cute..."**

Yutaka: **"Mina,mi-chan, **it's hard to breathe**here..."  
Minami: ****"We** really should get out of here and**********scoot."**

*Utter Chaos*

Misao: "Oi oi!"  
Tony: "Pardon!"  
Kagami: "Konata!"  
Konata: "You call this manga?"  
Ayano: "Misa-chan!"  
Yutaka: "...Thank you!"  
Tony: "'scuse me!"  
Konata: "... my tab! I've got no cash..."  
Tony: "Please let me through!"  
Minami: "Do you fe-"  
Yutaka: "I feel-"  
Minami: "-el any better?"  
Yutaka: "- much better!"  
Kagami: "Don't try to take it!"  
Kagami: **_There_**_ must be more to her than ****__Anime...__  
_Tony: **"I** promise to make this their best **birthday~!"** He sang out before the entire crowd gathered around Kagami and the other two girls, but in a way she could still walk.

**"********Look**** there they go, those girls are so~ damn~ lucky~!  
It seems that they should thank their stars~!  
It leaves our mouths ajar,  
That they could come so far,  
But some lucky girls, they really are,  
They never will say Au Revoir,  
I guess they must have Luckier Stars~!  
Those ********girls~!"**

**"********We're closed!"**

**"********Goodbye!"**

**"********See ya!"**

**"********Bye-nii~!"**

The stores closed and the crowd started to dissipate, going to all different exits.

(A/N So I bet you're wondering what this is all about? Fun fact time! Mehehe, This song has been written since before chapter 6. Technically, this song is probably the thing I first thing I came up with for this story. It started with Tony's line which, in itself has changed considerably, then Kagami's line by the fountain, which hasn't, and I put it away for a bit until chapter 5 or so then I continued it up to the last of the Utter Chaos. That was the only part I hadn't written until now. Just a little fun fact!)

"Where are Tony and Konata?" Kagami asked.

"I dunno Onee-chan, let's go find th-" Tsukasa was cut off as Tony and Konata came into view.

"Yo! Where have you two be-... Konata? Are you okay?" Kagami asked as Konata came closer. Her cheeks were puffy and red.

"Yeah... I'm alright Kagamin..." Konata smiled, grateful that Kagami was there and concerned for her.

"What's up? You look like you've been crying!" Kagami said as they started walking to an exit.

"Don't worry about it Kagami..." Konata dismissed as they left and started on their way. Tsukasa leaned closely to Konata.

"Did he... tell you?" She asked in a whisper.

"A little bit... Yeah..." Konata whispered back. "The mall's closing interrupted him though. So he condensed the rest."

"Ah..." Tsukasa said.

"Kinda sucks that the mall closed, they're showing the original Lion King in 3D!" Kagami interrupted them. Tsukasa gasped.

"They are?" She shouted.

"How long is it going to be in the mall?" Tony asked.

"About two weeks." Kagami said. It was at that time, Tony talked, with a smirk, in unison with Tsukasa.

"We're coming back!" They both said simultaneously and with the same enthusiasm. Tsukasa jumped a bit and looked at Tony with an inquisitive look that basically asked how he knew what she was going to say.

"I'm getting to know you. Besides, I love the Lion King." Tony smiled.

"Me too." Tsukasa smiled back. Tony looked in front of them to see Miyuki looking at him with a confused look.

"Miyuki?" Tony asked.

"May I please speak with you Kanpeki-san?" Miyuki asked.

"Well... Sure. If you want..." Tony said.

"Please continue, we'll catch up." Miyuki said to the other three. They gave each other a confused look, shrugged, and kept walking.

"What's up?" Tony asked as they started walking at a snail's pace.

"I'm afraid you've confused me Kanpeki-san." Miyuki said. "I thought you weren't going to pursue a relationship with Tsukasa, yet you hugged her earlier."

*Sigh* "Miyuki, she was crying. I thought hugging her might calm her down. It worked and-... Alright. Truthfully, I hugged her because that's what my instinct told me to do. I hate to see any girl cry, so you can guess my position on her sorrow." Tony said.

"Well, you can't deny you like her anymore, I guess?" Miyuki asked with an eyesmile.

"About that. Masutā told you about that, huh?" Tony accused. Miyuki's eyes widened a bit.

"No, you were just obvious about it." Miyuki chuckled nervously.

"Bull biscuits. You said you were sure Tsukasa likes me. "Sure" is the key word here. You said you knew I liked her, but only sure about her. You would have dealt an absolute for her too, not just "Sure". The only one I've told is Masutā." Tony lied since he had told Konata too. But still, Masutā and Miyuki had had the most time alone. Miyuki hung her head.

"Even though I'm observant, it would seem you're more so." Miyuki sighed.

"I'm very good at these things when I need to be. I knew all about Konata within ten minutes of walking in her door. I could do the same for just about anyone." Tony informed. "I prefer to learn about a person through speaking with them and getting to know them, but the situation kinda called for it. Kinda. But you're changing the subject. It's okay to admit." Tony said.

"... Alright. He did tell me. But you must understand, he only wants what's best for you!" Miyuki insisted, but Tony had already stopped listening.

_Jeez... I can't even trust my own brother with my secrets now. At least I have a sister I think I can trust now..._ Tony smiled a bit sadly.

"Kanpeki-san-"

"Don't bother Miyuki. Let's go meet the others, it's time to go to the tournament." Tony sighed as he walked faster. He stopped and turned his head over his shoulder. "By the way, I technically can deny that I like Tsukasa." He commented before he started blinked a few times.

"Wait... what?" She asked herself before she started to catch up with Tony and the others.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

"Oh right, Konata, there's something I've been wondering for a little while. Do you mind me asking a personal question?" Kagami asked.

"I don't mind Kagamin, what's on your mind?" Konata asked.

"Well, you know Misao, right?" Kagami asked. Konata grimaced as she was about to respond. Before she could, Kagami cut her off. "See, there! Right there! Why don't you like each other?" Kagami asked.

"It's not so much that I dislike her, Misakichi's brother is an asshole." Konata explained. "I assume she's like him, he picked on me a lot when I was a kid. It didn't really get to be much more the verbal, but he was still an asshole..." Konata said. "Besides, we aren't really compatible, you know?"

"First of all, Misao thinks her brother is an asshole too. She hates him and is NOTHING like him. I think. And second of all, you guys work together great, don't you remember when you two first met?" Kagami reminded.

"You can't count that!" Konata protested.

"I can so totally count that! It was a bit of a weird thing to agree on, but still..." Kagami trailed off. "You two were totally in sync!"

"What happened Onee-chan?" Tsukasa asked.

"Well, it happened like this..." Kagami reminisced.

* * *

**Years before**

"Konata Izumi, Misao Kasukabe. Misao Kasukabe, Konata Izumi." Kagami introduced the two. They locked eyes.

_What is this feeling... So sudden and new..._ Misao thought.

_I felt the moment I laid eyes on you..._ Konata thought

_My pulse is rushing..._ Misao realized.

_My head is reeling... _Konata almost stepped back.

_My face is flushing! _Misao felt.

"**What is this feeling?  
Fervid as a flame~,  
Does it have a name~?  
Yes~~!  
Loathing.  
Unadulterated loathing."** They sang together.

"For your fang,"

"Your height,"

"Your clothing!"

"**Let's just say,  
We loath it all!  
Every little trait however small,  
makes my very flesh begin to crawl,  
with simple utter loathing.  
There's a strange exhilaration,  
from such total detestation!  
It's so pure so strong~!  
Though I do admit it came on fast,  
still I do believe that it can last,  
and I will be loathing,  
loathing you my whole~ life~ long!"** They sang simultaneously until they split up.

"**Oi** Hiiragin you are just too **good!"**

"**How **do you stand her, I don't think **I could..."**

"**She's** a terror-"

"...She's a **tartar-"**

"**I** tried to tell you **slyly,"**

"**Oi** Hiiragin's a **martar!"** Misao said. Kagami sighed.

"**Geez...** I swear you two can try **me..."**

"**Poor** Hiiragin forced to eat lunch-" Misao said while Konata sang at the same time.  
**"Poor** Kagamin forced to share class-"

"-With someone who is such a big **ass-"** Misao sang.  
"-With someone she much not like a **bunch-"** Konata continued.

"**-But we agree that with you,  
We're both filled with glee~!"** They shouted.

"That's enough of this!" Kagami yelled, interrupting the two. "Stop saying things like that!"

* * *

**Back to the present**

"And that's the last time they worked together on anything." Kagami said.

"So wait... Misakichi isn't a bad person?" Konata asked.

"No, she isn't. Granted she can get a little loud and obnoxious sometimes, but that's just the way she is. There's a lot worse she could be." Kagami said. "At least she doesn't run over people's bikes for no reason..." Kagami sighed.

"Who did that?" Konata asked, something in her voice that Kagami didn't hear often from her Otaku. Anger.

"I-It's no one Konata, don't worry about it." Kagami said, a little scared about Konata's intention. She already didn't like Misao's brother, a push like this might make Konata get violent. And that was saying something, especially considering her inherently nonviolent nature outside video games. Tony and Miyuki came up behind them.

"Yo! You all ready to go to the tournament?" Tony waved.

"Yeah! Let's go!" Konata shouted back. All five of them started to jog lightly to the tournament area. Tony looked to the girls with him and noticed one missing. He looked behind them to see Tsukasa bringing up the rear, having been tired out from the excitement that had kept her from singing earlier. After all, her sister had not only sung in public, but practically the entire mall joined in! Tony slowed down a bit so he was jogging along side of Tsukasa, who looked at him thankfully. Tony hadn't really slowed down to talk with her as much as he had just to be around her. They arrived soon and met up with Masutā.

"Yo, what's up?" He shouted to them.

"Well, we still have a bit of time until the finals, what do you all think we should do?" Tony asked the group.

"I dunno, we could window shop?" Kagami suggested.

"Good idea Kagami! Maybe we can get a doll this time Tsukasa!" Tony smiled.

"Yeah!" Tsukasa cheered. "Let's go!" Tsukasa shouted as she ran off with renewed energy, surprising the entire cluster of friends with her sudden eagerness. Tony shrugged.

_Well, I guess since she didn't get one last time..._ Tony thought as he shrugged with a smile to the group before heading off to find Tsukasa.

"Well, that leaves the four of us." Kagami commented.

"Miyuki-san, wanna go grab a bite to eat? I'm starved." Masutā asked Miyuki. Miyuki distractedly nodded to him. "Okay then, we'll see you when fighting time comes!" Masutā waved as he and Miyuki left the two alone again.

"Alright, it's only me and you then Konata. I guess we can just go around and see what's where again..." Kagami commented.

"Yeah... Let's do that..." Konata said, slightly nervous at being alone with the girl she loved. They started walking around and looking at various stands. Something small caught Kagami's eye, causing her to turn. She saw a jewelry stand.

"Hey Konata, let's go look at that..." Kagami said, grabbing Konata by the hand and bringing her to the stand.

"Kagami we don't have a lot of money..." Konata scratched her head as she blushed slightly.

"I know, I just wanna look!" Kagami said excitedly. She bent over and looked at the rings and necklaces. Konata, however, looked at the prices, thought to how much she had saved at home, then she followed Kagami's gaze to a ring. It was a ring with a small ruby in it. If she bought it, however, it would take all of the money she had, leaving her dead broke.

_That's kind of a cheap looking ring... But... It's all I can get._ Konata thought. "Hey Kagami, I'll be right back!" Konata said, acting cheerful. In truth, she was not looking forward to the exertion coming up.

"Okay, what's up?" Kagami asked.

"Nothing, don't worry, I'll be back in about ten minutes!" Konata smiled.

"Well, alright... I'll cya in ten minutes..." Kagami said, confused. Konata backed up until Kagami looked back at the stands. She turned around and started to run. She ran her very hardest on her way home. As people and places flashed by, she started to get tired very quickly. About two minutes and halfway home, she slowed to a quick walk, breathing very heavily. Suddenly, she heard sirens going off. She looked to the street and saw a police car parked on the side of the street. A female officer stepped out and looked around. She saw Konata.

"Hey you! Stop!" She yelled, causing Konata to start thinking of what she might have done. She was getting scared.

"What's the problem officer?" Konata asked.

"Well..." The policewoman took her hat off to reveal green hair. "You're running when you could have just called me!"

"Geez Yui-nee-san, you scared me! But aren't you on the clock?" Konata asked, seeing her cousin's sirens still on.

"Don't worry about it, I can totally get you where you're going!" Yui shouted.

"Well, I am really tired..." Konata sighed as she walked into Yui's car.

"WE'RE OFF!" Yui jumped in and screeched forward.

"Yui-nee-san! You don't even know where I'm goi-" Konata shouted until they stopped at a light. Yui looked out her window cheerfully. She saw a scarred and beaten silver Toyota Corolla. The driver was a young woman with brown hair and eyes to match. Konata saw her too.

_Wait... Isn't she Kagami's teacher?_ Konata thought to herself. Yui and the woman locked eyes. The other woman revved her car.

"Bastard." She muttered.

"Um... Yui-nee-san..." Konata muttered in fear. "You don't have to ra-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" She screamed as the two cars took off at amazing speeds. They turned curve after curve, Yui seemingly almost losing control at every turn. The other driver, however, was hitting curbs, poles, trees, just about anything around. They only raced a minute when the other driver's vehicle finally gave out. Yui cheered victory. She looked over to see Konata grasping her heart dramatically. "Yui-nee-san! I just wanted to get home!" She shouted.

"Well why didn't ya say so!" Yui shouted. She started racing home, Konata grabbing one of the bags she kept in the glove department. They arrived home in another minute. "Here ya go!" Yui shouted as Konata stumbled out of the car, bag full in her hand.

"Th-thanks Yui-nee-san..." She muttered.

"Sure thing, you need anything else?" Yui asked. Konata started thinking.

_I'm still way tired... If I wanna make it back to the tournament any time soon, I'm gonna need to get driven..._ "Yeah, could you wait here? I'll need another ride in a minute." Konata said, knowing she would be horrified after that minute.

"No problem! I'll be here when you get back!" Yui shouted.

"Thanks!" Konata shouted as she ran inside.

"Hey Konata, I'd have thought you would have been at the tournament." Sojiro shouted from the living room.

"I'm going back soon, I've just gotta get something!" Konata shouted back, sprinting to her room. She grabbed her money and stared at it. _This is going to leave me with no money to spend for a while considering I'm not getting paid much on this pay check._ Konata thought for a long second. She smiled to herself. _Of course she's worth it! She's worth so much more, I wish I had it. Maybe I need to get a few more part time jobs..._ Konata thought as she sprinted back out and hopped into Yui's car.

"Where you goin' now?" Yui asked.

"You know the tournament?" Konata asked.

"World tournament?" Yui asked.

"Yeah! There!" Konata shouted excitedly.

"On it!" Yui shouted as she screeched off. They were back in minutes.

"Thanks again Yui-nee-san!" Konata shouted, her excitement keeping her from getting sick again.

"No problem! Anythi-"

"NARUMI! Where the hell are you, we've been calling you for ten minutes!" A voice came over the walkie.

"Sorry-sorry! I'm on my way! Cya!" She shouted to Konata before turning her sirens back on and drove off. Konata ran in to try and find Kagami. Surprise surprise, she had just turned away from the jewelry counter.

_I guess I was only gone a few minutes..._ Konata thought. Kagami saw Konata and got a scared sort of look.

"Konata, are you okay? What's wrong, are you sick again? What happened?" Kagami asked as she ran over and put a hand to her Otaku's forehead. "Hm... You don't have a fever..." She said.

"Don't worry Kagamin. I'm okay!" Konata said cheerfully.

"Well, if you insist..." Kagami scratched her head. "Hey, sorry to leave ya so suddenly, but I'll be right back..." Kagami said with an embarrassed look as she hurried off to the restroom. Konata, unknowing of this, smiled as Kagami left. She turned and walked up to the jewelry vendor.

"Hey, was she looking at any jewelry in particular?" Konata asked the man.

"Ah~, yes! She was looking at this ring with a certain shine!" The man brought up the ring Konata had seen before.

"Awesome! May I buy it please?" Konata asked him.

"You most certainly may!" The vendor said with enthusiasm.

"Thanks! Here it is!" Konata brought out the money as the man got the ring into box. They exchanged items.

"Thank you very much!" The vendor smiled. _I may have lost a bit of money on that deal, but after the killing I'm making on the necklace, I'm willing to take it..._ He thought with a smile.

"Thank you!" Konata thanked again. As she neared where she knew Kagami was, her knees start to shake. Her palms got sweaty and a blush came across her face. She then realized, she was too nervous to simply give Kagami the ring without any reason. She sighed and slipped the box into her pocket. It was then that Kagami came to meet Konata.

"Hey Konata, shall we see wha-"

"Will the finalists please report to the arena?" Akira came over the intercom.

"Well I guess that answers that..." Kagami commented.

"Yeah, let's go." Konata said. The two did just that.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony quickly caught up with Tsukasa.

"Hey, you seem pretty eager!" He said cheerfully as Tsukasa slowed down.

"Yeah... I am!" Tsukasa smiled. In truth, she was eager, but not for a stuffed animal. She had hoped that Tony would follow her, and he had. She was happy.

"Well then, we had better get you a bunny to hug, huh?" Tony smiled. Tsukasa giggled.

"Yeah! Look, there's the stand from yesterday!" Tsukasa shouted.

"Great. I'd like to give that doll nazi a piece of my mind. After all, we just wanted to buy a doll." Tony said.

"Kan-kun, please let me handle it? If you yell again, he's just gonna leave again!" Tsukasa shouted.

"... Fine. Here's the money for something." Tony gave her a thousand yen.

"Thanks Kan-kun, but... I thought you were having some problems with money?" Tsukasa asked, very hesitantly taking his money.

"Don't worry about that, if I win the next fight I hopefully won't be short on funds any time soon. So I have no problem giving you guys a bit of money!" Tony said.

"Oh, I get it! Well thanks." Tsukasa smiled. She walked over to the vendor. Said vendor looked at her in such a way that Tsukasa was suddenly very uncomfortable. "Um... Can I... buy an animal?" Tsukasa asked. The man handed her the doll she had seen yesterday and accepted the money without breaking his stare. "Oh, um.. Thanks a lo-"

"You're pushing your luck little girl." The man interrupted. Tsukasa shrunk a bit.

"Sorry... Thank you." She bowed as she backed up and walked away. She saw Tony staring at the doll vendor.

"So did he give you any trouble?" Tony asked.

"Nope! He gave me the unicorn and I paid him!" Tsukasa said.

"Well cool. I'm glad he didn't offer any resistance." Tony smiled. "So what do you wan-"

"Will the finalists please report to the arena?" Akira came over the intercom.

"-na... I guess it doesn't matter any more hehe." Tony chuckled. "Let's go I guess."

"Yeah..." Tsukasa muttered. She honestly didn't want Tony to fight Shin. She knew he was going to get hurt. However, she didn't want to ruin the fun she knew he was having in these fights and, so, didn't say anything against it. "Kan-kun..." She looked into his eyes. He looked into hers.

"Tsukasa...?"

"Good luck." Tsukasa hugged him. Tony almost stepped back in surprise, but felt his heart warm. He returned the embrace.

"Thanks..." Tony smiled as he hugged her back. They stayed like that for a moment. Tsukasa broke it this time.

"Go on Kan-kun. I know you can win." Tsukasa smiled.

"Yeah... Yeah! I can win! I feel great! I! Can! Do! This!" Tony shouted.

"Kan-kun?" Tsukasa giggled at how silly he was being.

"Yes?"

"The fight?"

"Oh right!" Tony said as the two walked to the entrance.

* * *

**POV ****Masutā**

"So Miyuki, anything else new?" Masutā asked. The two had been walking to the food court and Miyuki had been deep in thought ever since she had arrived at the tournament about the last thing Tony had said to her.

"Well, I think Kanpeki-san's feelings might be getting the better of him. If I'm correct, I'd say he's escalated past liking her. He may have fallen in love with her." Miyuki said. Masutā's jaw dropped.

"Really now? What grounds do you base this on?" Masutā asked, skeptical. That Tony had come to be more fond of Tsukasa then the others was something that Masutā could believe. That Tony had fallen in love, however, seemed completely ridiculous.

"Well, earlier today, Tsukasa had a... mishap... and started crying. Kanpeki-san stepped over and hugged her." Miyuki explained.

"While that's surprising, I hardly see how that means he's in love with her. He might have just been trying to cheer her up or calm her down." Masutā said, still a tad unbelieving.

"Had it been an isolated incident, I would dismiss it as such, but then he said something later." Miyuki said.

"What did he say?"

"He... knows that you told me about him liking her. But after I told him he couldn't deny it anymore, he said he "technically could". It was the way he said it... I just know it means that he either doesn't like her anymore or he loves her! And he hugged her so..." Miyuki explained.

"Hm... Interesting. This is quite the development. I hope he hasn't lost his trust in me, that would disrupt things. I won't be able to help him with this if I don't know what's happening." Masutā almost cursed. Miyuki saw this.

"Masutā-san, perhaps this is something he needs to do on his own?" Miyuki suggested.

"Hm?" Masutā was pulled from his thoughts.

"I mean maybe this is something you **shouldn't** help him with, you know? You can't do everything for him, no matter how much you may want to. He needs to sort things out for himself. I know he won't be able to keep his composure for long, it's just a matter of time. Let his and Tsukasa's relationship develop how it will." Miyuki clarified.

"... I suppose you're right. I've just always been used to having a part in every aspect of his life. Guiding him, helping him, everything. I guess I just have to get used to the idea of being replaced in his life. My word is inferior to Tsukasa's now." Masutā said, smiling despite feeling replaced.

"You haven't been replaced Masutā-san, you just aren't the only one who has a say in what he does anymore. He listens to you and all of us, before that wasn't the case." Miyuki explained.

"Think that's it?" Masutā asked.

"I do. But don't worry Masutā-san, we're all concerned for his happiness. So let's not try and shove him to her. Tiny pushes, subtle things, these are the things that we need to do. Like how I stepped out of the festival. Now, those two will be alone once they ditch Konata-san and Kagami-san. Who knows what that might lead to?" Miyuki eyesmiled. Before Masutā could say anything, he was interrupted.

"Will the finalists please report to the arena?" Akira came over the intercom.

"Well we'll just have to see, now won't we?" Masutā said.

"Yes we will." Miyuki eyesmiled.

"Now let's go watch Otōto kick some ass, eh?" Masutā smiled.

"Let's." Miyuki smiled. They walked to entrance.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya luckies! I'm Akira Kogami, your navigator!"

"And I'm Minoru Shiraishi, the assistant!"

"So um... I didn't really prepare anything to say here..." Akira said sheepishly.

"Don't worry Akira-sama, I'm sure the readers understand. You've been busy with your role in the story!" Minoru excused.

"You think so?" Akira asked.

"Yeah, totally! I bet it won't be a problem."

"Well... I guess we have to fill the time somehow, don't we?" Akira giggled.

"Have anything in mind Akira-sama?" Minoru asked.

"I was hoping you did... 'Cause I don't!" She shouted.

"Well we have to do something. Um... So... see any good movies?" Minoru asked.

"Oh yeah! I saw Lion King in 3D!" Akira shouted excitedly.

"How was it?" Minoru asked.

"It was fantastic! I loved it! I laughed, I cried, I laughed more! Redoing that movie must have been one of the best moves Disney has made in the last decade!" Akira shouted even more excitedly. Minoru laughed a bit. "Shiraishi-san?"

"The writer shares your sentiments, except to the millionth degree." Minoru chuckled.

"No way!" Akira exclaimed.

*Music Tone*

"Aw~! I guess that's all the time we have for today! I'll see you all next chapter! Bye nii~!"

"..."

"So, the writer likes Lion King, huh?"

"Yup, a whole lot! All of Disney, but only the princess movies and back."

"Ah! So no High School Musical?"

"Nope."

"Great!"

* * *

**Aftersection**

Hello everyone, I honestly don't know what to talk about. Other then Lion King. I went to see Lion King in 3D a few days ago. I. Freaking. Loved it. Then again, I would have gone and seen it if it was 2D. Just that it was in theaters is enough for me to go see it. I would have seen it if it was in 1D and I'm not sure that exists. Anyway, I parodied two songs in this, can anyone name them both? The second one's lyrics were barely changed, so that should be easy. Yeah, I had The Mall finished since before chapter 6. I can't believe it took this long to happen, I knew it would be more then 10 chapters, but still. Then again, I already have a song parodied that isn't going to be taking place ANY time soon. Like, literally probably not for at LEAST 30 chapters if I make it that far. I do hope I do, I love writing this so. I'll probably keep writing this even if everyone stops reading... lol. But yes, the main problem I've had with the speed is that every way I could think to get something to speed it up would lead to loopholes, logistical failures, and plot holes. However, I think I've found a way that will eliminate all of those. Now, I'm only speeding up one piece of it. And I'm not telling you guys which part it is so that you don't know whether I planned it or not XD Let's just say that the part I replaced was something that I had thought of since the very beginning of the story. The only thing is that I had a giant arc branching off of something that happens in it that I'll either have to start by alternate methods or subvert entirely. I don't wish to do the latter. But I also want to speed that bit up. This will be interesting. Ivory Bill, the idea you gave me was that race, thanks! That was fun to write. Anyway, please review! I can't wait! Next chapter, Tony v. Shin!


	23. Chapter 23: The Final Match!

Chapter 23: The Final Match: Tony vs. Shin!

Yo! I do, in fact, love the old funi dub XD I loved putting motivational Tony in XD Sir One, Sonic's the name and speed's my game! Wait... No, the first isn't true, but still! Just because I update faster then you can review doesn't mean you shouldn't review anyway! Gotta read faster, faster, faster faster Sir One! Glad I inspire, that's an incredible compliment! And Edge, I have absolutely no problem with you referencing my story, references like that are probably the only type of compliment I hold higher than hearing I motivated someone to write! Considering other writers motivated me to start, it's amazing to hear that I'm doing the same. So thanks everyone for the high praise! It's things like that that allowed me to update this quickly! Hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Meeting up**

As the three groups converged at the entrance, they all greeted each other.

"Hey guys!" Konata shouted with a smile.

"Hey girls, hey Otō-" Masutā started. He was silenced quickly by a look from Tony.

_I'm still angry at you so shut up! _It basically said, fury apparent in his glare. It didn't surprise Masutā, but it did catch him off guard with how violent his little brother could make a simple look without changing it's appearance. What did surprise Masutā, however, was that Tsukasa, who had been looking at Tony, was suddenly unsettled herself. It was almost as if she understood.

_Otōto,I'm sorry but-_ Masutā tried to apologize. It was met with nothing but hostility.

_Don't._ Tony looked back. Masutā realized that he needed to leave Tony alone for a little bit. He sighed.

"Kan-kun!" Tsukasa shouted.

"Hm?" Tony was taken from his staring contest.

"The match!" She reminded. "Good luck Kan-kun!" She shouted as Tony turned.

"Dang, of course! Thanks Tsukasa!" Tony ran in.

"Name?"

"Ryū Tora no Kami."

"Opponent?"

"Shin."

"Correct. Good luck Ryū, I know you can win!" The person reassured him.

"Thanks." Tony smiled. He walked in to hear Akira already announcing their match.

"This is it! The moment you've all been waiting for! The fight between Ryū Tora no Kami and Shin! This promises to be an epic match, each fight these two have been in has been mostly avalanche victories! So, what happens when two unstoppable forces collide? Let's find out!" She announced as the two entered the arena.

* * *

**The Final Match!**

Tony walked into the ring to face his final opponent. He saw Shin with his usual smirk, face wicked.

_So, I'm finally going to fight Shin, eh? I wonder what's up..._ Tony thought.

"Let's make this an interesting match why don't we Tony?" Shin smiled.

"Some friends call me Tony, but I don't know you and you're not my friend." Tony said, slightly uneasy that this man knew his name.

"Very well then Kanpeki. Still, let's have some fun." Shin smiled. "Are you ready?"

"I'm ready." _Man, with everyone else, I had some sort of idea of their strength. This guy though... He scored a 495 and looked like he had just tapped it. I have no idea of his capabilities, he scored almost __as high as I did. Only off by 5 points..._ Tony thought. "So then. Tell me how you know my name." Tony demanded.

"I know many things." Shin said. "You're absolutely sure that you are ready? If you need more time, you need only ask. I won't fight you unless you're at 100%."

"I'll find out. And yes, I'm completely ready. Honorable of you to ask."

"You will."

"Are the fighters ready?" Akira shouted.

"Ready!" They both shouted.

"Fight!" She ran out of the pit. Tony ran up and threw a punch, Shin catching it without apparent effort. Shin himself punched at Tony, who caught it. Tony kicked into Shin's stomach, throwing him across the pit. Shin landed on his feet, looking none the worse.

"You're resilient." Tony commented.

"You don't know the half of it." Shin replied.

"Then this will be interesting."

"I would hope." Shin said, starting the combat this time. He dashed up and kicked at Tony, who ducked under it.

"Shoryuken!" Tony sent an upper cut past Shin's leg. However, Shin saw it and used the one leg still on the ground to propel him through the air, dodging Tony's strike. Tony launched towards where he knew Shin would land and started to punch with a considerable amount of his strength. He went so that he would get there the second Shin landed. Shin set foot on the ground to see Tony slightly more than an inch away and speeding closer. Shin suddenly turned out of the way, faster than anything Tony had seen in the tournament thus far. Tony's momentum kept him shooting past as he almost fell flat on his face. Anyone watching at home would see Dan Forden come from the lower-right corner of the screen.

"Toasty!" He shouted.

"Whoa. You're fast." Tony commented as he barely managed to keep vertical.

"I know. Let's just say I'm blessed." Shin smirked.

"Hmm..." _Does he have some covenant with a god? He's not even winded._ Tony observed.

Shin ran faster than Tony could react and punched him in the face, sending him crashing into a wall. Tony felt his jaw, it almost feeling broken. _From one punch?_ Tony thought in wonder. _Alright then!_ He threw himself off the wall and attacked Shin, landing a kick and leaving a nice bruise on Shin's arm, Shin having attempted to block it. Tony used the sudden stop to propel his other leg into Shin's head, sending him several feet away. Shin, however, got back up as if he had merely tripped.

"Let's stop kidding around. I know you haven't been trying your best and you know that I haven't been trying mine." Shin shouted.

_Damn, seen through that easily, eh? Well then..._ Tony figured he would end up having to try his best. "Very well." Tony shouted back. He clapped his hands together. Shin smiled and jumped backwards, his feet hitting the wall **behind** the crowd.. _Holy crap, that was far, maybe a hundred yards or so... He's got strength, speed, an enormous energy reserve... Crazy..._

"Let's go!" Shin shouted, pushing off the wall and speeding to Tony, fist drawn back.

_Is he crazy? If he were to miss, his fist would go right into the ground!_ Tony thought. "Sorry! But I intend to win this fight!" He shouted. _Hachiman!_ He shouted in his mind as Shin's punch landed. Dust rose dramatically.

* * *

**Commercial**

Luckier Star is sponsored by Lucky Stars. Lucky Stars! They're luckylicious!

* * *

**Back to the fight**

As the dust settled, Shin looked to the ground where his fist had hit. It was broken and crushed.

"He's gone?" He muttered in surprise. He hadn't seen where his opponent had gone.

"**You're slow!**" Tony shouted as he appeared behind Shin, landing a strong kick to Shin's back. Shin was sent across the arena, barely righting himself before he hit a wall.

"What's this?" Shin landed on the ground, coughing a couple times.

"**You should be proud of yourself, only my brother has pushed me this far in battle before.**" Tony said, his voice changed. Shin seemed more surprised then anything. Tony was surprised to see the voice change didn't seem to effect him at all.

_I hadn't expected this much of an increase in his abilities. I must see how far he can take this..._ Shin reasoned. He smiled. Tony rushed and punched at Shin, Shin catching it again. This time, however, Tony spun in the air and disappeared. Shin spun around and threw up an arm to catch Tony's kick, the latter disappearing again. He came back into vision only long enough to strike Shin in the stomach before vanishing again. He reappeared several feet away, slightly out of breath but otherwise fine. "You're pretty fast."

"**You like that one, huh? I call it Flash Step.**" Tony smirked.

"I know. It's one of my favorite techniques." Shin commented.

"**Your favorites...?**" Tony muttered in surprise. Shin disappeared, much to the surprise of Tony as he took a punch in the face strong enough that there was momentum to bounce off of the ground and back onto his feet again. _**This changes things!**_

"How long will you last?" Shin smirked as he vanished. Tony growled as he disappeared along with Shin this time as exclamations escaped the entire crowd other than the four girls and boy who knew Tony. There was a loud shock wave as Tony and Shin appeared again, only for a second as two fists collided. Then they were gone again. This type of fighting continued for a minute until, abruptly, Tony caught another punch in the face while the two were in the air, sending him into the ground, the ground crushing around him. Shin landed and dashed towards Tony as he got up. Seeing Shin almost on him, he threw a desperate punch that sent Shin into the group of empty seats.

"**Did I get him?**" Tony wondered aloud. Shin stood and noticed some of the weapons near him that Akira had thrown into the ring in the previous matches. He picked up a wide rapier and jumped, his feet touching the ceiling. He pushed off towards Tony before he could dodge. By nothing but instinct, Tony caught the metal weapon thrust at his heart. The momentum of Shin's speed, however, sent him crashing back into the ground. Tony was barely able to keep hold of it as Shin pushed.

"**Not good!**" Tony shouted as his hand quaked.

"Kid! Ouji!" Masutā shouted in alarm.

"**I know!**" Tony shouted back as he started to take a deep breath, filling his lungs to complete capacity with air.

"Cover you ears!" Masutā shouted to the girls.

"What?" Kagami asked, her attention attempting to not waver from the fight.

_**Ultra Sonic Level REACHED!**_

"COVER YOUR EARS!" He yelled. They covered them just in time.

"**HOWLING VOICE!**" Tony let loose a powerful roar that shook the very foundation of the building itself. The sheer volume was overwhelming, seemingly strong enough to throw a car. And that's from the girls' point of view from more than ten yards away and covered ears. Shin's face was contorted in pain as he kept pushing. As his ears started bleeding, his strength faltered for an instant. Tony saw his opportunity and kicked Shin away. Shin landed ten feet away, merely laying there.

"He got me." Shin sighed, disappointed at being repelled. Not surprised, just disappointed. Tony got up slowly, breathing heavily. His vision blurred slightly for a second as the effects of Hachiman started to take their toll. He started into a coughing fit, covering his mouth with his hand. When he drew his hand away, he saw what he had feared covered and was dripping from his hand. Blood.

"**After that, you shouldn't be able to move...**" Tony commented to no one in particular, his voice fluctuating between Hachiman and regular. Needless to say he was caught off guard when Shin started to get up. By this time, Shin was breathing heavily, though not as heavily as Tony.

"It's over." Shin shouted as he jumped in the air again and landed on the still-stunned Tony, one arm on his throat, the other in his stomach. As they landed in the ground, Tony coughed up blood again. "So. Is this your limit?" Shin asked, pushing harder as Tony's consciousness flickered. "It would seem you aren't strong enough."

"What.. do you.." Tony tried to ask.

"I'm willing to bet your friends will suffer the same fate as that other one, what with your inability to protect them." Shin said. Tony perked up instantly.

"What are you..." Tony barely managed to whisper.

"What was her name? Sarnia?" Shin shouted mockingly. Tony's eyes flared in intense rage. The sheer hatred emanating from him was palpable. Shin brought his face closer and started whispering. "Ah yes, her. Maybe I'll send little Tsukasa to meet her in the afterlife as well. I'll make sure her's is an especially long and painful dea-"

"**... I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!**" Tony screamed, dazing Shin from the sheer volume of his voice. Tony threw a punch that had Shin crashing through the roof. He fell back through the hole made by Recoome's Eraser Gun and landed, his mouth bloody. He got up to see Tony standing on nothing but pure rage, trembling in fury. His voice was almost demonic, sounding as if it were going to attack Shin itself. "**Welcome to the end of your life. And I promise it will hurt.**" Tony said as he disappeared. Shin's eyes widened as he couldn't follow Tony's movements. All the sudden, there was a sharp pain in his right arm as he was sent into a wall. He landed back on his feet to see nothing. Shin felt his arm to find it was completely numb. Shin looked around, but didn't wait for more then an instant before he took a heavy blow to the stomach. An uppercut sent him through the air, his jaw in searing pain. As he neared the ceiling again, he received a kick in the back, Tony pinballing from the ground to the ceiling and back again. It was more than a minute of this, Shin taking hard hits every second or so. Tony landed and slid a few feet, coughing up blood, completely out of energy. _He has insulted my friends! __**Insulted my past! **_**_THREATENED TSUKASA!_** He screamed in his head, rage pouring through his veins and giving him strength. Shin was, at the moment, falling through the air. As he was about to land, Tony yelled "**Fist of the Fighting God!**" as Tony rushed up with all his remaining strength in his right arm. Shin hit the ground and bounced just the right distance up to catch Tony's power-punch. Tony kept with him until he was smashed into the wall that had the seats Shin had been thrown into earlier, the, fortunately empty, stone seats behind it also being caught in the intense blow and crumbling on top of Shin. Tony jumped back afterwards.

"Done..." Tony gasped for air as he fell to his hands and knees, completely drained of energy. Shin was silent. "It's finally over..."

"Winner! Ryū Tora no Kami!" Akira shouted as a team ran over to where Shin laid. Before they could arrive, however, Shin pushed his way out. Tony saw this and blinked several times, dumbfounded.

"Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me! You're still alive?" Tony yelled. The girls and Masutā's jaw dropped.

"He's... still alive..." Konata mumbled.

"How?" Kagami asked Masutā, hoping for an answer. Masutā shook his head.

"He's... incredibly tough." Masutā mumbled.

"Do... Do you want to continue?" Akira asked.

"No. I am disqualified for using a weapon, am I not?" Shin asked. "It was hardly an honorable thing to do."

"Oh-Okay... Then the fight goes to Ryū Tora no Kami..." Akira said. Tony collapsed, laughing as a medical team rushed over to him. Masutā and Tsukasa both jumped the wall, however Masutā had to catch Tsukasa as she would most likely have broken something from the fall otherwise. She hadn't thought that through. Kagami, Konata, and Miyuki all started running to meet him. Tsukasa ran over to Tony, but Masutā walked over to Shin.

"Hey. What's your real name?" Masutā asked. "And how the hell are you so strong?"

"All in good time Masutā. I'll explain it all later. By the way, I'll be visiting Kanpeki once more." Shin said calmly, walking out of the pit.

_He walked out too smoothly. Something's off about him. I need to find out what. As for now..._ Masutā said as he looked over to his brother. Tsukasa was crying by Tony's side as the medics brought over a stretcher. She got up and walked with the medics as they started to leave with Tony. He was muttering something that only Masutā heard as they were walking.

"I got him bro. I got the money. I... can buy... the neck-..." He muttered before losing consciousness. Masutā closed his eyes.

_That's what all this was about... The hospital bill will probably be more then that damn necklace..._ Masutā sighed as the other girls ran in.

"Is he okay?" Konata shouted. Masutā shook his head.

"Nothing a visit to the hospital won't fix." _Hopefully._ Masutā added in his mind. He looked over to see how Tsukasa was holding up, but she was gone, along with Tony and the medical team. _Whoa, we better move!_ He thought. "Let's go!" He shouted, eliciting a response to the affirmative from the girls. They started running towards the exit. As they ran, Kagami's and Tsukasa's phone started ringing. They answered to hear Matsuri and Inori's voice.

"Tsukasa, is Tony okay?" Inori's panicked voice came over Tsukasa's phone.

"He's really hurt! The doctors say they can't be sure about anything until they get him to Umehara Hospital!" Tsukasa said as the ambulance she was currently in raced down the road. "I have to get off the phone, they said I shouldn't be on it when I'm in the ambulance!"

"Okay, bye Tsukasa!" Inori shouted. She looked over to Matsuri see she hadn't had any luck either.

"All I figured out is that Kagami and the others aren't in the ambulance, they must have gotten left behind. Only Tsukasa made it." Matsuri said.

"Mom, let's go pick them up and get them to the hospital!" Inori shouted, but she saw Miki already had the keys and was headed to the door.

"Way ahead of you!" She shouted back, and they were out the door, leaving Tadao in his room where he had been the entire day and night.

* * *

**Back to the group**

Masutā and the others got out of the area after a few minutes to find the street vacant of any medical vehicles.

"Damn! I guess they're gone already." Masutā punched his hand. Kagami and Miyuki were slightly out of breath already, and Masutā knew they couldn't take a run to the hospital. _Okay, so how do we figure out which hospital they're at and_ _how do we get there..._ He started racking his brain. After about a minute, they heard a beep. They all looked into the road to see a car speeding down the road, the Hiiragi women in it.

"Hey! Hop in!" Matsuri shouted out the window as the car came to a screeching halt.

_That works..._ Masutā thought, smiling at the convenient ride as the group piled into the car. It was cramped, but they fit uncomfortably. "How do you know which hospital they're at?" He asked.

"I called Tsukasa and she told me." Inori said. "We're going to Umehara Hospital."

"Same place as Tsukasa..." Kagami mentioned.

"Yeah." Konata said. They arrived and the group and Hiiragi's piled out of the car and ran in.

"Hey, it's you!" Kagami shouted as she saw that the desk clerk was the same as when Tsukasa was brought to the hospital.

"Oh yes, I remember you. You've come to see your loud, scary friend I assume?" She asked.

"You assume correctly, can you tell us where he is?" Kagami asked.

"He's being examined by the doctors, so unfortunately he's not allowed visitors." The lady said. Kagami looked around.

"Where's my sister? If he isn't allowed visitors, she must be waiting somewhere, right?" Kagami asked.

"Well, we sometimes allow spouses in so they can see their spouses as soon as they wake up. I understand now why he was so concerned to see her as soon as possible last time." The woman said.

_Spouse? Did Tsukasa say she was Tony's wife?_ Kagami giggled in her head. "Do you allow relatives and in-laws?" Kagami asked.

"I would, but two extra people were-"

"Wait, two? Who else is here?" Kagami asked.

"A bald man came in before your friend arrived and said he was waiting for him." The woman explained.

"And how did HE get in?" Kagami asked.

"He was... very convincing." The woman got a glazed look in her eye for an instant before returning to her more professional mood. "Anyway, if you would like to wait over in those seats, I'll inform you the minute your friend is permitted to see friends." The woman said, pointing to a group of seats at the wall. Kagami sighed. "Don't worry, it shouldn't be very long before he's ready, maybe ten minutes or so." The woman reassured them. They all went and took a seat.

"So you seemed to do all the talking, huh Kagamin?" Konata said as they sat down.

"Yeah, so what?" Kagami asked.

"I dunno, it just seemed like you got all the lines in that little dialogue..." Konata commented.

"Stop talking like this is some kind of story!" Kagami shouted.

"How the hell did Shin make it here before even the ambulance after that fight?" Masutā wondered aloud. Everyone present seemed to ponder the question. "I mean, I doubt even Otōto could get here that fast, even at full power." He said. They remained wondering exactly how the man had accomplished such a feat. Apparently, they were thinking a while.

"Hello? You're friend is ready. For convenience's sake, he's in the same room as your sister was." The woman called from the desk.

"Oh, thank you!" Kagami shouted. They all walked to the room and saw Shin leaning cross-armed on a wall outside the room. "How did you get here?" Kagami asked.

"I'm very fast." Shin said.

"For that matter, how the hell are you even still alive?" Kagami asked.

"I'll explain later." Shin waved them off dismissively. "For now, I know you want to go see him."

"Actually, I think I'll stay out here. I'd like to talk with Shin." Masutā said, staring at Shin.

"Yes. I think that would be fine." Shin agreed, looking at Masutā. "But the rest of you want to go see him."

"... Yeah, that's true." Kagami stared at him as they all entered the room. Tony was in a fullbody cast with Tsukasa by his side in a chair.

"Hey guys..." Tony tried to wave. He winced in pain.

"Don't move!" The doctor shouted at him.

"How is he doc?" Konata asked.

"He has multiple fractures and damage all over his body. Most of his muscles are torn and many of his bones are either splintered or broken from the massive exertion. A god would be hard-pressed to heal this boy." The balding doctor said.

"Wait, so he's not going to recover?" Konata asked, fear in her voice.

"He will, but it will be a long and painful recovery. Plus, he will more than likely never be as strong as he once was." The doctor sighed.

"But it was just one fight!" Konata protested.

"This isn't some crappy story where the writer can just pull some divine ass-pull and save the boy, there are consequences to exerting the human body that much! He'll be lucky if he can ever move without assistance again!" The doctor shouted. He realized he had let himself get out of control and calmed down.

"..." Tsukasa had remained silent the entire time. _Kan-kun, were you really that mad at him for insulting her?_ She wondered sorrowfully. She was about to give up any chance to ever be with the boy. It almost made her cry.

"The worst injuries by far are in his hands. It was as if he punched a steel wall at extreme speeds!" The doctor said. Tony chuckled a bit.

"Yeah, true enough. Shin's chest was probably the hardest thing I've ever hit. And I've punched the ground before." Tony said, cracking a smile through his pain.

"Speaking of which, he's outside." Kagami said.

"He is?" Tony asked, a bewildered look on his face.

"Yeah." Konata confirmed.

"I inspected him over when he came in and told me he had just been in a fight. He seemed almost none the worse for wear." The doctor said. Tony blinked a couple times and burst into laughter.

"What the hell is he?" He laughed, causing him a bit of pain. "Ow! Ow! Ow. Hurts to laugh." Tony quieted down.

"I told you not to move! That includes keeping the talking to a minimum!" The doctor shouted.

"What's your name doc?" Tony asked.

"Doctor Zimmerman, why?" The man asked.

"No reason, you just look like someone from an American T.V. show that ended some years ago is all." Tony commented.

"Well no matter who I look like, you are still supposed to remain immobile." The doctor reiterated, Tony's attempt to distract him failing. "Your friends may stay, just don't exert yourself anymore then is necessary."

"Gotcha Doc, thanks!" Tony smiled. The doctor left. "Sit! Sit!" Tony insisted. He would have gestured, but such a feat was beyond him at the moment.

"Tony, we need to talk." Kagami said sternly. Tony gulped.

"Regarding?" He asked.

"About Sarnia." Kagami said. Tsukasa's eyes widened a bit. "You've gotta tell us Tony, you got seriously hurt today and she keeps coming up! Please... Tell us your story..." Kagami pleaded.

"..." Tony seemed to be contemplating all that had happened. He sighed. "She was my first love."

_First?_ "Tell us about it." Kagami leaned in a bit.

* * *

**The Past**

"Me and Sarnia... We were inseparable. I dare say that she was probably the most important thing in my life back then... If she had said she truly wanted me to die, I would have slit my throat the next instant." Tony recalled.

"Isn't that a bit much? I mean, you were still really young, you know?" Kagami commented. "I mean, you couldn't have really been in love, could you?"

"I think you've underestimated this girl's importance to me. I had no social life. My parents, though nice in life, died. My brother was ruthless. The only time I ever felt truly happy or at peace after my parents died was with her. Were we in love? It doesn't matter. She meant the world to me. Besides, it's not like we had raging hormones or anything..." Tony snickered sadly. Tsukasa could already feel herself tearing up. "If you're truly interested in my story, you should listen from the beginning at least."

"That's what I was hoping for." Kagami smiled. Konata recognized it as her smile that was supposed to tell the person she was completely honest and pure. It usually had the additional effect of making Konata blush.

"It was about a year before I met Sarnia. My brother's training was hell, my school life was terrible and my parents were my only sanctuary. They were always there when I needed something, whether it be protection or something as simple as a hug. They were there when I needed a shoulder to cry on. Every day when I left for school, I would say "I love you! Be safe!" and then I would leave. One day while I was at school, the other kids were being especially cruel. They tried to not let me know what they said, but I could hear. Kanpeki, the weird kid. Kanpeki, the kid with no friends. Kanpeki, the freak. I walked home that day on the verge of tears. I arrived back home to see police cars. There was a man being taken out of the house, thoroughly beaten. He had red eyes, I assumed the beating had caused his eyes to become bloodshot. The police said he had broken in to steal things. I walked in my house to see Masuta. He looked so sad..." Tony stopped for a minute, his voice cracking. He took a deep breath before continuing. "He said 'I'm sorry Ototo... I wasn't there.' and I got scared... I looked around to see things broken... My parents laid on the floor... Dead..." Tony stopped again, tears gathering in his eyes. "The one day I **didn't** tell them I loved them... For them to be safe..." Tony felt a tear escape his eye. "After then, my life became a spiraling torrent of pain and misery. My brother was relentless. I know he was only trying to help, but it was torture. The entire school had something new to talk about now. 'Hey Kanpeki, I'm sorry to hear about your parents.' The teachers would say. 'I guess that makes you an orphan now!' the kids would laugh. I had a new title. Kanpeki, the orphan. The teachers tried to stop it, but the kids found no end to the entertainment they garnered from their new name. They all were constantly reminding me of what happened, no matter what. They felt it necessary to make me relive that day as I slept every night. I hated it. I hated it so much..." Tony trailed off, crying. The four girls, meanwhile, had followed suit and were all crying.

_He hasn't even gotten to her yet!_ Kagami thought in a panic, hoping there wasn't too much. She might end up breaking down if there was.

"My life was utter misery for the next year. The other students loved teasing me about my parents, or lack there of. Big bro didn't help with his slaughter that he called training. Quite frankly, life sucked. Then Sarnia came. She found some way to break me from my shell and show me the first bit of kindness not from my parents in my life. No matter what happened, she was there." Tony smiled as he recalled her.

"Tell us about her..." Kagami urged.

"That girl was something else. There was only one school in our area, maybe within about a hundred mile radius. She never attended. Yet, she seemed to know everything there was to know about everything. Maybe it was just because I didn't know as much as I do now, but still." Tony laughed.

"Well maybe her parents taught her?" Kagami suggested.

"Nah. She was as much an orphan as I was. Maybe that's how she knew how to get to me. She had no siblings. Hell, I didn't even know where she lived, she would never let me see. I kept asking and asking, but she refused to tell me!" Tony laughed as he recalled the memories.

"What did she look like?" Konata asked, this having been cut out because the mall had closed.

"You really wanna know?" Tony asked with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah!" Konata urged.

"Roses had fist fights to see who could smell like her. When she laughed, three nightingales went out of the business. Her wit was sharp enough to shave with. As for looks, she was beautiful. At least in my eyes. Her hair was a crazy color, much like all of yours. If I remember correctly, it was salmon with just a touch of burgendy. That's testament to how much I liked her that I don't mind using the word "Burgendy" like that." Tony laughed. "Maybe it's just a little obsession, but she musta been pretty to other's too."

"Hmmmm... How were..." Konata tried to think of a way to phrase her question. Tony sighed.

"Her's were probably still bigger than yours." Tony said, easily reading what she was trying to say. Konata got a frustrated look.

"Well, at least mine are a status symbol..." Konata pouted.

"Hehe, there's really only one couple I've seen that would probably be harder to split up forever then me and her. And that's slightly debatable." Tony said as his eyes flickered between Konata and Kagami. Miyuki giggled a little.

"So... What happened?" Kagami asked reluctantly. This was turning out like one of her novels, and she didn't think she would like the ending.

"... One day I decided to skip school for the day and hang out with her. She told me not to. Said my education was important. I felt like she was my mother for a minute..." Tony chuckled sadly. "I dismissed it and cut class anyway. I convinced her to go to the movies. It took half an hour, but I convinced her... We went and I paid for our tickets. As we walked through the snack line, a masked man walked in... With red eyes..." Tony stopped. His throat was closing itself in from emotion. Tsukasa put a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to her as she smiled. He took another deep breath."He walked in and told the lady behind the counter that he wanted all the money in the theater. He said he would kill people if she resisted at all. To prove his point..." He took a deep breath to regain his composure. It had been easier when he was only talking to Tsukasa, if only infinitesimally. "He shot Sarnia... She died there and it's all my fault." Tony cried, tears flowing freely from his face.

"You can't blame yourself for that! You didn't hold the gun and you didn't pull the trigger!" Kagami reasoned with him, trying in any way to make him feel better.

"Can't you see? She begged me not to skip school! I didn't listen! She didn't want to go to the movies! I didn't listen! If it hadn't been for me, she would have never been there! She... might still be alive today..." Tony yelled, making no visible resistance to his sorrow or tears. He knew there was no point. None of the girls had been able to maintain an iota of their own composure, each crying at the story.

"That's... so sad... I can't believe you had to live with all that..." Kagami cried.

"Mehe... and that's not even the end..." Tony muttered with closed eyes.

_There's more? How could he have..._ Kagami thought in disbelief. He seemed to have gone through so much already.

"A part my brother doesn't know. I almost killed myself because of all that. I had finally acquired some shred of security... and it was taken. I was ready to end it. I would have too, but something stopped me." Tony said.

"What happened?" Konata said.

"I did end up cutting myself when I knew no one would find me. It was a massive slash to my wrist. I blacked out from blood loss, I'm guessing. As my vision faded, I heard her. She looked on me bit sadly and simply said three words, though it may have been three worlds of importance to me." Tony sighed.

"What did she say?" Kagami asked.

"'Let it be.' I woke up to see-" Tony paused here to show them his wrist, which had a large scar on it. "-my wrist was healed. I was still in the same place I blacked out at, but I didn't feel the effects of blood loss anymore. It was then I made a decision. I would become stronger. I made Masutā intensify my training. I swore an oath that I would get strong enough to protect those dearest to me. And it was years before I met anyone who fit that category." Tony finished. He turned to the girls. "Well. Now you know my story. What did you think?" Tony asked them. The puddle of tears under each of them was testament enough to their feelings on the subject. Kagami started thinking fiercely about everything Tony had said. She came to a powerful realization.

"Hey guys... I wanna talk to Tony." Kagami said. "Ya know, alone."

"Why?" Konata asked.

"Don't worry about it Konata, I just wanted to ask him something personal." Kagami said.

"Well, okay. I'll cya then..." Konata and the other girls walked out.

"What's up Kagami?" Tony asked as soon as the girls had left.

"Sarnia... Is she why you've refused to date Tsukasa?" Kagami asked. Tony nodded with a sigh, looking sad. "Ah... Then... you're worried about betraying her, aren't you?" Kagami asked. Tony sighed again as he nodded. "I don't think that's possible..." Kagami said. That comment caused Tony to give a look of confusion.

"And... how do you figure that?" He asked.

"You did love that girl, that's obvious, but... She seemed more of a motherly character to you, you even commented on how she felt like your mother at times. She loved you and cared for you like a mother would. She listened to your problem and helped you through them, like a mother would. She was concerned for your future-"

"Like a mother would be..." Tony smiled.

"Exactly. You two loved each other, yes, but I don't think it was in a way that dating Tsukasa could count as betraying Sarnia..." Kagami said with a smile.

"You think so?" Tony asked, his smile growing.

"...Yes. Yes I do." Kagami said.

"Well... You've certainly given me something to think about Kagami." Tony said. _Maybe... I don't know. Maybe I can give a relationship with Tsukasa a chance. _Tony thought.

"I'm glad. I'm looking forward to what you decide." Kagami smiled, practically knowing what Tony had been thinking.

"Me too.." _First I've gotta get her to fall for me though... Perhaps she would like that amulet..._ Tony thought with a smile. Before any more could be said, there came a knock at the door. "Come in!" Tony shouted, but winced in pain. Shin entered.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya luckies! I'm Akira Kogami, your navigator!"

"And I'm Minoru Shiraishi, the assistant!"

"It looks like Kan-chan is in a lot of trouble! I hope he's going to be okay..." Akira said in a worried voice.

"I'm sure he'll be okay. More importantly, what does Shin want?" Minoru asked.

"I dunno... This is getting me all nervous and jumpy!" Akira shouted.

*Music Tone*

"I guess that's all the time we have for today! I'll see all of you next time! Bye-nii~!"

"..."

"I'm actually a little worried about him... I hope he gets better soon..."

"Don't worry Akira, I'm sure he'll be okay."

"I hope so."

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

I have the next 2K words typed out. Just putting it out there. In other words, I'll probably have the next chapter pretty soon. I think. It all depends on what happens in the next chapter, I think I've got a pretty good idea though! Please tell me what you think about this chapter and I'll see you all next time!


	24. Chapter 24: After the Final Match!

Chapter 24: After the match

Hello everyone! Fun fact, I wrote this after I wrote the chapter. I was already 2K words in so I just cut and paste what I had and got to work. My thanks to FlygonMaster, who reads my chapters before I post them! I thank him entirely too little, and he(whether he knows it or not) has helped me to make some ginormagantuan decisions about the story. So thank you Flygon and keep writing! Yours is one of the best stories on the site! Kanzaki, that bit was written even though I knew the meaning of the word, but I feel that your suggestion would be better. Hehe, thank you all for the compliments. I hope I can continue to please!

* * *

**Shin's Visit**

"Hello Kanpeki." Shin said.

"Hello Shin." Tony stared at Shin. "We have some things to talk about."

"Indeed we do." Shin said. "Would you mind leaving us alone Hiiragi?" He turned to Kagami, catching her off guard that he knew her name.

"Sh-should I?" Kagami turned to Tony. He nodded. Kagami shrugged and walked out.

"So. You go first." Tony said, extremely angry with Shin still.

"You're anger is understandable. Still, you should probably go first. What I have to say will sound weird, so you may want to find out what you want to first." Shin insisted.

"Okay then. First of all, how are you so strong. They told me you were here before the ambulance. How?" Tony asked. Shin seemed to think.

"On second thought, it would probably be best if I told you what I was going to tell you now." Shin said.

"Alright then." Tony said. Shin smiled.

"Well then. First of all, I wouldn't mind it if you stopped calling out my name." Shin said. Tony got a confused look.

"What do you mean? I'm not sure if I've ever even said your name." Tony said.

"Actually, you said it during our match." Shin said.

"What do you mean? When?" Tony asked.

"Right before my punch landed in the ground. You didn't so much say it as you thought it." Shin said. Tony thought back. He suddenly realized who this person was.

"... You're kidding me, aren't you? You mean... I fought..." Tony muttered to himself.

"Yep. When you entered as the God of Fighting, that peaked my interest quite a bit. Who on Earth could claim to be a god? So I entered myself." Shin said.

"You're... Hachiman... Aren't you?" Tony asked, in a daze.

"In the flesh." He bowed.

"So do I call you Shin or Hachiman?" Tony asked.

"Whichever you prefer." Hachiman said.

"So... I did fight... a real God?" Tony asked. Hachiman laughed.

"I am not so grand, not as a god. I am Hachiman, and Hachiman is all that I am." He said.

"So I never really had a chance to win, did I?" Tony asked.

"Not really." Hachiman smirked.

"Did I at least give you a run for your money?" Tony asked with a chuckle.

"5%." Hachiman said.

"What?" Tony asked for clarification.

"You made me exert 5% of my full power." Hachiman clarified. Tony blinked.

"Wow. I guess there's a reason you're known as the God of Warriors." Tony sighed.

"Hey, look at it this way! You're the first person in a long time to give me quite a bit of fun in a fight." Hachiman smiled.

"What about other Gods? I would guess they could probably give you a good fight if you asked them to spar or something, right?" Tony asked.

"A logical assumption, but once you know someone for an eternity, you start getting to know how they fight. Then, it's only a matter of time before you develop a counter strategy. You're someone I've never fought before, so your fighting style was something I'm not used to. So fighting you was fun." Hachiman smiled.

"Is it alright if I tell Tsukasa and the others about this revelation?" Tony asked.

"If you wish." Hachiman authorized.

"So, are you here just to tell me how superior you were to me?" Tony asked.

"As a matter of fact, no. Quite frankly, your life has sucked." Hachiman said.

"I noticed." Tony said. Hachiman snickered.

"I suppose the sarcasm is warranted. First, I heard what the doctor said and he was right, you are indeed quite hurt. But he was wrong on one count." Hachiman said, putting his index and middle finger to Tony's left arm.

"And that wa-" Tony started to say, but was interrupted as the entirety of his body, inside and out, started to itch and crawl. It was almost as if his insides were twisting around. Tony had to grit his teeth to keep from making a sound past a groan of discomfort. As the sensation finally ceased, so did the pain he had been in since he awoke. "Whoa..."

"This is, in fact, a crappy story where the writer can pull a divine ass-pull. That wasn't too hard." Hachiman smirked.

"So... you healed me?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, pretty much." Hachiman chuckled.

"Well that's probably the most literal sense of Deus ex Machina I've ever seen. Than-" Tony tried to shake Hachiman's hand but, besides being wrapped up, his right hand started to hurt. "Ow! Um, not to sound ungrateful, but I think you missed my right arm." Tony informed the god.

"As a matter of fact, I didn't." He smiled.

"But I can't use my right arm..." Tony commented.

"You'll thank me later." Hachiman said.

"I can't eat with my left hand though!" Tony protested. Hachiman smiled wider.

"You'll thank me later." He reiterated. "Here..." He unwrapped Tony's cast save his right arm faster than Tony could see. Tony blinked a few times as he moved his arm and legs around. They felt better than they had in a long time. "Now, on to a different matter. Or rather, a different part of the same matter." Hachiman said. "As I said, your life has sucked. I'd like to offer you a bit of compensation for it." Hachiman offered.

"What kind of compensation?" Tony asked.

"The awesome kind. The first of your gifts was being healed, but that was mainly because my curiosity got the better of me. I wanted to see how far you could take your fighting. The main thing is whatever you want." Hachiman said.

"Wait... what?" Tony got a confused look on his face. "You mean anything?"

"Ah, almost. There are a few provisos, a couple of quid pro quos..." Hachiman said.

"Like?" Tony asked.

"Ah, rule number one: I won't kill anybody." Hachiman said. He took a finger and ran it by his own throat, playing dead. "So don't ask." He muttered. He perked back up. "Rule number two: I won't make anyone fall in love with anyone else." He said. Tony smirked a bit.

"If I felt I had to ask for a god's help in romance, I don't deserve that girl." Tony said.

"Which is one reason I don't do it. Well said." Hachiman smiled. "Other than that, you've got it!" Hachiman bowed over-dramatically.

"Wait, nothing about dead people?" Tony asked, thinking the god might have messed up the reference.

"Well, on occasion it seems required that someone deceased be brought back to the mortal plain. With their permission of course." Hachiman said.

"You can do that? Would it be against any rules to give me an example?" Tony asked. Hachiman laughed.

"Not at all! In fact, you've had some experience with someone who had been resurrected." Hachiman chuckled.

"Who was that?" Tony asked.

"Who do you think it was?" Hachiman asked in response. Tony started thinking, but interrupted himself.

"Wait, we're getting away from the subject. So other than that, anything?" Tony asked.

"Yep." Hachiman nodded.

"Hm... May I think about it for a while?" Tony asked.

"Of course! That would be for the better, this is likely to be a once in a lifetime deal." Hachiman warned.

"Thanks. Alright then." Tony started thinking.

"Two more things, for now at least." Hachiman interrupted Tony's thought. Tony looked up.

"What's up?" Tony asked.

"First is my assistance." Hachiman said. Seeing the look Tony gave him, he decided to elaborate. "Should you find yourself overwhelmed by an opponent you're fighting and your life is in danger, I'll give you access to 50% of my strength and energy. In other words-"

"I'll be ten times stronger then you were in our fight?" Tony asked.

"Precisely. Anyone who can overwhelm you is someone I want to fight. Once I grant you that power, I'll also make a connection in your mind that we can communicate with. We can bounce strategies off each other mid-fight. In exchange, I'll get to experience the battle vicariously through you. Also, if there's a fight you think I would enjoy, ask. I'll see about sending help, whether in energy or coming in myself." Hachiman chuckled as he nodded.

"That... boggles the mind." Tony thought. He suddenly chuckled. "Hey, I've got an idea for that "Anything I want" deal."

"Shoot." Hachiman said.

"How about make me a god?" Tony laughed.

"I'll see what I can do." Hachiman said. Tony stopped laughing and looked with a bewildered look.

"Wa-wait... really?" Tony asked.

"Well, of course even if I can do something like that, you won't be all powerful, there will have to be limitations, but still. I'll see what I can do." Hachiman said.

"... You're serious?" Tony asked.

"Entirely." Hachiman confirmed. "But think of something else just in case I can't swing the God thing."

"Will do...Whoa... Thank you..." Tony said in amazement.

"Now, you're last gift." Hachiman said, bringing out a jar seemingly from behind his back. He gave it to Tony.

"...Dirt. This is a jar of dirt." Tony recognized.

"Yes." Hachiman nodded.

"Is the... jar of dirt going to help?" Tony asked.

"If you don't want it, give it back." Hachiman leaned slightly closer to Tony.

"No." Tony wrapped his left arm around the jar of dirt protectively. Hachiman chuckled.

"Picked up on that quick." He commented.

"You know, no offense or anything, but I always imagined the gods to be a bit stuffy, you know? And you personally seemed like a Grade A douche-bag. But you're quite hilarious. I'm actually enjoying you company greatly. Do you know everything?" Tony asked.

"You could say that..." Hachiman laughed.

"Hmm... What's the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?" Tony asked, leaning forward and giving the god a quizzical look.

"African or European?" Hachiman asked in response, giving Tony the same gesture Tony had given him. Tony laughed.

"Damn, you're good..." Tony smiled.

"Indeed. And as for your comment about my attitude, I wanted to push you to the utmost limit of your abilities. It helps to make people angry enough to make them want to kill you. I apologize for my behavior. Now, do you have any particular questions?" Hachiman asked.

"Hm... Could you... maybe tell me about Sarnia? Like, how she healed my wrist when I cut it. How?" Tony asked.

"Ah, her. She was a tad different from other people. I intended to let that bit remain a secret for a while. She was someone before she was her." Hachiman said.

"You mean... She was the one who was resurrected? Well... Who was she before?" Tony asked. Hachiman laughed.

"Haven't you figured it out? She was your mother. That's why she was so smart. Why she was so caring. Why she knew how to get to you." Hachiman explained.

"... Wow... Did you guys do that?" Tony asked.

"Yes. Like I said, your life sucked. It was seen fit that something be given to you and that was the best way. After all, if your mother inexplicably came back to life, that would seem a tad weird I'm sure. So she had to be brought back or you may have eventually turned out for the worse." Hachiman continued. "And having an evil Tony would NOT be something wanted on Earth."

"..." Tony smiled. It all seemed to fit together. Everything Kagami had said felt so true. And now it was all confirmed. One thing confused him though. "But that doesn't explain how she healed my wrist, I fatally wounded myself. Does one obtain magical powers when one is resurrected?" Tony asked. Hachiman sighed.

"That bit was... Well, to tell you the truth, I have no idea how that happened." Hachiman scratched his head.

"Whew, to stump a god..." Tony mumbled. "She really _was_ something..."

"Now, I think we should have the doctor come back and release you." Hachiman said.

"Hey, about that "help" thing, how do I call for your help?" Tony asked. The god seemed to ponder the question for a moment. He walked over to Tony and whispered something in his ear. "... You like Naruto, don't you?"

"A little bit." He smirked.

"And having your name be Shin... Was that supposed to be a shout out to Dragon Ball Z?" Tony asked.

"Yeah." The god nodded. Tony laughed.

"I didn't know Gods liked Anime!" Tony laughed.

"There's probably a lot you didn't know before today that you do now." Hachiman smirked. He clicked the button to call the desk. "Dr. Zimmerman, there's something here you should see." Hachiman started to walk out, but stopped. He turned his head over his shoulder. "And just one more thing..."

"What's that?" Tony asked.

"Be sure to keep Tsukasa safe. Don't let anyone hurt her. Not even me." He smiled.

"Never intended on it!" Tony waved with his left hand. Hachiman smiled.

"I already knew you didn't." Hachiman smiled.

"One more thing." Tony shouted before Hachiman left.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Can I still call myself a god?" Tony asked with a snicker. Hachiman laughed loudly.

"We'll see." The god laughed. He opened the door and walked out and between the girls. Said girls outside walking in, confused.

"Tony, where'd Shin go?" Kagami asked. But before Tony could respond, Tsukasa jumped.

"Kan-kun, why aren't you in your cast anymore?" She shouted in concern.

"I'll explain. And what do you mean Kagami, he just walked past..." Tony trailed off. _That guy is good..._ Tony thought to himself. "Let's talk about him..." Tony smiled.

"What did that Shin say to you? He wasn't rude was he? Do you want me to set him straight for you? I bet if I told him you were holding back he'd have a little more respect!" Konata shouted. Masutā got a slightly panicked look.

"No! Don't do that! Please! Don't do anything! Please don't!" He shouted, surprising everyone in the room. Tony looked at his older brother.

_Did he tell you everything?_ He seemed to say.

_Yup, sure did._ Masutā nodded.

"Why not?" Konata asked.

"Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up..." Tony was about to tell them about Shin, but was interrupted by the doctor.

"Please state the nature of the medical emergency." Dr. Zimmerman said as he walked in, reading a clipboard. He brought his eyes up to see Tony, almost completely healed. His jaw dropped, as did the clipboard. Rather than asking what Tony was doing out of his cast, however, the doctor walked over and inspected him. "...Mr. Otokonoko, you're in perfect health except for your right arm. You'll have to keep the cast on that arm for at least another day, however, I want you to stay here until it completely heals so I can make sure everything checks out." The doctor picked up his clipboard and made a few notes. "You're a strange boy Otokonoko. A very strange boy..." The doctor turned and left. Tony chuckled.

"Well, hopefully everything will be good." Tony smiled. He continued from where he left off in telling the girls everything about how the man he had fought was not Shin at all and, in fact, Hachiman, the God of Warriors and how the god had healed him.

"... Wait... YOU FOUGHT A GOD?" Kagami yelled.

"Pretty much." Tony nodded. He looked at everyone who had come to see him, including the older Hiiragi sisters and mother. _They came here too? That's interesting..._ Tony smiled. He decided he should introduce himself. "Hello ladies I don't know, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Kanpeki Otokonoko, but some people call me-"

"Kan-chan." Inori smiled.

"Tony." Matsuri smiled. The two turned simultaneously to Tsukasa, who blushed. "We've heard about you." Matsuri said, embarrassing Tsukasa further.

"O-oh... Well, what do you know about me already?" Tony asked. Inori grinned.

"You're unusually and exceedingly peculiar and altogether quite impossible to describe." She chimed up. Tony looked perplexed.

"Hm? What's that supposed to mean?" Tony asked.

"Well Tsuka-" Matsuri started to say, but was interrupted by the girl she was about to talk about.

"Onee-san!" Tsukasa shouted, but realized she was outing herself and quickly silenced herself. Tony smiled to himself as Tsukasa's blush deepened.

"We also know you're a fighter. We've been watching you fight in the tournament, and I must say I'm impressed!" Miki said.

"I kinda remember the other two. Are you another sister?" Tony asked innocently.

"Oh my, you're quite the gentleman!" Miki lit up. "No, I'm their mother." Miki smiled. Tony hopped up from the bed.

"Well it's nice to meet you, any mother of Tsukasa's is a mother of mine!" Tony bowed. Miki giggled.

"Well I'm happy to accept you as my son." She smiled. Those words stuck in Tony's head, causing him to freeze. "Tsukasa and Kagami have told us a lot about you." Miki continued smiling.

"I-is that so?" Tony stuttered.

"Why, yes we've just told you." Miki reminded.

"Oh, that's right..." Tony smiled.

"I have heard an interesting thing about you though." Miki said.

"Eh? What's that?" Tony asked.

"I've heard that you were some kind of sorcerer? Something about healing my daughter's neck?" Miki asked. Tony jumped a tad.

"Um, well, I... Yeah, I eased her pain." Tony scratched the back of his head.

"Would you mind showing me a bit of magic?" Miki asked. Tony felt a pang of fear. It was short lived, however, as he started thinking of a way out of it.

"I would, but you can't expect me to have enough energy to do anything after that fight." Tony said.

"I suppose not, but don't think you're off the hook! I'm gonna see this for myself." Miki smiled mischievously. Tony gulped, but got an idea.

_Hey... If Hachiman can't make me a god, maybe he can make me a real sorcerer! That would be extraordinary. I kinda hope he can't now, hehe..._Tony thought. Tony yawned.

"Looks like you're getting sleepy." Kagami said.

"Yeah, I think I'll get a bit of sleep." Tony yawned.

"Okay, just don't forget the festival is coming up soon!" Konata reminded.

"Got it!" Tony saluted over-dramatically. Tony laid back in bed and snuggled into his bed. Sleep soon found him.

"... Mom?" Tsukasa turned to her mother, but the older woman already knew what her daughter was going to ask.

"You can stay if you want Tsukasa." Miki smiled. Tsukasa lit up.

"Thanks mom!" Tsukasa cheered as she hugged her mother.

_She's so excited!_ Kagami giggled in her head. Konata and Miyuki had similar thoughts, giggle and all. "So I wonder if she's staying..." Kagami said sarcastically. Tsukasa realized how... enthusiastic her reaction had been and blushed profusely. The smile never left her face, however. She pulled up a chair and sat beside Tony.

"Well, I guess it's time to get going, eh?" Konata asked.

"Yeah, thanks for giving us a ride mom!" Kagami thanked.

"It's no problem Kagami, but it is time to go home. Can I give you two a ride home?" Miki asked Konata and Masutā.

"No thank you, I think I'll walk Miyuki home." Masutā said, looking over to Miyuki, who had been forgotten again. Seriously, it's worse for her than it is for Harukan. Who's Harukan? Exactly! Miyuki looked at Masutā appreciatively.

"Thank you for not forgetting me Masutā." Miyuki eyesmiled.

"Now why would I forget you?" Masutā asked as the two walked from the room.

"Hmm..." Konata hummed.

"Is there something going on between those two?" Kagami asked.

"You know, it's really unclear." Konata commented. "Someone should really clear that up."

"Yeah..." Kagami agreed.

"Well, if you're offering a ride home, I've lost my running partner for now so I'll accept!" Konata smiled.

"How long are you staying Tsukasa?" Miki asked her daughter. Tsukasa turned to her mom.

"I'm not sure, how long can I stay?" She asked.

"Hmmm... How about until they kick you out?" Miki asked.

"Okay, thanks mom!" Tsukasa shouted with a smile.

"It's not a problem, just call me when it's time to come home." Miki said as the girls minus Tsukasa walked out.

"Mom, you know that Tsukasa told them she was his wife, right?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah, it's so cute! Ah~, to be young." Miki cooed.

"But that means that they might not kick her out, they might just let her stay as long as she wants." Kagami warned.

"I know, I'm counting on it." Miki smiled.

"So wait... you already knew she might not be coming home tonight?" Kagami asked.

"Of course! She can stay as long as she wants. I want her to feel secure, after all she likes that boy so." Miki smiled.

"Wait... Tsukasa likes Tony?" Konata asked, a gleam in her eye.

"Isn't it obvious?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah, but did she tell you herself? And she meant "like"?" Konata asked, the stars in her eyes getting bigger.

"You're not going to tell Tony, are you?" Kagami asked.

"Do I seem the type to tell other people's secrets?" Konata asked, looking offended.

"Yes you do." Kagami said simply. Konata pouted.

"When have I ever told a secret of yours?" Konata asked. Kagami started thinking.

"Well there was... um..." Kagami drew a blank. "Well you know!" Kagami shouted in desperation that Konata would come up with something on her own.

"No, 'cause I never did!" Konata protested.

"... Fine. Yeah, Tsukasa "likes" Tony. She told me herself." Kagami said.

"I so knew it!" Konata smiled widely as the lot of them found their way to the Hiiragi car and started driving. "Thanks for telling me, I was curious!" Konata smiled.

"It's alright Konata, but now you have to tell me a secret." Kagami smirked.

"Ack! That was your evil plan all along!" Konata shouted out.

"Maybe. Now tell me!" Kagami shouted.

"Hm~..." Konata started thinking. She looked out the window to see they were nearing her house. "Okay, okay, shhh! Come here. It's a secret..." Konata leaned over to Kagami, who leaned over with her hand around her ear. Konata took a breath. "Asante sana! Squash banana! We we nugu! Mi mi apana!" Konata's voice started out low, but started to grow, eventually turning into a full of chant. Kagami rolled her eyes, though amused by Konata's antic.

"Come on, cut it out!" Kagami sighed.

"I can't cut it out, it'll grow right back!" Konata laughed as the car came to a halt in front of Konata house. "Thanks for the ride Mrs. Hiiragi, but how did you know where I live?" Konata asked. Miki looked her in the eyes through the rear view mirror.

"Tony isn't the only person Kagami talks about at home." Miki smiled from the front. A light blush came across Kagami's face.

"Well, it looks like you have to go, bye!" Kagami shouted quickly as she pushed Konata out of the car before the latter even had time to catgrin.

"Kagamin..." Konata muttered as the car drove off. Despite almost literally getting kicked out of the car, Konata smiled as she entered her house.

"Hey Konata, dinner's on the table." Sojiro shouted.

"Hey dad. Did you see the latest tournament fights?" Konata asked.

"No, but I did see Tony against Recoome. Holy crap, I'm glad he's on our side!" Sojiro shouted.

"You should see the finals! It was him against Shin!" Konata said as she got a plate of what her father had gotten.

"I have it recorded, I just didn't get to watch it. I had a massive inspiration for my story, so I just couldn't ignore it! I would have forgotten it!" Sojiro said.

"Understandable, but you still have to watch it!" Konata said. She finished her dinner without really speaking much more, her and Sojiro watching Television.

"Hey, I'm out of the bath!" Yutaka came out in slightly loose clothes. "Hi Onee-chan!" Yutaka greeted Konata as she came and sat down.

"Hey Yu-chan, how's it hangin'?" Konata asked distractedly.

"Great, I got to visit Minami-chan's house today!" Yutaka chimed, clearly happy.

"That's cool, did you have fun?" Konata asked.

"Oh yeah! I loved it!" She shouted. Konata yawned.

"Man, today took it out of me..." Konata sighed. "I'm gonna go get some sleep." Konata got up and walked in her room.

"Good night Konata!" Sojiro shouted, Yutaka shouting a similar farewell. Konata got in her room and, instead of going to bed, picked up her diary.

_Dear Diary,_

_I've just been told that Kagami talks about me at home! Whether that's good or bad... Well, I don't know, but I like it! And I also figured out that Tsukasa likes Tony! I'm wondering if I should tell him or not? I never said I wouldn't if she told me, after all! Anyway, I'm tired Diary, probably from the giant run I had during the tournament. Speaking of which, I wonder when I should give Kagami that ring? Can I give it to her for no reason you think? Last time I gave her something for no reason, she didn't believe me... Maybe I can turn it into a joke? No, that would be stupid. That's one of the things she hates... Maybe I'll ask Tony... He's good at strategies... Either way, thanks for listening Diary!_

_Konata~_

Konata signed off and hopped into bed. She laid her head on her pillow and drifted off into dream land.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

"Mom, why did you have to say that?" Kagami scolded her mother.

"I was only telling her you talk about her, what's wrong with that?" Miki giggled.

"You don't know Konata. She's probably gonna turn this into some joke and embarrass me in front of everyone..." Kagami sighed.

"Hm~..." Miki hummed as she thought.

"Uh-oh... What's up mom?" Kagami asked.

"I was just thinking... You seem to know that she's going to do that. So she does this often?" Miki asked. Kagami nodded as she answered in the affirmative, though she knew her mother couldn't see her. "Do you hate her for it?" Miki asked.

"What? No, god no! It just gets irritating is all..." Kagami sighed.

"Well then I don't see a reason why not to tell her! After all, everyone can do with a bit of irritation now and again. If you went through life without it, you wouldn't know what it was in the first place!" Miki smiled.

"I... never thought about it that way..." Kagami started thinking. _Man, mom is pretty smart to think of all that on the spot..._ "Thanks for the advice mom." Kagami smiled.

"It's all part of the job." Miki smiled.

"I wonder what we're going to do tomorrow..." Kagami thought. "Well, first we have to go pick up Tsukasa and see how Tony is doing. But what then..." Kagami wondered to herself.

"Is she okay?" Matsuri asked Inori. "She's been thinking back there for a while now with that same distant look on her face..."

"I don't know... Kagami?" Inori started poking Kagami in the shoulder. No effect. "Kagami? We're home!" Inori poked harder. She then poked so hard, her finger slipped and got Kagami on the breast.

"GAH! Why did you do that?" Kagami yelled.

"Well we couldn't just leave you in here and you were too lost in thought! Besides, I didn't mean to hit your boob!" Inori shouted back.

"AHG! Why do I keep doing that! Geez..." Kagami got out of the car and stomped into the house. Matsuri and Inori looked at each other and shrugged. The remaining three Hiiragis walked into the house to see Kagami sitting in the living room, looking bored.

"Kagami? You alright?" Inori asked.

"I'm bored. Tsukasa isn't here and something tells me Konata wouldn't feel like talking. I think I might end up just going to bed. Early to bed, early to rise, right?" Kagami asked.

"Sure. Go to bed Imōto." Matsuri said. Kagami got up and walked to her room. "I wonder what's got her so tuckered out..." Matsuri muttered.

"Yeah..." Inori muttered too.

Kagami walked into her room and collapsed on her bed. She was asleep soon.

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

_Kan-kun... Why do I have to like you? How can I make you mine?_ Tsukasa wondered as she looked at the sleeping boy. Tsukasa shook her head to clear it. _Geez, when did I get to be such a romantic? I realize I like him, but... This pain is so strong. The fact that I don't think he'll ever see me as more than a friend is killing me... I just want to be with him..._ Tsukasa closed her eyes and put her hand to her heart. _I love him._ She sighed in her head. _That does it! I need to find some way to make him fall for me!_ Tsukasa determined to herself. _But how..._ Tsukasa thought. She yawned. She would have fallen asleep if there hadn't been a knock at the door. "Come in!" Tsukasa shouted. Dr. Zimmerman walked in, looking mildly surprised.

"You're still here? Didn't your friends leave?" He asked.

"Yeah, but I wanted to stay as long as I could. Is that okay?" Tsukasa asked hopefully.

"I suppose. Are you his girlfriend?" The doctor asked as he read a clipboard, barely paying attention.

"I-I'm his wife!" Tsukasa said. The doctor raised his eyebrow as he looked at her. From that look, Tsukasa could tell he knew she was lying.

"... Very well. You may stay Mrs... Otokonoko." He said hesitantly. "Just don't be a hassle or I'll be forced to have you escorted out." The doctor warned.

"Got it! Don't worry, I won't get in the way!" Tsukasa said appreciatively.

"Well. Just make sure that you don't." Doctor Zimmerman said matter-of-factly walking over to Tony and giving him another inspection. As he checked the boy over for broken bones and other damage, he had a perplexed look akin to the one he had before. He finished and looked at Tsukasa. "Miss, do you know what happened to him? When he came in, he was a proverbial jigsaw puzzle, but now... he's completely healed, all except his right arm. It's mind boggling..." The doctor muttered as he looked back at his patient.

"Um... No, I'm not sure what happened..." Tsukasa said, confident the doctor wouldn't believe her if she told him a god had healed Tony.

"Well then, see that he gets a good nights sleep. He may be healed, but after that exertion, he'll need a lot of food to replace all of the energy he lost." Doctor Zimmerman said as he wrote something on his clipboard. "I assume you'll be sleeping in here?" He turned back to Tsukasa, looking up from the item he held.

"Yeah!" Tsukasa nodded.

"Well then, have a good night." He said before leaving. Tsukasa looked back to Tony.

"Good night Kan-kun..." She smiled. She leaned against the conveniently placed desk to her left and started drifting off. The door opened again as the doctor came in. Tsukasa opened her eyes sleepily to see the doctor had all the makings for something to sleep on, a futon, blanket, and pillows. He stacked them in that order.

"If you insist on staying here, you might as well be comfortable." He said in a tone , walking out before Tsukasa could thank him. That didn't stop her from trying, however. She looked at the small structure on the floor, got in it.

_Since when did they give futons to people at the hospital?_ Tsukasa wondered before she finally found sleep.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted out. "Hiya luckies! I'm Akira Kogami, your navigator!"

"And I'm Minoru Shiraishi, the assistant!"

"Okay, I've been supportive of Ac up to now, but seriously? Kan-chan fighting a god? That's a bit much." Akira scolded.

"Akira, don't be too hard on the writer! That was planned for a while, so give 'em the benefit of the doubt!" Minoru defended.

"And the focus is is bit too much on the OCs. There are some characters from the original source work that haven't made an appearance outside the mall trip since the first damn chapter!" Akira shouted.

"Well the writer doesn't include them because Ac isn't too good at writing for them! If they were included, the quality of the story would suffer." Minoru reasoned with her.

"...Fine, I guess if it's for the quality of the story. Still kinda grinds my gears though..." Akira sighed. "But still. That was one impressive ass-pull to get Kan-chan back in the game." Akira said sarcastically.

"You've been in such a good mood recently Akira, why are you being so sarcastic now?" Minoru asked.

"I'm sarcastic because beating the crap out of people is illegal." Akira said.

*Music Tone*

"Well I guess that's all the time we have for today! I'll see all of you next chapter! Bye-nii~!"

"..."

"Hey Akira, you wouldn't kidnap the writer, would you?"

"What? No, that's a weird question. Maybe some OTHER Akira would, but not me."

"That's good to know. So why were you in such a bad mood?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because you're not the same person you were before. You're nice now."

"... I always was. But people here just pissed me off."

"Well I'm glad to know the real you now."

"...Thanks."

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

Whew, that was a short chapter, but a looooooot of insane stuff happened. But he's a god, can you expect anything less than insane? And yes, this chapter focused almost completely on Tony. Don't worry, that's not the direction this story is taking. Focus shall resume on them all shortly. This is just kinda piggybacking on the after bit of Tony's story requiring a large amount of focus. Holy crap. I admit, Killa, when you said Shin reminded you of the Supreme Kai, I laughed so freaking hard. That's exactly what I was going for. And looking back on this story... I realize that as long as this story is going to be, there was actually a lot of arcs I think I passed over. I know that I've already taken actions that inadvertently shortened this story considerably... Edge, did you get your stories mixed up or did I misunderstand your review? I wonder if this chapter answered everyone's questions about Shin? So... WILL TONY BECOME A GOD? WILL THIS TURN TO A SCI-FI KIND OF STORY BECAUSE OF IT? WILL TSUKASA GET TONY TO FALL FOR HER? HOW WILL KONATA GIVE THE RING TO KAGAMI, IF AT ALL? WHY AM I ASKING YOU ALL THESE QUESTIONS? Review!


	25. Chapter 25: The Morning

Chapter 25: The Morning

Okay, I just revised Sqweebs' new chapter and saw everything that he did with Tony. (EDIT By the way, that's how long this must have taken me. When I said "new chapter" I was talking about chapter 9... lol.) Let me just say clap clap clap. You portrayed him in mostly the same way I think I would except the political thing. Honestly, I don't care much about politics, so I never really tried to peg Tony as democratic or republican. If that's how you interpret Tony, it's your story! Somebody To Love is a story I look forward to reading. There were a few times during it that I found a couple things slightly off about him, but it's MY character! I'm sure if I tried to take Kyon at this point, I would fail miserably! Besides, I couldn't expect you to get him completely on every single count. Not yet at least... XD I jest, but great job Sqweebs, keep it up! Aria, I have absolutely no problem with you going perfectionist on me when reading! As I said in chapter 2, I gladly accept any error reports you give me! I'll admit, I don't know Japanese to the point that I would like, not all of the grammars and spellings and such, but if you do, that would be a great help! Flygon, I know you've read this already, but I've added things on since you read it! Enjoy everyone!

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony opened his eyes, his stomach ravenous with hunger. He groaned as he put his right arm over his stomach and reached to the button to call a nurse in. He hit it, eliciting a response from a nurse.

"Hello Kanpeki-san. Did you sleep well?" The nurse asked.

"Yes, thank you. When is breakfast?" Tony asked.

"Let me check a few things. . . ." There was a pause. "Your chart says you can eat when you want and however much you want. Would you like that now?"

"Yes please, thank you. I'm starving." Tony said.

"It'll just be a moment Kanpeki-san." The nurse said. Tony laid back in the bed he was in, thoroughly uncomfortable because of his stomach. He relaxed and started listening to see if he could hear the cart coming with food. After a minute, however, he heard something he didn't expect. Breathing. He looked over the side of his bed to see Tsukasa, asleep with the cutest face on, hair a mess. Tony had a mini-squeal in his own mind.

_She is so freaking cute! If I hang around her much more, I'm gonna get diabetes! I just wanna pick her up and cuddle her!_ Tony shouted in his mind. _I can't believe she stayed... And I can't believe they let her! But where did she get that futon..._ Tony thought. _Still,_ _that's easily one of the reasons why I love her. I guess that's just more incentive to make her mine!_ Tony smiled. "Tsukasa? Tsukasa~?" Tony reached down and shook her. She turned over.

"Five more minutes..." She muttered. Tony felt his heart warm a bit.

"Tsukasa, it's time to wake up." Tony said gently, figuring it worked before. It did once again. Tsukasa stirred awake, yawned as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and stretched. She then remembered where she was, causing her head to dart to Tony, who was smiling the entire time. "Good morning." Tony smiled. Tsukasa's face erupted in a blush.

"Go-good morning Kan-kun..." Tsukasa muttered.

"You stayed?" Tony smiled.

"Yeah! I was worried..." Tsukasa said.

"Hehe, there's no need to worry. I'm perfectly fine Tsukasa. But..." Tony trailed off.

"But what?" Tsukasa asked.

"Thanks for worrying about me." Tony smiled and laid back into his bed.

"Any time Kan-kun." Tsukasa said as she stood up and sat down in the chair she had been sitting in the night before. "So you're okay? You're not hurt anywhere?"

"Nowhere other than my arm. That kinda hurts a bit." Tony rolled his right shoulder. He got an idea that made him smirk. "Wanna kiss it and make it better?" Tony smirked.

"Ah-We-rea-" Tsukasa started to babble incoherently. She was saved by the nurse walking in with a large bowl of steamed rice.

"Here you go Kanpeki-san. Ah, Mrs. Otokonoko, you're awake! Can I get you anything?" The nurse asked. Tony's eyes widened as he heard "Mrs.". Tsukasa glanced over quickly to see Tony staring at her, a mix of a surprised and shocked look on his face.

"N-no thank you ma'am. I'm not really hungry..." Tsukasa muttered.

"Okay then, I'll be back with more food in a minute, I hope you enjoy." The nurse bowed as she left. Tony blinked a few times.

"Tsukasa, did you-" Tony started.

"It was the only way they would let me stay..." Tsukasa muttered. She thought for a few seconds before she realized an even better response. _It was simply easier then saying you weren't my boyfriend, then people will say 'whatever you say!' then that kind of stuff happens. It was just quicker. Man~, that would have been a much better response!_ Tsukasa complained in her head._ I hate when I think of a better response than what I said a minute later..._ She sighed.

"Well then I happily accept you as my wife." Tony smirked as Tsukasa's face darkened several hues. When Tsukasa didn't say anything else, Tony remembered he was hungry. He then realized his stomach was practically devouring the rest of his internal organs. He picked up the chopsticks that came with his rice and bit one of them. He used his left hand to pull them apart. Gripping the chopsticks in his left hand, he put it in the rice and brought it to his mouth. _Two pieces of rice... A new record..._ He sighed. He tried to pick up more rice, but with only half the success as his first attempt. He started to put his eating utensil down into the rice, but it was almost as if he dropped them. It was either that or someone pulled them from his hand. He was so hungry, he couldn't tell anymore. He looked around his bed to find his chopsticks, but to no avail. Suddenly, he felt something poke him in the cheek. He looked up to see Tsukasa with a bit of rice on the chopsticks, a small smile on her face.

"Say ah~." She said. Tony took his turn to blush. He felt a little humiliated being forced to be fed, but at this point he was simply too hungry to care. He opened his mouth. When no food was inserted, he closed his mouth and gave a confused look to Tsukasa. "Say ah~." Tsukasa insisted. Tony sighed.

"Ah~." Tony opened his mouth. Tsukasa happily proceeded to feed him. After the bowl was gone, Tony was still starving, his hunger barely sated.

"Better?" Tsukasa asked.

"Not really... I'm still very hungry." Tony mumbled. It wasn't that he didn't like being fed by Tsukasa, but it was still to his chagrin that he couldn't feed himself. As if on cue, the nurse walked back in and gave him more food, mainly a big bowl of miso soup with a large plate of Tamagoyaki on the side. **(A/N Tamagoyaki is a rolled omelet) **Tsukasa smiled widely as she realized she got to feed Tony even more. She took the food, thanked the nurse, and grabbed the chopsticks.

"Now. Say ah~." She smiled as she continued to feed Tony. He sighed, though not displeased with this turn of events.

* * *

**POV Konata**

Konata's eyes fluttered open. _What are we gonna do today?_ She wondered. She got up from her bed and decided it wise to call Kagami before plans were made. She rummaged around her room for a few minutes before finding her cellphone, said device having been looked over as background scenery since she saw it every day but never used it. Once she finally found it, she opened it and clicked 1 on her speed dial to call Kagami. It rang a few times, but she picked up after the sixth ring.

"Yeah? What is it?" Kagami sound very irritated.

_Did I call too early?_ Konata felt a pang of fear. "Hey Kagami..." Konata said hesitantly.

"Konata? What's wrong? You sound scared!" Kagami asked, sounding worried now.

"I was afraid I'd called too early and you were mad at me..." Konata muttered.

"When has the time stopped you before?" Kagami chuckled.

"Oh... Then I did call too early..." Konata muttered regretfully. _Now she's gonna be angry..._ She thought as a few seconds of silence passed. Suddenly, Kagami came back on.

"No, you didn't call too early, I-I just stubbed my toe on the way to breakfast!" Kagami said in a hurried sort of voice.

"That's good..." Konata sighed in relief. Normally the hurry and stutter were enough to tell Konata that Kagami was lying, but right now she was just happy that her Tsundere didn't seem mad at her. There was another silence.

"So... What's up?" Kagami asked. Konata suddenly remembered the reason she called in the first place.

"Not much, just wanted to see what you thought we should do today." Konata said.

"Calling to find out what I might want to do? Are you sure you're MY Konata?" Kagami giggled.

"Well I-... just wanted to know, ya know..." Konata mumbled.

"Are you alright Konata? You've been acting odd recently. Like at McDonalds the other day. You bought me that shake for no reason, that's not like you..." Kagami said.

"Maybe I was just being generous!" Konata said defensively.

"Out of nowhere?" Kagami asked, clearly still skeptical.

"Kagami... You always do stuff for me, I just wanted to do something nice for you..." Konata muttered. Yet another silence took hold of the conversation. After a moment, Kagami spoke again.

"I'm sorry Konata. I'm being a jerk." Kagami sighed, regret in her voice.

"It's alright Kagami, just try and believe me when I say I wanna do something nice... Please?" Konata asked.

"Alright Konata... But that's not my only concern you know." Kagami said.

"What else?" Konata's tone took a dip.

"That! That right there! You used to not care if I got irritated, you would even provoke me! But now you seem so... hesitant. You shrink when I get mad, but you never use to. Why the change?" Kagami asked. Konata thought a moment.

"Are you saying you miss me making you mad?" Konata asked.

"I... What did you call for anyway?" Kagami called. "We've gotten way off track. Let's leave it at I was concerned for you..." Kagami said.

"Well, I wanted to know what you wanted to do today?" Konata asked again.

"I think we should go to see Tony and Tsukasa first, but what do we do then?" Kagami asked.

"When is Tony supposed to get the money from winning the tournament?" Konata asked.

"I dunno, I guess we should ask him when we get there, huh?" Kagami said. "Maybe it's today. I wonder how that's going to be..." Kagami mumbled.

"Yeah, I wonder if there's gonna be lots of cameras and stuff?" Konata said excitedly.

"Maybe! I guess we'll just have to find out!" Kagami said. "We also have to see about making plans to go see the Lion King. You know Tsukasa's gonna kill us if we miss it..." Kagami snickered.

"We will, but we might have too much to do today!" Konata said, a large smile on her face.

"Yeah!" Kagami said with equal enthusiasm.

"Listen, I just got up so I have to get ready, but do you wanna meet at the hospital?" Konata asked.

"Sure thing, I'll see you there!" Kagami said.

"See you there Kagami!" Konata hung up. She got dressed and exited her room. There was a silence about her house and her father and cousin were both still in bed, understandably as Sojiro had stayed up the night before and Yutaka was... well, Yutaka. Konata walked into the kitchen and looked around. She decided she wasn't very hungry and, thus, only made herself a piece of toast, figuring she had a long enough journey that she should get a move on as soon as possible. So as soon as her toast was finished, she grabbed it and started out the door, jogging at a luxurious pace for her, though still considerably faster then quite a few people could. She met Kagami literally at the door of the hospital.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Kagami's eyes opened. She got up from the grass she had apparently been sleeping in, since the first thing she saw when she awoke was grass around her. She looked to her left to see Konata also asleep, a lotus flower in her hair. Kagami pulled up a random blanket over the girl, looked around and saw a picnic laid out on a sheet of linen. She stood up and walked over, sitting down at it. Kagami glanced back to see Konata sitting at the picnic as well.

"What do we have Konata?" Kagami asked, oddly not questioning what they were doing, why they were there, nor any of the logic of the situation. Konata reached into the basket.

"Legumes!" Konata shouted.

"That's what you packed?" Kagami shouted.

"I got lemonade too!" Konata said defensively.

"Yeah yeah..." Kagami sighed. Somehow, Kagami found herself noticing Konata's lips. It normally would seem weird that she would notice something so small as the Otaku's lips, but that seemed to be what she was watching. "Do we have anything else?" Kagami asked distractedly, still enchanted by the girl's lips.

"I have some berries!" Konata brought of an assortment of different fruit.

"Not poisonous, I assume?" Kagami smiled.

"'Course not Kagamin!" Konata smiled back. Weird. Konata seemed to be glancing down a tad often... Kagami waited for her to sneak another look and followed her vision to see that the outfit she was wearing exposed her stomach. She blushed and put her arms across her abdomen.

"Ko-Konata... Why are you such a perv?" Kagami asked, looking away and blushing.

"'Cause you like me like that." Konata simply said, a smile adorning her lips. Kagami's blush darkened a hue.

"S-So?" Kagami stuttered. Konata's smile turned to an almost... seductive catgrin as she got onto her hands and knees and started crawling closer to Kagami. Once she was within a a foot of Kagami, she stopped suddenly. "Konata?" Kagami asked.

"First I have to call you!" Konata said, taking out her phone, bewildering Kagami. First of all, what did she mean "First"? What was she going to do? Kagami's subconscious answered:

_Whatever you wanted her to do silly, it's your dream!_ But she paid it no mind. Second, why did Konata need to call her if she was literally a foot away from her? Kagami's phone started ringing. As she picked it up, she realized she was no longer looking at... whoever had been in her dream, but into her pillow. She groaned as she picked herself up and answered the phone.

"Yeah? What is it?" Kagami asked, extraordinarily irritated because, while she couldn't remember a lot of the dream itself, she did remember she was enjoying it immensely. She had been quite happy in that dream. There was a second of silence that Kagami found a tad eerie, causing her to consider hanging up the phone.

"Hey Kagami..." She heard Konata on the other end. As the girl sounded frightened and guilty of something, a sense of dread filled Kagami.

"Konata? What's wrong? You sound scared!" Kagami asked, her overwhelming worry unwittingly carrying over into her voice.

"I was afraid I'd called too early and you were mad at me..." Konata muttered. Kagami felt a small amount of relief at hearing Konata wasn't hurt. Kagami tried to think of some way to lighten the mood. She thought a joke would be sufficient.

"When has the time stopped you before?" Kagami chuckled. The mood almost tangibly dropped as Konata replied.

"Oh... Then I did call too early..." Kagami heard the regret in Konata's voice. Kagami's eyes widened a bit.

_Stupid! That was a horrible thing to say, she just sounded sad that she called early..._Kagami scolded herself. _But why is she so sad? It's weird..._ "No, you didn't called too early, I-I just stubbed my toe on the way to breakfast!" Kagami lied in a hurry. She quickly realized that she had spoken way too quickly and Konata was sure to catch on to her lie.

"That's good..." Konata sighed. Kagami almost sighed in relief as Konata seemed oblivious to her lie. Konata didn't say anything else for a moment.

_I hope she's okay..._ Kagami thought. "So... What's up?" Kagami asked.

"Not much, just wanted to see what you though we should do today." Konata said, impressing Kagami.

"Calling to find out what I might want to do? Are you sure you're MY Konata?" Kagami couldn't help but giggle, expecting Konata to take a defensive tone as per usual.

"Well I-... just wanted to know, ya know..." Konata mumbled submissively. Kagami's heart seemed to crack a bit at hearing how sad Konata sounded. She got even more worried.

"Are you alright Konata? You've been acting odd recently. Like at McDonalds the other day. You bought me that shake for no reason, that's not like you..." Kagami said, her intent good but her choice of words horrible.

"Maybe I was just being generous!" Konata said defensively. Though Kagami knew that she was in the wrong, she wanted to know something.

"Out of nowhere?" Kagami asked, unintentionally allowing her skepticism to sneak into her voice.

"Kagami... You always do stuff for me, I just wanted to do something nice for you..." Konata mumbled. Kagami realized how terrible she was being to the poor girl as her heart almost broke for the same reason as before.

_I'm being so mean, why? Geez, how can I be so rude to her when she was just being nice to me? I'm an idiot... _She thought. "I'm sorry Konata. I'm being a jerk." Kagami sighed, her voice dripping in regret. She felt every bit of it too.

"It's alright Kagami, just try and believe me when I say I wanna do something nice... Please?" Konata asked. Kagami felt incredibly relieved for some reason at hearing Konata forgive her.

"Alright Konata... But that's not my only concern you know." Kagami said, already knowing by the way Konata had been talking how she would respond.

"What else?" Konata's tone took a dip, confirming Kagami's suspicion as to what she would do.

"That! That right there! You used to not care if I got irritated, you would even provoke me! But now you seem so... hesitant. You shrink when I get mad, but you never use to. Why the change?" Kagami asked. There was silence for a moment.

"Are you saying you miss me making you mad?" Konata asked, her tone sounding a bit... hopeful.

"I... What did you call for anyway?" Kagami asked, getting caught off guard by the question. She wouldn't say she didn't miss it but... "We've gotten way off track. Let's leave it at I was concerned for you..." Kagami blushed.

"Well, I wanted to know what you wanted to do today?" Konata repeated.

"I think we should go to see Tony and Tsukasa first, but what do we do then?" Kagami asked. She had a couple ideas, but she didn't know if Konata would enjoy any of them.

"When is Tony supposed to get the money from winning the tournament?" Konata asked.

"I dunno, I guess we should ask him when we get there, huh?" Kagami said. "Maybe it's today. I wonder how that's going to be..." Kagami mumbled.

"Yeah, I wonder if there's gonna be lots of cameras and stuff?" Konata said, sounding excited. It made Kagami smile from how happy she sounded.

"Maybe! I guess we'll just ask him when we get there, huh?" Kagami asked. She suddenly remembered something. "We also have to see about making plans to go see the Lion King. You know Tsukasa's gonna kill us if we miss it..." Kagami snickered.

"We will, but we might have too much to do today!" Konata said. By her tone, Kagami guessed the girl had a large smile on her face.

"Yeah!" Kagami said with equal enthusiasm.

"Listen, I just got up so I have to get ready, but do you wanna meet at the hospital?" Konata asked.

"Sure thing, I'll see you there!" Kagami said.

"See you there Kagami!" Konata hung up. Kagami hung up the phone and smiled. _I better get going, __knowing Konata she's gonna get there really quickly! Better just get something quick to eat like toast..._ Kagami thought as she did just that. She went through her morning routine and ran to the living room.

"Good morning Kagami." Miki shouted from the kitchen.

"Morning mom!" Kagami shouted. _I'm sure Tsukasa won't mind me borrowing her bike!_ She thought to the audience. Wait, no... Wrong story... She thought to herself.

"Would you like some waffles for breakfast?" Miki asked.

"No thanks, I've gotta get going!" Kagami shouted.

"Going to get Tsukasa?" Miki asked.

"Yeah, I was thinking maybe we could go see the new Lion King in 3d!" Kagami said excitedly.

"Tsukasa should like that!" Miki smiled.

"I know! She'd kill us if we missed it!" Kagami shouted.

"Well then you better get going, huh?" Miki giggled.

"Yeah, I'll be back later!" Kagami shouted, out the door. She hopped on her sister's bike and rode to Umehara Hospital. She saw Konata jogging up and actually met her at the door. "Wait... You ran here?" Kagami asked.

"Yup! Why?" Konata asked.

"I cycled here and I'm out of breath!" Kagami shouted. "How did you run here without getting tired?" Kagami asked. _She's got so much energy in such a small, cute body... Wait, cute? Why am I thinking that? _Kagami wondered. _… Because she's cute..._ Kagami decided. There's nothing wrong with admitting that your friend's cute, right? Right? Either way, Kagami could accept it. Konata was a very cute girl.

"Maybe I'm just more fit than you are Kagamin~. After all, I have quite a bit of martial arts training under my belt!" Konata chimed as the two entered the hospital.

"That's why I'm on a diet!" Kagami shouted.

"Kagami, you're on a diet because you think you're fat. You're not!" Konata insisted as the reached the desk. Kagami blushed.

_There it goes... Why do I get all flustered by something so simple?_ Kagami asked herself. She found she didn't know the answer, but yet was still unable to say anything as the desk attendant asked them if they were there to see her sister.

"Um, yes ma'am, I'm here to see my brother too." Konata said at seeing Kagami was incapacitated for some reason.

"Well he's in the same room he was the last time you visited!" The attendant said.

"Got it!" Konata grabbed Kagami's hand and pulled her to the room. They opened the door.

"Say ah~." They heard Tsukasa coo.

"Tsukasa, I've been eating for an hour now, I'm okay." Tony said.

"Nonsense, they said you needed to eat plus we have all of this food still, so eat! And say ah~." Tsukasa insisted. Kagami and Konata sneaked into the room and looked to see Tsukasa feeding Tony. As soon as the food was in Tony's reluctant mouth, Konata and Kagami looked at each other and began to giggle. Tsukasa jumped as she and Tony looked to see their sisters giggling at them. They both blushed.

"...I can explain." Tony muttered.

"Kan-kun can't eat with his left hand..." Tsukasa muttered.

"Oh really? The guy who can disappear, fight a god, and run faster than I can cycle with weights on can't eat with his left hand?" Kagami asked extremely skeptical.

"It's true Kagami." Tony said.

"Whatever you say..." Kagami giggled. She looked and saw there was basically a buffet in front of Tony. Kagami's stomach growled.

"Um..." Kagami muttered.

"Kagami, this food was put aside for me so that I could get back all the energy I lost yesterday. I've been eating for an hour. You're welcome to whatever you want." Tony said.

"...Thank you." Kagami said as if being given a gift from a god. Hell, given the recent events that had transpired, Tony wouldn't be all too surprised if she had been. She started to eat just about as fast as you would expect a saiyan to.

"Kagamin~, why are you so hungry?" Konata asked. Kagami didn't even stop eating to respond.

"No *nomnom* dinner, *nomnom* no *nomnom* breakfast *nomnom*!" Kagami ate, causing Konata to giggle. There came a knock at the door as Dr. Zimmerman came in with a clipboard.

"Okay Mr. Otokonoko, you're free to leave. Just don't go punching any steel walls, and you'll make a full recovery. Just let me take off the cast..." Dr. Zimmerman started to remove the cast. "And are you supposed to be eating the food here?" He asked Kagami, raising an eyebrow to her.

"It's alright, I was full and she hasn't eaten since yesterday morning." Tony said. "Please permit it." Dr. Zimmerman looked at him.

*Sigh* "Very well then." He finished with the cast. "I hope I never have to see you again, but I have a feeling I will. However, if I don't, it's been interesting to know you Mr. Otokonoko. I've never met a man who could heal himself from being shattered to almost in perfect health." The doctor said.

"The sentiment is mutual doc. ...Except for the healing part." Tony said, rolling his arm around and flexing his hand with opening and closing movements. "Thanks a lot!" Tony called. "I'll be able to pay you once I get the money from the tournament!"

"The bill has been paid." The doctor said. Tony gave a confused look.

"By who?" He asked.

"A mister... Shin." Doctor Zimmerman read. Tony blinked and laughed. "Do you know him?"

"You could say that!" Tony laughed. "If you see him, tell him thanks!"

"...Alright then. Goodbye Mr. Otokonoko." Dr. Zimmerman said.

"Goodbye." Tony said as the doctor left. They all got up and started out. Tsukasa turned her attention on her sister, who was finishing her last plate of food. Which was, completely by coincidence I'm sure, the last plate of food in the room.

"Onee-chan, was mom still asleep?" Tsukasa asked, reminding Tony of something.

"She offered me food, but I had to refuse 'cause I wanted to get here quick..." Kagami said. While the two talked, Tony motioned Konata over. She crept over, not attracting the attention of the twins.

"What's up?" Konata whispered.

"Let's have another "race" once we're out of here. I wanna talk to ya about something I noticed about their mother." Tony said.

"Gotcha!" Konata gave a small thumbs up.

"Goodbye Mr. Otokonoko!" The desk receptionist waved. "Hope we don't have to see you again!"

"Same here! No offense!" Tony waved as the walked out the door. As soon as they were outside, Konata turned to Tony.

"Ya know, I bet with your time in the hospital, I can beat you in a race now!" Konata shouted.

"You're on!" Tony shouted back as the two took off, leaving an annoyed Kagami and slightly panicking Tsukasa to try and keep up, though both failing. "Something's up with their mother."

"Their mother? What's that?" Konata asked as they ran.

"The woman who gave birth to them, but that's not important. Actually, I guess it is. Did you see her?" Tony asked, clearly excited. They both looked behind themselves and didn't see Kagami or Tsukasa. They slowed to a walk.

"What do you mean?" Konata asked, a confused look on her face. "Yeah, I saw her. But do you mean anything in particular?"

"Four children came out of her! She was still hot! That's what our girls are gonna look like when they get older!" Tony shouted. Konata giggled.

"Yeah, I kn-" Konata started to respond, but everything Tony had said suddenly hit her. "OUR girls? That mean you've changed your mind about Tsukasa?" Konata asked excitedly.

"Yeah, I think so." Tony smiled.

"Awesome! I'm so glad you've decided to be happy." Konata smiled. "I can even help you! I heard this from Kagami herself, Tsukasa likes y-" Konata started to say, but was cut off by Tony.

"Thank you for your help Konata, but this is something I need to do myself. No help." Tony smiled.

"But Tony, she likes-" Konata tried again.

"Konata. Please, I need to get her affections myself, if I don't I'll feel like I didn't earn it." Tony insisted. Konata huffed a small laugh.

_Well then... I guess I'll leave him to it..._ "Either way, I'm happy for you Tony. It wasn't nearly as hard to be happy are you were making it." Konata smiled warmly.

"... No wonder..." Tony muttered, seeing Konata's smile.

"What?" Konata asked.

"Nothing." Tony dismissed. _That smile is the kind of thing that's gonna get you Kagami._ He smiled.

"WILL YOU TWO STOP DOING THAT?" Kagami shouted as her and Tsukasa caught up. The two came to a stop and started breathing heavily, leaning on their knees. Tony looked to Konata.

"You know something Konata, there's always been one thing I never got about ya." He said. Konata looked back at him.

"What's that?" She asked.

"You're actually REALLY athletic. Why don't you join an athletic club at school or maybe an anime club?" Tony asked.

"Because I refuse to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members." Konata said in a serious voice. Tony laughed.

"So, who won?" Kagami asked, though obviously not very interested in the results considering the two people who were involved. Konata was athletic, yes, but hardly a match for Tony.

"Konata did." Tony said. That gave Kagami a shock.

"Wait, really?" She turned to Konata.

"No, Tony did." She said. Kagami blinked a few times.

"Okay, seriously." Kagami sighed.

"I won." Tony said.

"No, I did." Konata argued. Kagami facepalmed.

"Whatever..." She sighed again. "So what are we doing now?"

"Hmm... The winning ceremony isn't for a few hours..." Tony mumbled.

"Well, I have an idea!" Tsukasa chimed. Tony smiled.

"You want to go see Lion King 3D, don't you?" Tony smiled. Tsukasa lit up.

"That's exactly what I wanted!" She chimed.

"Well we should go see it, shouldn't we! We have the time!" Tony said happily.

"We should!" Tsukasa shouted. "Can we? Please oh please oh pleeeaaase~?" Tsukasa pleaded with her sister, jumping up and down.

"Well~..." Kagami said in mock thought. She had already decided they could if the majority vote was in favor. And it seemed that Tsukasa was _slightly_ excited.

"Onee-chan~!" Tsukasa hugged on to her sister and started rocking back and forth, bringing Kagami with her. Tony chuckled.

"Alright, I guess we can go." Kagami smiled.

"YA-..." Tsukasa started to cheer, but stopped herself.

"Tsukasa?" Kagami asked.

"...We need Yuki-chan." She said. "How are we gonna get to her though? It would take a little while for us to get there..." Tsukasa's ribbon drooped. Tony hummed.

"I can go get her." Tony offered.

"Maybe I should, I kinda borrowed your bike Tsukasa..." Kagami scratched the back of her head.

"That's okay Onee-chan! But what happened to your bike?" Tsukasa asked.

"It got ran over!" Kagami shouted.

"What?" Tsukasa shouted back.

"Yeah! For no reason too! Not even an accident!" Kagami shouted in frustration.

"Imma go pick the lock on Tsukasa's bike and get Miyuki, kthxbye." Tony jogged off.

"It wasn't an accident?" Konata asked, Tony's statement having fallen on deaf ears.

"No!" Kagami shouted.

"Who did it?" Konata asked.

"Misao's asshole brother!" Kagami said. "Backed over it in a car, probably just to piss off Misao thinking it was her bike."

"So those two really don't get along?" Konata asked.

"Nope. She can't stand him." Kagami said. "And neither can I."

"I can't either now! Before I just hated him, but not anymore. This has turned into full blown loathing!" Konata said. The trio continued ranting about things of the same nature, not even realizing that Tony was gone.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony was running back to the hospital, thinking of where he had seen a bicycle. Once he got there, he found the lock on the bike and quite swiftly hacked the combination. He took the bike and started off towards Miyuki's house. He thought...

_I have no clue where she lives!_ He realized. He stopped on the sidewalk. _Hm... I could call Masutā! He should know where Miyuki lives. As much as those two have been talking..._ Tony thought. He got his cellphone out and called his brother.

"Otōto? What's up?" Masutā asked.

"I just needed to know where Miyuki lives from the Umehara Hospital. I wanted to know if she wanted to watch Lion King in 3D." Tony said. There came a silence. All of the sudden, another voice came on the phone.

"Hello Kanpeki-san." Miyuki said.

"... !" Tony's mouth fell open. "Well hello Miyuki, are you at my house or is Masutā at your house?" Tony asked.

"He's at my house. Our sink stopped working so he offered to fix it today." Miyuki said.

"Oh! Well okay then. Do you want to come to Lion King 3D?" Tony asked.

"I'm not sure, I would feel bad about leaving Masutā here to fix our appliance while I'm at a movie." Miyuki said. Tony heard Masutā in the background.

"Go on Miyuki, there's no point in you spending your time here when you could be out with your friends. We can talk some more once you get back if you like." Masutā said.

"Are you sure Masutā?" Miyuki asked.

"Sure!" Masutā confirmed.

"Okay then... I'll come Kanpeki-san." Miyuki said.

"Alright, but I need to get to your house! I have a bike you can use to get to the mall." Tony said.

"Thank you, are you coming from the hospital?" Miyuki asked.

"Yeah." Tony confirmed.

"Okay, from there you take a right at..." Miyuki explained how to get to her house from the hospital. Since I don't know the way, I'm not gonna type it out.

"Alright, I'm on my way!" Tony said as Miyuki finished.

"I'll see you when you arrive Kanpeki-san." Miyuki said. Tony hung up.

"Well that was a surprise." Tony snickered. He started running with the bike. As he was running, he looked up by coincidence to see a meteor entering the atmosphere. Tony blinked his eyes as he realized it was... coming right for him! As soon as he realized this, he started running away from his current location. He suddenly seemed frozen except for his head. He looked up to see the meteor had redirected itself to intercept him... It suddenly landed, but caused no damage, nor did anyone seem to react at all... A being rose from the smoke. The smoke cleared to reveal Hachiman.

"Yo kid." He said.

"... You like making an entrance, don't you?" Tony asked.

"Oh yes I do." Hachiman chuckled. "Did you like being fed this morning?"

"That was your intention for that, wasn't it? You knew she was gonna do that..." Tony smirked.

"I most certainly did. Am I right to assume that you thoroughly enjoyed yourself?" Hachiman asked. Tony laughed.

"As a matter of fact, yes. I did enjoy that quite a bit. Thank you. So can anyone see you right now?" Tony asked. Everyone had seemed to stop, but no one looked.

"Actually, time is stopped." Hachiman said.

"Geez... Are you showing off?" Tony asked.

"A little bit." Hachiman smiled. "You're taking this surprisingly well. You're not freaking out that I just stopped time and exploded onto the ground." Hachiman said.

"Well, maybe I'm just not easy to startle." Tony shrugged. "Any word on my Godhood?" He chuckled.

"That's what I came for. Here's what I can do. You can either just get a flat increase to your strength, or I can see about special powers." Hachiman said.

"What kind of special powers?" Tony asked.

"Well, technically, you can do anything. Basically, you control the energy in the environment around you. You'd be surprised with that you can do when you take hold of the energy." Hachiman explained.

"... Anything." Tony said.

"Anything. But let me show you what I mean." Hachiman said. Tony suddenly felt REALLY weird. As if something were watching him from the inside. "I'm in your mind. Don't fight, it'll only cost you energy. Now, I'm going to produce fire by adding energy to the area above my hand without letting it expand. However, the energy used will be yours." Hachiman said. He put his hand out with his palm faced up. Fire erupted out of it and went about a foot from the God's hand. Tony felt his energy drop massively. His knees almost buckled as they lost their energy as well. After about ten seconds of the fire being sustained, Hachiman extinguished the flame. Tony's vision blurred just a tad from how much energy he lost.

"...Whoa..." Tony blinked to clear his vision.

"Yeah. So you can do anything, but quite a lot will kill you from the effort of trying it." Hachiman said.

"Question. Can I train myself to have more energy to do more?" Tony asked.

"Of course." Hachiman nodded.

"Awesome. And the other thing, the strength increase. What does that entail?" Tony asked.

"Twice your current strength." Hachiman said. Tony's eyes widened.

"That's a lot of strength but..." He muttered. "What does the other thing make me?" He asked. Hachiman shrugged.

"God, Sage, Sorcerer, whatever you want to call yourself." Hachiman chuckled.

"Cool. However, I've been thinking a bit since our last talk and I don't think I'm going to call myself a god." Tony said.

"And why's that?" Hachiman asked.

"Because it's going to be a long while until I'm anywhere near as strong as a god. I'm still a far cry now though." Tony said.

"Makes sense. What will you call your God of Fighting mode?" Hachiman asked.

"Maybe Sage Mode." Tony pondered.

"So are you going to make your choice now or later?" Hachiman asked.

"I think... I'll take the special power. Make me a sorcerer!" Tony smiled widely.

"Gotcha!" Hachiman said. "Now you realize this comes with no power increase. You'll be just as strong as you were five minutes ago, so something like that fire will tire you out just as easily." The god warned.

"Understood." Tony nodded.

"Alright..." Hachiman muttered as he seemed to be concentrating. Tony suddenly felt something click in his head. His concentration sharpened slightly as if he had gained another sense or if a current neglected sense was suddenly strengthened a thousand times over. "Okay. Reality will follow your will as long as you have the energy to lead it." Hachiman said.

"'Nother question." Tony said.

"Yes?" Hachiman asked.

"Can I enchant things and make potions?" Tony asked. Hachiman put a hand to his chin in thought.

"I... suppose technically you could enchant things... You could infuse it with energy enough to make it follow your will and make it do what you want it to or to have the attributes you desire. That would take a lot of energy though, and for it's effect to activate it would need more energy. So yes you could enchant something to do something, but it would take an extreme amount of energy to pull it off." Hachiman said.

"And potions?" Tony asked.

"Hmm... I guess you could enchant a mixture for one time use when someone uses it... But it would have nothing to do with the ingredients... So yes you can, but it would still take a lot of energy." Hachiman said.

"Sweetness." Tony smiled.

"Just a couple things." Hachiman said.

"Yes?" Tony asked.

"Well, I can't let you go around with these powers completely undisciplined. So for right now, I'll keep you in a contained area and give you access to my energy. You'll be able to experiment with your powers without fear of harming yourself or others permanently." Hachiman said. Tony felt his energy seemingly become limitless. It almost overwhelmed him. It did for a minute.

"Okay... So... How do I do things?" Tony asked.

"Undoubtedly you felt something get stronger in your head." Hachiman said.

"Yeah." Tony confirmed.

"Well... it's hard to explain how you do it verbally... Then again, I suppose you're not COMPLETELY unused to using this ability..." Hachiman put his hand to his mouth in thought.

"Wa-wait... you have a way of losing me in conversation." Tony muttered.

"Well, everyone has the innate ability to do at least some sort of increased power like this. However, it's either locked up in their head, classified as a genetic mutation, or small enough that they merely dismiss it to being athletic or mentally gifted." Hachiman explained.

"Whoa... That seems... made up." Tony said. "What would an example be?" He asked.

"Well, look at you. Remember during our match, when you used your Howling Voice?" The God asked.

"Yeah, nearly knocked me out..." Tony scratched his head.

"Now. Explain to me how you could do that." Hachiman said.

"Well... My vocal cords are just super powerful?" Tony said in a manner that made it sound like a question.

"Point proven. If that's so, how do you get the necessary oxygen to yell that loud for that long, even with your larger lung capacity? On a similar note, your friend Kagami brought up interesting points when she asked you about the physics of your "God of Fighting mode". How don't you crush the ground when you jump and such?" Hachiman asked.

"Um... I... Okay, you got me." Tony said. "I figured it was more of a "Did not do their research" type of thing on the writer's part..."

"No, you're subconsciously using the ability I just strengthened for you. I didn't actually give you any ability, I strengthened it. The sound coming from your lungs was indeed much louder then normal, however, if you voice was really made of sonic booms, everything around us would have been leveled. So the sound hurt, but the energy was directed at me, which is why it didn't damage your eardrums or those of your friends. It was that energy that made my ears bleed and caused my strength to falter. It was the same with you running and jumping and such. You don't crush the ground because you're using an ability to push off with a minute amount of energy. But how to explain to you how to use this at free will now that you can use it for so much more?" Hachiman wondered. Tony took a minute to absorb everything he had just been told. He was a sorcerer and didn't even know it! After a moment, Tony came up with an idea.

"You entered my mind before, couldn't you use the same method to show me what to do?" Tony asked.

"Capital idea!" Hachiman smiled. He started to do just that, but retracted his thoughts at the last second, a thoughtful look on his face.

"What's up?" Tony asked.

"I got an idea." The god smiled. He walked over to Tony, put a hand that looked like it was supposed to be a claw to the side of his face, and stared in his eyes intensely. "My mind to your mind. My thoughts to your thoughts." He said as his presence was once again made know in Tony's mind. "You can now control your powers better. You can use them." He said with a straight face. It only lasted a minute until he started to crack up.

"Man, you're awesome dude." Tony laughed. He then breathed deeply.

"A tip. It helps to say or think what you want to happen so that you don't make a mistake." Hachiman said. "It's much better to say what you intend so that a stray thought doesn't interfere and cause irreparable damage. For example, if you want to catch an enemy on fire, but you happen to glance at. Tsukasa, you may inadvertently light HER on fire instead." Hachiman warned. "You CAN connect your "spell", for lack of a better word, to only an intent, but that's extremely dangerous for anyone, even the very best."

"Got it... Thanks." Tony muttered. He started thinking of what he would like to try. "First..." Tony muttered, putting his hand out, palm up. "Fire!" He shouted. Nothing happened. "...Erm..."

"You have to say it with energy. Like this." Hachiman took dominance over Tony's body. Tony fought it for a few seconds in panic. After all, losing control of one's body is somewhat disconcerting if such an understatement can be made. He felt an odd sensation that he felt he could somehow control as his body shouted "Fire!". He could tell that, while the energy he was infused with lowered, it was only infinitesimally compared to how much there was. He regained control over his limbs again. "Now you." The God gestured. Tony remembered the sensation and put his hand out.

"Fire!" He shouted. Flames sprung from his hand at such a volume that it burned Tony's face. He put his other hand over his face, but not before accidentally running it through the flames still sprouting from his hand. "Ow! Damn it!" He yelled. "Stop!" He shouted at his hand. It followed his command. "Damn..." He muttered in agony. "Can you help with this?" He asked Hachiman.

"Yes, but maybe you should do it. You can do that now." Hachiman chuckled.

"Oh right... Heal." Tony said, causing his face and hand to stop throbbing as a green aura of energy ran through them. He looked at his hand to see it was as good as new. "Sweet." Tony smiled.

"That healing alone would have left you incapacitated. Let alone the fire... You need better control." Hachiman said. "Let's try it again..." The God said. Tony sighed.

**What would normally be about an hour later**

"Well, you still lack a fair bit of control, I would recommend laying off until you can practice more, but I think you're good to go." Hachiman said.

"Wait, if I need more practice, why are you going now?" Tony asked.

"You ever stop an entire existence from moving before? Even by my standards, it's tiring." Hachiman said.

"True, I guess I didn't think about that... I guess my lighting myself on fire a few dozen times and healing didn't exactly help either, did it?" Tony scratched the back of his head.

"Don't worry, it was more the cosmos halting that got me tired, not really your fire making." Hachiman chuckled. "Okay, so is there anything else you wanted to try or any questions you had?" Hachiman asked.

"Hmmm, can I try summoning something and enchanting something?" Tony asked. Hachiman shrugged.

"Sure, go for it kid." He said. "First, talk yourself through the process."

"Okay then... First I'll have to... think of what I want to summon..." Tony said. He thought of the object. After that, his head started to blank. "Um... What next?" Tony asked. The god laughed.

"Use the energy around what you want to summon to pull it apart at the molecular level, bring it here, and restructure. All you'll really have to do is provide the energy to do it, it's hard to explain, but the best way to put it is that it... "knows", for lack of a better word, how it's supposed to be constructed." Hachiman said. Tony gulped.

"O-Okay..." Tony brought an image of the object to his mind's eye. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!" He said, willing the item to be teleported to his hand. The object materialized in his hand. "Awesome. What kind of energy did that take?" Tony asked.

"Not too bad, you might be just short of exhausted though." Hachiman said. "But then again, that was a long way. Interesting choice." Hachiman said, beholding the box Tony held.

"Yeah, I thought I might give it to her today... Or maybe at the festival coming up." Tony smiled, opening the box and seeing the necklace. "Now, how about enchanting things?" Tony asked. Hachiman looked amused.

"Nice plan, getting the item you want to enchant here and enchant it, all while not using energy of your own and learning how to do it." Hachiman laughed.

"Ah, caught on, eh?" Tony smiled.

"You got an idea of what you want to enchant that with?" Hachiman asked.

"Yeah." Tony whispered in the god's ear. Hachiman laughed.

"You're making use of everything I'm teaching you here, aren't you kid? You just learned how to do that!" Hachiman laughed. "Alright, basically you'll just have to provide energy and tell it what you want it to do. What you're talking about it doing is really dangerous though. Good luck whenever it takes effect." The god shrugged. Tony smiled. He closed his eyes and started mumbling everything he wanted the amulet to do, when he wanted it to do it, how he wanted to do it, specifying everything down to the last detail to make sure that everything he wanted accomplished would happen when it needed to. Tony finally finished. He opened his eyes to see Hachiman had actually started to breath a little heavily. "That was one hell of an enchantment you just put on it, wasn't it?" He asked.

"Yeah, was it too much?" Tony asked.

"Nah, don't worry about it, I just wasn't expecting something of that magnitude considering you've just started with this stuff. And that was an interesting attachment. If neither you nor her has the energy, it's taken from the environment around her? You're already starting to think outside the box with these spells." Hachiman said.

"Well, I won't always have your... formidable resources." Tony said. "However, taking energy from the air is dangerous if I take too much."

"I know what you mean." Hachiman said. "Be careful not to have to use that spell if neither of you have any energy." The god warned.

"Yeah. The more energy I take from the air, the slower the air molecules move, the colder it gets." Tony muttered.

"I know. I just said I did." Hachiman deadpanned. "Now before I go, I trust you will NOT misuse these powers?"

"Of course not. I'm going to use them to protect my friends and family." Tony said.

"I figured that, but I had to ask anyway. I can tell you aren't lying. Anyway, I better get going, this reality stopping is really starting to exhaust me."

"Alright. Thank you so much for all of this..." Tony smiled. "Farewell, only the gods know when we shall meet again." Tony smiled.

"Yes. Yes I do. I'll see you later kid, and welcome to the super-powered people." Hachiman said before he disappeared. Tony felt his maximum energy drop back to a normal level.

_Cool... Now I can show Mrs. Hiiragi that I wasn't lying! Haha, even though I was at the time... Even so though, if this is going to be useful at all, I'm gonna have to be smart about it. Right now, I can barely do anything... I can't just blast stuff, that would do more harm to me then it would to them. So, how can I make my energy last longer..._ Tony thought as time started up again. He started off towards Miyuki's house again.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya luckies! I'm Akira Kogami, your navigator!"

"And I'm Minoru Shiraishi, the assistant!"

"Shiraishi-san, did you hear? Kan-chan is gonna have super powers now!" Akira exclaimed excitedly.

"Yeah, I did! But like he said, chances are is that he won't be able to use it for much since it takes so much energy." Minoru said.

"Oh?" Akira said.

"Yeah, and I'm not sure if he even should use them, you know?"

"Oh?" Akira said, getting annoyed.

"I mean, what if something he wants to do goes awry? Like, a misworded spell or something?"

"Look, the guy just wants to protect the people close to him, alright? Why don't you just lay off?" Akira said, almost in a threatening voice. Minoru got a shiver down his spine.

"I'm sorry Akira, it's just weird that an everyday normal person could do something like that! I mean, control reality? I'm going to go ahead and say what's on everyone's mind right now. It's absolutely ludicrous!" Minoru said. "I mean, come on! No one can really do magic and all that stuff, right?"

"... Yeah, it's unlikely to the point where I could go get a burnt coke, but still. Cut some slack, Ac has probably had this all planned for a long time. What I wonder is what he made the amulet do." Akira pondered.

"Me too... Still laughable though..." Minoru mumbled, though quickly silenced by a look from Akira.

*Music Tone*

"Well I guess that's all the time we have for today! I'll see you all next chapter, bye nii!"

"..."

"So you think he shouldn't have these powers?"

"I dunno, I guess we'll just have to see..."

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

*sniff sniff* You smell that? That's the smell of frying coke. The kind from a vending machine, not the drug. Oh man, this chapter filled up quick. One moment, I'm at 5K and want a couple more, next think I know I'm at 10K and wishing I could just keep writing. But unfortunately, had I continued, it would have been at least 2K words before I found anything close to another good stopping point. Killa, did you predict that was going to happen with Tony's arm? If so, good job! Sqweebs, buddy, I promise I didn't mean to take your joke XD If I did, sorry about that! Ah, the funny part about this chapter is that I wanted to keep writing, I didn't mean for it to end until a while after it did lol. To all the stories I read and Beta for, but never review, I'm super sorry. I'm REALLY bad about reviewing consistently, even though they review on each and every one of my chapters. Hell, Flygon reads them before hand, gives me a review in his email back, and then posts one of the website! It's no excuse, but I'm pretty hard-pressed for time with a few other obligations I've had for a while that are pretty time consuming. A few nights without sleep usually helps with time XD Wanna hear something weird, a little fun fact about the writer? I write much better when I'm tired then when I'm fully awake and aware. I don't know why, one of my friends is like that too. They write amazing poetry when they can't sleep at night. Like, the kind of stuff you see in all the old books that you have to read in English classes. I'm rambling. Back about the story. Yes, I have an extreme affinity for magic. I don't know why, it just seems amazingly awesome to me. The explanations I have for Tony's new thing were things I thought about literally years ago. I could figure how to do just about anything with the control of energy. Read minds, paralyze, create fire, you name it. I should probably wrap this up about now. I can NOT shut up when I'm tired. See you next chapter!


	26. Chapter 26: Lion King IN 3D!

Chapter 26: Lion King IN 3D!

Hey nifty America, it's me, your President John Hen- Hahaa, gotcha! A C here, how's everyone doin'? Killa! I musta read your review a hundred times, man. I got a question though! Tony is overpowered? James has a bit of power himself ya know ;) And just because the only person to beat Tony so far is a god, that doesn't mean he's gonna landslide every fight he gets into, now does it? He might not even completely win a few! Who knows? I mean other then me, that is. I know just about everything that's going to happen. Of course, oddly, there are times when I have put things in that I not only didn't mean to put in, but shorten my story considerably. I've been debating on whether to tell you guys some of the things I didn't mean to happen and did and what I meant to happen and didn't. Maybe I'll tell you guys after the end of my story XD XD... You all probably don't know why that's funny, do you? I'll tell you all after this chapter!... Maybe. Sqweebs, you better believe I have more references planned. Look forward to it! Yes Holy, the focus has been almost completely on Tony since the tournament began. Don't worry! I knew that was happening and the focus shall return to Konami soon enough! But yes, Tony does appear quite overpowered. Here comes the long response... Aria! My perfectionist! You've said my story doesn't advance very quickly and I agree! So, I offer you this! Maybe next chapter, I'll just type. I won't worry about length. See if I can't pound out at least 30K words in the next one! Tony's name is Kanpeki, unless there's something I missed. Are you sure it's chargin and not chagrin? I was always told that chagrin was how it's spelled. That would have been a good time to use Kagamin. And Konata asleep, then at the picnic was because it was a dream :P Legumes is a word that means either a type of seeds or, in french, most any type of vegetable. In a lot of fanfictions I've read, usually only the girls and family use honorifics, I suppose that just rubbed off on me, sorry .. That and the fact that the character I based the doctor off of wasn't Japanese, so he never used honorifics. I just didn't think to change it... That phrase "It wasn't nearly as hard to be happy as you were making it." basically means that Tony refused to pursue what made him happy... I think... With the "pleaded with" part, that was basically the same deal with the honorifics. By "Half the story", did you mean chapter? Because I probably haven't hit the half way point of this story. And I checked, Hachiman's part in the chapter was about 1/3 of the chapter, though that was unintentional... It started as about 1K words :P I got carried away. Yeah, I like Naruto a bit, not overly much, but I found a good area to hit references that I knew! And oh yes, the tournament is over! Let the fluff fly! That's not to say there won't be more fights in the future, but they won't take over more then one chapter more then likely. But I might make one I was intending for later sooner to prove a point ;) Don't worry about offending me! I'm fine with any critique anyone has for me, it helps me as a writer to get better. Most of the spelling mistakes or grammar mistakes is just because I rewrote that part, but forgot to change that bit. I do rewrite quite a bit in the chapters before I post it, I figure it's only natural that I miss a couple things.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony was walking with Tsukasa's bike, thinking over what the God had done and said. He pulled out the necklace and gazed at it as he walked, thinking about all that had happened. He smiled.

_She's going to be safe from now on. When I give her this, my love will always be safe._ Tony sighed with relief. _Well, the sooner I get Miyuki, the sooner I can get back and see her!_ Tony smiled. He started to run, pulling the bike beside him.

* * *

**POV Konata**

"Man, now I wouldn't mind him getting the hell beat out of him. Maybe we can get Tony to kill him! What do you say Tony?" Konata looked at where Tony was. Or at least, where he use to be. "Tony? Where did he go?" Konata asked.

"I dunno..." Kagami looked around. She gave a questioning look to Tsukasa.

"I don't know either Onee-chan..." Tsukasa said. She started thinking. "Maybe he went to go get Yuki-chan?" Tsukasa suggested.

"That would make sense, he's the fastest of us. Or at least..." Kagami gave a questioning look to Konata. "I think?" Konata laughed.

"Yeah, he is. But I still won!" Konata pumped her fist in the air. Kagami smiled.

"You did, did you?" She asked.

"No. He won." Konata calmed down. Kagami sighed.

"Would you make up your mind Konata?" Kagami facepalmed, a little impatient with Konata's evasive responses she had been making. Konata shrank a bit.

"Alright... He really won..." Konata mumbled. Kagami's head snapped back at the Otaku.

"Konata, we need to talk." Kagami said seriously. "Tsukasa, could you go get Miyuki? I'm sure that's where Tony went, so you could see him that much sooner." Kagami said.

"Um.. Sure thing Onee-chan..." Tsukasa mumbled.

_Wow, this must be serious if she's sending Tsukasa out on her own. She's usually so protective of her sister..._ Konata thought.

_I need to talk to Konata in private, besides I'm sure Tsukasa will be okay. If I know Tony, he'd appear out of thin air if she got into any danger..._ Kagami thought as Tsukasa turned and started towards Miyuki's house. Once she was out of earshot, Kagami turned back to Konata. "Okay Konata. I'm sorry, but I don't know what to do any more." Kagami sighed. Konata gave the Tsundere a confused look. "You keep getting like that. On almost anything that makes me the slightest bit irritated, you shrink. Why? What's the big deal?" Kagami asked.

"Kagami, I just don't want to annoy you anymore." Konata said.

"Konata, I've told you time and again, you don't annoy me! Stop saying that you do!" Kagami insisted.

"Are you saying you liked me when I irritated you, when I... got on your nerves?" Konata asked.

"YES!" Kagami yelled. She suddenly blushed. "Konata, look... Just don't change, okay? You can irritate me some times, but... you could be a lot worse." Kagami smiled as she put her knuckles on her Otaku's head affectionately. Konata smiled.

_Okay, just be yourself, just be yourself, just be yourself-_ She repeated in her mind, ignoring her fears. "Thanks Kagamin~!" Konata hugged Kagami around the waist. Kagami blushed deeper.

_She's back..._ Kagami thought as a bit of joy ran through her head. "Hey now, that's enough." Kagami scolded, pushing Konata back, the Otaku flailing her arms slightly as Kagami was wretched from her arms.

"But Kagamin~!" Konata protested. Kagami smiled and sighed.

_She really is cute... _"...Okay fine." Kagami released the girl, who promptly took advantage of the situation Kagami had given her and tackled her with a hug. Unfortunately, she hadn't thought that Kagami wasn't expecting such a forceful embrace and the two ended up on the ground, Konata's arms scratched up, Kagami almost hitting her head on the ground. "Ow, Konata!" Kagami shouted as her back hit the ground, but was cushioned by Konata's soft arms.

"Sorry Kagamin!" Konata shouted, hurt, but happy that she could be herself around the girl she so loved.

"It's alright I guess... Just be more careful." Kagami pushed Konata up, then got herself to her own feet. She stretched her back to try and ease the small amount of damage done to it. Then, she looked at Konata's arms and saw the side they landed on was cut up.

"...Ouch..." Konata muttered.

"Konata, are you okay?" Kagami asked in a panic. "We should go home! Or to the hospital! Lion King can wait!" Kagami inspected Konata's arms.

"No, it's okay Kagami! I'll be fine!" Konata said. Kagami looked thoroughly unconvinced.

"Konata, your bleeding. Come on." Kagami started pulling Konata by the arm, near her shoulder so she didn't hurt the girl further.

"Kagamin, I'm-" Konata started.

"Konata, what happened?" Tony shouted.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony was jogging back to the girls with Miyuki in tow on the bike, Tony having picked her up a moment ago. They had been traveling in relative silence for about a minute until Tony broke the silence.

"I've made a decision Miyuki." Tony said.

"About what Kanpeki-san?" Miyuki asked in reply.

"I'm going to see if I can get Tsukasa to go out with me. I'm sorry for taking so long to see that I was wrong." Tony said.

"Really? I'm happy to hear that Kanpeki-san. It shouldn't be terribly hard for you to get her to date you, she already likes you." Miyuki said.

"Oh? Did she tell you?" Tony asked.

"No, but I could see that she likes someone. And you're the only boy she knows now as far as I know." Miyuki informed.

"Hm... I'll think about it..." Tony smiled. _If she's telling me the truth, this may not be as hard as I thought it would be. Man, I so hope she's right!_ Tony shouted excitedly in his head. Tony decided he should ask what was on his mind. "So Miyuki, is there anything going on between you and my brother?" Tony asked, a smile on his face.

"We-well, he has been walking me home often, but I don't think it's any more then that." Miyuki said.

"You sure? A little hanky-panky before he started on your sink?" Tony asked with a smirk.

"N-no..."

"After?"

"Nuh-uh."

"During?" Tony smirked wider. He looked over to see Miyuki was blushing.

"No, nothing is going on!" Miyuki said.

"You absolutely sure? Maybe the whole "sink" thing was a code you two were using?" Tony chuckled in his head.

"Kanpeki-san, I assure you, I'm not dating Masutā." Miyuki said.

"Whatever you say Miyuki! I just noticed that you dropped the "san" from after his name!" Tony laughed as Miyuki's blush deepened a bit. He decided she had had enough heckling and so had another thought. "Hey Miyuki, you're Tsukasa's best friend, right?"

"I'm not sure where I am in her thoughts, but I do consider her to be my closest friend. Much like a sister to me. Why?" Miyuki asked. Tony slowed to a walk, Miyuki barely able to slow down quick enough. "Kanpeki-san?"

"Miyuki, if I show you this, you have to PROMISE me that you're not gonna tell anyone else about it. You hear?" Tony asked, looking Miyuki in the eye. Miyuki could tell by the intensity of his stare that he was absolutely serious.

"You have my word Kanpeki-san." Miyuki bowed on the bike. Tony sighed.

"Alright then. Here it is." Tony fished around in his pocket. He brought out the amulet he had bought. Miyuki's eyes widened as he opened the box, in awe of the gem, which at the moment was violet. "I bought this for Tsukasa. The merchant said it was Alexandrite because it changes from blue-green to violet. I figured it would match Tsukasa's hair sometimes and sorta-kinda her eyes at others." Tony smiled. Miyuki suddenly had a perplexed look on her face.

"Kanpeki-san, are you sure he said it shifts colors to violet, not red?" Miyuki asked.

"I'm pretty sure, why?" Tony asked.

"Alexandrite turns red to red-violet from blue-green, not to violet. Or at least not this violet." Miyuki said.

"Really? You're sure?" Tony asked.

"Positive. This isn't Alexandrite." Miyuki said.

"Huh... I wonder what it is then..." Tony muttered.

"It isn't a gemstone that I recognize. Maybe you should get it appraised?" Miyuki said.

"Masutā offered to have a friend inspect it, I think I'll take him up on that offer now. So what do you think of the necklace itself?" Tony asked.

"I think it's beautiful. If you truly want to date Tsukasa, that most certainly won't hurt. But..." Miyuki trailed off.

"Miyuki?" Tony asked.

"Don't just buy her love, because that's not real love. If you wish to get her, please do it the right way." Miyuki asked. Tony smiled.

"Miyuki, I understand your concerns. That necklace did cost a pretty yen. But you have no reason to worry. I never had any intention of attempting to buy her love. That would kill the fun of the hunt." Tony winked. Miyuki giggled.

"I apologize for doubting you." Miyuki smiled.

"Don't worry about it Miyuki! To be honest, if some popular rich guy tried to take Tsukasa from me by basically showering her with presents, I'd be suspicious too. Like maybe a guy with a rich uncle..." Tony looked at the camera slowly. He suddenly heard the voice of a guy who he could have sworn sat near Tsukasa in class shout out:

"Hard smash to your left Flygon-sama!"

_Kyon? What the hell is he doing here, this isn't his story! Did we just get off two story references at the __same time?_ Tony smiled.

"Kanpeki-san, who are you talking to?" Miyuki asked. Tony realized he had just spoken to thin air and shrugged.

"I dunno. Just... stuff." Tony said. "Just know, my intentions are pure Miyuki. Or well..." Tony averted his gaze. "As pure as they can be..." He scratched his cheek. Miyuki's face got a bit red from that one.

"We-well, just don't hurt her, okay?" Miyuki said. There was a slightly familiar air around Miyuki as she said this, one Tony recognized from when Kagami told him the same thing. It was enough of a similarity that Tony turned and looked back at Miyuki. This action seemed to make her bolder.

"Don't worry!" Tony said. "I'm not gonna hurt her."

"You better not or I'll..." Miyuki seemed to try and think about the most painful thing she could think of. "Or I'll rip out your intestines and skip rope with them!" Miyuki shouted, emblazoned by her passion to keep the girl she considered her sister safe. Tony stopped and took a step back by the sudden outburst.

"Mi-Miyuki? Are you alright? That doesn't sound like you at all..." Tony muttered.

"I-I'm sorry Kanpeki-san. I don't know what came over me..." Miyuki apologized, distraught by her random shout.

"Geez, what's with you girls?" Tony asked.

"What do you mean?" Miyuki asked.

"Well, Kagami said that if I hurt Tsukasa, she'll tear my intestines out and strangle me with them. You just said that you'd tear them out and skip rope with them. What's with this strange obsession with my intestines that everyone seems to have?" Tony asked, scratching my head.

"I-I'm sorry Kanpeki-san! I didn't mean to be so rough..." Miyuki muttered.

"It's alright Miyuki, you just caught me off guard is all. So let me get this straight... If I should hurt Tsukasa, which I won't, should I just save you two half the trouble and tear out my own intestines so you two won't have to get your hands as dirty?" Tony asked before laughing. Miyuki, despite the morbid nature of the subject of conversation at hand, found herself giggling. Suddenly, they heard the airhead they had been talking about from a distance.

"Hi Kan-kun! Hi Yuki-chan!" Tsukasa waved.

"Hey there!" Tony waved back. Miyuki made a similar salutation, but didn't wave since she was steering the bike. _Have we really made it back to them already?_ Tony wondered.

"Kanpeki-san, you should come up with a nickname for Tsukasa." Miyuki whispered before Tsukasa was close enough to hear.

"You think?" Tony asked.

"Definitely if you intend to date her." Miyuki smiled.

"What do you suggest?" Tony asked.

"I know a good nickname, but you have to come up with it yourself, that way it's more personal!" Miyuki said. Before they could commune any more, Tsukasa was too close for them to whisper to each other any more. Tony started thinking of a name.

"So you did go to get Yuki-chan!" Tsukasa chimed.

"Yeah! As you said, we needed her to go see Lion King, and we did." Tony smiled.

"Alright, let's go back to get Onee-chan and Kona-chan!" Tsukasa smiled as she turned back around and started walking the way she came. Tony looked to see Miyuki looking expectantly at him. Tony took a breath as they followed Tsukasa.

"..." Tony thought. "...So Tsu-chan-" Tony started. Tsukasa looked back at him, a surprised look on her face. It caused Tony to blush.

"Kan-kun, you gave me a nickname!" Tsukasa's eyes seemed to glitter. Tony almost backed up in surprise to her reaction.

"We-well yeah! You gave me one a long time ago, I figured it was about time I returned the favor." Tony chuckled nervously.

"Hm~... Tsu-chan..." Tsukasa hummed.

"Um- If you don't like it, I could come up with something else!" Tony said, an unusual feeling of apprehension gripping him.

"No, I like it!" Tsukasa smiled, easing Tony's thoughts.

"Good, I'm glad." Tony sighed in relief.

"Kan-kun, you should come up with a nickname for all of us!" Tsukasa said excitedly. Tony sweatdropped a bit as she missed the entire point of the nickname.

"Maybe I will!" Tony scratched his head. He gave a look to Miyuki, who sympathetically glanced back.

"You could call her Yuki-chan! Or come up with your own!" Tsukasa said with a great deal of enthusiasm. Tony realized he wasn't getting out of it without either agreeing to a nickname or coming up with one himself.

"Hm... How about... Mooki-chan?" Tony asked, offering a questioning look to Miyuki. She shrugged almost unnoticeably.

"Sure, if you wish." Miyuki said.

"That's such a cute name!" Tsukasa squealed. Tony smiled and chuckled.

_And that's such a cute reaction!_ He squealed in his mind.

"So Kan-kun, how did you get my bike?" Tsukasa asked.

"I picked the lock." Tony gave her the open lock.

"Bu-but it was a combination lock!" Tsukasa shouted.

"I know, but it was still relatively easy for me. No lock is unpickable, even combination locks. A few quick seconds and the lock was off." Tony smiled.

"So, any news with Konata-san and Kagami-san?" Miyuki asked.

"... This is how you got to know about-..." Tony cut himself off.

"Mhm." Miyuki nodded sheepishly.

"About what?" Tsukasa looked between the two as a question mark appeared above the girl's head.

"Nothing, don't worry about it Tsu-chan." Tony smiled to her.

"Well, Onee-chan talks about Kona-chan a lot." Tsukasa chimed up.

"... Konata likes Kagami. She told me herself." Tony said. "So, any ideas about how to help those two get along?" Tony asked.

"Kona-chan could ask Onee-chan something like for a super big homework report to find out how she feels?" Tsukasa suggested.

"Uh... Tsu-chan, how does that make sense?" Tony asked.

"We-well, if Onee-chan likes Kona-chan, she would probably do it, right?" Tsukasa quickly explained.

"Ah, I see where you're coming from. But couldn't you just ask her? I mean, knowing that Kagami is a Tsundere, she's probably gonna say no anyway." Tony commented.

"She'd say yes!" Tsukasa argued.

"Would you care to lay a bet on this?" Tony asked Tsukasa.

"I don't need to bet on this, I know Onee-chan will say yes!" Tsukasa insisted.

"I'll bet you a jumbo size tub of popcorn at the movies tonight that she says no." Tony smiled.

"Fine then, you're on!" Tsukasa said, a determined look on her face.

"Anyway, speaking of which, why aren't you with Konata and Kagami?" Tony asked.

"Onee-chan wanted me to come find you after you disappeared, but I think she wanted to talk to Kona-chan." Tsukasa said.

"Hmmm... I wonder what that's about. Maybe we should quicken the pace a bit, we've been gone a little while. Let's go, eh?" Tony smiled.

"Yeah!" Tsukasa cheered. They started jogging at a pace Tsukasa could keep up with without getting overly tired.

"How long were you walking?" Tony asked, trying to get an estimate of how long it would take them to get to the girls.

"I dunno..." Tsukasa huffed a bit. She was slowly getting tired, even at the relatively slow pace Tony was going. Tony stopped, causing the other two to stop after a few feet. Tony walked ahead of them and took to a knee.

"Get on Tsukasa, you're getting tired." Tony insisted. Tsukasa's face turned red.

"Bu-but I don't wanna be a burden!" Tsukasa said.

"It's no burden at all! I'm used to carrying more then a hundred kilos on my shoulder, you are NOT heavy. I'd peg you for at most 55 Kilos." Tony smiled. Tsukasa's face turned deep red.

"I-I don't know..." Tsukasa muttered.

"Well? Get on!" Tony shouted.

"... Okay..." Tsukasa obliged. She got on his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. Tony put his arms around her legs and gave a tiny squeeze to let her know he was about to go.

"In case of emergency, the exits are here, here, here, here-" Tony started.

"Kan-kun..." Tsukasa interrupted.

"Made that reference already?" Tony asked.

"Kinda."

"Aw... Alright, let's go then." Tony shrugged. "You ready Miyuki?"

"Yes Kanpeki-san." Miyuki confirmed, willing to take the back seat in the conversation if it meant happiness for Tsukasa would come sooner.

"Alright!" Tony smiled as the three set out again, much faster then earlier. They came upon Konata and Kagami probably much sooner then they would have, though Tsukasa had tightened her grip on Tony's neck quite a bit a few times during the trip. Tony saw Konata with bleeding arms. "Konata!" Tony quickened his pace and just about flash stepped over to his sister, forgetting one Tsukasa that was still on his back. Luckily, she had cowered behind Tony and used him as a windshield, against which the wind broke and didn't effect Tsukasa.

"It's alright Tony, I just fell down hugging Kagamin and skinned my arms." Konata laughed nervously.

_What is this, the obligatory test of my abilities already?_ Tony thought. *Sigh* "Ed't pa knayd ev cra fyc suna lynavim..." Tony sighed. Konata's eyes widened.

"Oui cbayg Al Bhed?" Konata asked. Tony's eyes widened.

"Oac! Ur so kucr, drec ec lnywo!" Tony shouted.

"E ghuf, nekrd?" Konata shouted.

"What are you two saying?" Kagami shouted. "What language is that? I don't recognize it at all!"

"It's called Al Bhed! I didn't think I'd ever meet someone else who spoke it!" Konata shouted in excitement.

"How do you know Al Bhed?" Tony asked.

"I'm an Otaku, it's my job to know Al Bhed!" Konata answered.

"Look, could you guys at least translate and tell me where it's from?" Kagami asked.

"Translate, we can do." Tony nodded.

"It's from Final Fantasy X Kagamin!" Konata smiled. Kagami took a second to compute what was just said to her. She blinked a time or two and facepalmed.

"I should have known it would have something to do with a game..." Kagami shook her head.

"Basically, this is what we said: It'd be great if she was more careful..." Tony restated.

"You speak Al Bhed?" Konata restated.

"Yes! Oh my gosh, this is crazy!" Tony said.

"I know, right?" Konata said.

"And that's what we said." Tony smiled. He then remembered what had made him hurry so much. And then that, all during his and Konata's exchange, Tsukasa was still on his back... He erupted in a blush again and found himself surprised that Konata hadn't said anything about it. "Sorry Tsukasa..." Tony let her down.

"It's okay Kan-kun..." Tsukasa was still smiling. She hadn't minded being so close to Tony for so long.

"Konata, come here." Tony said, motioning his sister over to him. She obliged quick enough, though her arms were still hurting. Once in range, Tony reached out and grabbed her arm lightly. He got an idea. He started mumbling at what sounded like supersonic speeds for a moment. Suddenly, he said "Damaged interface name: Konata Izumi. Requesting repairs." in a very monotone voice. Konata giggled.

"Alright Yuk-ah!" She gasped in surprise of the sensation of crawling skin. She looked down at her arms after the uncomfortable episode was over to see them healed. She gasped and stepped back a few times, shocked by this apparent miracle. Being only a very minor injury, Tony was only moderately tired, though his stomach did rumble.

"Konata? What's u-..." Kagami stopped as she beheld her Otaku's arm. She had been watching Tony since he called Konata over and then rolling her eyes after his reference, thereby missing his spell. Tsukasa and Miyuki were behind Tony, so neither saw what had happened.

"Tony, did you... just..." Konata muttered.

"Just what Kona-chan?" Tsukasa asked.

"Tony healed my arms..." Konata looked up from her arms to Tony's eyes. Tony could see practically a galaxy of stars in the small girl's eyes. Suddenly, Tony felt a glomp from behind him. Barely able to stay vertical, Tony looked around to see his assailant. Tsukasa let go and smiled triumphantly.

"I told you he can do magic!" Tsukasa shouted excitedly.

"I guess you did..." Kagami smiled, though dumbfounded. What were the odds that they met probably one of, if not the only, people on the planet who could perform spells like this? She remembered Recoome could shoot beams of what she guessed was energy from his mouth, but she didn't know people could be healed with the same technique! "So I guess you'll be able to prove yourself to mom, won't you?" Kagami smiled.

"Yeah! I just have to find a way to do it." Tony chuckled. He got an idea. "I have the perfect thought." Tony said with a bigger smile.

"What's that?" Kagami asked.

"You'll just have to find out." Tony smiled. He chuckled to himself. "In any case, we had better get going if we're to catch the train. If we miss it, we can say goodbye to the movie."

"Oh right!" Tsukasa remembered where they were going. They all started walking again.

"Guess what guys?" Konata asked with excitement.

"What?" Kagami asked.

"Did I tell you I'm writing a fanfiction?" Konata shouted enthusiastically.

"Oh really? What's it called?" Kagami asked.

"It's called "Fanception" because it's about a fanfiction writer who's writing a fanfiction within a fanfiction!" Konata shouted.

"Fantastic." Kagami sweatdropped.

"That sounds interesting Konata, maybe I can read it!" Tony smiled.

"Any time!" Konata said.

"Hey guys, did you hear about the super big assignment Ms. Kuroi assigned us?" Tony asked, giving a smiling glance to Tsukasa.

"What? Really?" Kagami shouted as Tony whispered in Konata's ear.

"Maybe you should ask Kagami if you could copy her work?" Tony whispered.

"She's gonna say no!" Konata whispered back.

"Maybe she won't!" Tony said.

"Alright..." Konata whispered. "Kagamin~!" She chimed.

"No you can't copy me. Not this time." Kagami read Konata's mind.

"But Kagamin~!" Konata whined.

"No, you have to learn responsibility!" Kagami scolded, pointing an accusatory finger at the Otaku. Tony flashed a smirk at Tsukasa, who pouted cutely back. Tony crept over to Tsukasa.

"I like it with butter, no salt." Tony smiled.

"Fine Kan-kun, I'll get you a tub of popcorn." Tsukasa sighed in defeat.

"No, not just a tub of popcorn, I mean a BIIIIIIG tub! I mean a tub so big, you have to climb in and eat your way out! Buy me such a tub." Tony smiled as he put his arms in a large circle in front of him to demonstrate the size he was requesting. Tsukasa giggled despite her loss at how silly Tony was being.

"Okay Kan-kun!" Tsukasa smiled.

"What's up with you two?" Konata asked.

"I bet her that Kagami would say no to that. There is no assignment really." Tony smiled back. "I bet her a tub of popcorn." Tony smiled wider.

"That's a pretty creative way to get a snack..." Konata commented. Tony could tell she was a little annoyed at being used, but only a little. Tony turned to Tsukasa.

"Excited about Lion King Tsu-chan?" Tony asked.

"Super excited!" Tsukasa pumped her fist in the air similar to the way Konata does. The stuff she did like she got pretty passionate about.

_She is really cute when she gets all excited like that!_ Tony could not help but think.

"Tsu-chan?" Kagami asked, a smirk on her lips.

"Yeah! Kan-kun gave me a nickname!" Tsukasa said with just as much enthusiasm as the movie they were heading to see. Kagami and Konata both giggled.

"We better go or Tsukasa will pop from excitement!" Konata yelled as she grabbed a giggling Tsukasa's hand and ran down the street. Tony, Miyuki and Kagami shared a smile before they ran to catch up to their friends. They met up at the subway, but noticed a problem.

"Kanpeki-san, what are we going to do with Tsukasa's bike?" Miyuki asked. Tony thought.

"Idea!" Tony smiled as he walked over to the bike. "Please let go." He requested of Miyuki. She complied, allowing him to take the bike himself. Thinking of the Hiiragi house, he started sending the bike to his love's house. The bike dematerialized. As it arrived, Tony collapsed to his hands and knees, thoroughly exhausted. _HOLY CRAP! Okay, that took more then I thought it would..._ Tony gasped for air.

"Kan-kun!" Tsukasa shouted as she and Konata ran over and picked him up.

"Whoa, does that happen every time you use your magic?" Konata asked the boy.

"No, only with spells that large. Your arms were barely hurt, so it was hardly tiring." Tony said as the two girls helped him into the station.

"Ah. So what did you do?" Konata asked.

"I sent the bike to Tsu-chan's." Tony said.

"How?" Konata asked.

"I took it apart molecule by molecule with energy and sent it back to her house, where it was reconstructed." Tony said.

"Whoa..." Konata's mouth hung agape.

"But that also came with the side effect of me being unable to support my own weight..." Tony sighed.

"You just need to get better at it Kan-kun!" Tsukasa cheered.

"I guess." Tony smiled at how cute Tsukasa was being. "I think I can stand on my own, thank guys." They arrived at the appropriate place and waited for a train. Tony saw an old man standing next to him with his hand up, index finger pointing at the wall where the train would be in a moment. _That's odd... He has such a determined look on his face. And why is pointing at the wall? There's nothing there!_ Tony followed the man's finger to the wall. There wasn't anything on the wall. The train came, luckily a moment after they arrived. The train came to a halt, the door arriving right beside Tony. He looked over to see that the button to open the door was literally inches in front of the man's finger. Tony's jaw dropped. _Now that's freaky. Maybe he's a god?_ He thought and laughed. The five of them walked into the train and luckily found seats together.

"Hey Tony, Tsukasa, I have a question." Kagami said once the train was moving.

"What's up Kagami?" Tony asked before Tsukasa could.

"How do you know exactly what to sing about? I mean when you sing in public and people join in." Kagami asked.

"Hm... Well, to tell you the truth I just let the music take me when I feel it! But I suppose if the music is good enough, you could probably sing about anything at any time for any reason." Tony shrugged.

"I doubt that last bit..." Kagami chuckled. "Thanks, I was wondering."

"Oh you doubt me, huh? I'll prove it! I'll tell you about a dream I had last night." Tony smiled.

"Wait, what? How will that..." Kagami wondered. Tony smiled.

**"I** dreamed last night I got on the boat to Heaven And by some chance I had brought some dice along, And there I stood, and I hollered, "Someone fade me," But the passengers they knew right from wrong~. For the people all said, "Sit down, sit down you're rockin' the **boat."."** Tony sang. Suddenly, all of the passengers got up and started to sing. 

**"People all said, "Sit down, sit down you're rockin' the boat!"."** They sang. 

**"And** the devil will drag you under!  
By the sharp lapel of your checkered coat!  
Sit down, sit down, sit down, sit **down,-"** Tony kept singing when the ensemble of people continued to sing with him. 

**"Sit down you're rockin' the boat!"** They all sang. Tony took a pause. 

**"I **sailed away on that little boat to Heaven  
And by some chance found a bottle in my fist,  
And there I stood,  
Nicely passin' out the whiskey,  
But the passengers were bound to resist  
For the people all said, **"Beware!" **Tony started again.

**"People all said "Beware, beware!"** The ensemble sang. 

**"You're** on a heavenly trip!  
People all said **"Beware!"** Tony continued.

**"People all said "Beware, beware!" **The ensemble continued.

**"You're **on a heavenly trip."  
People all said, **"beware!"** Tony sang.

**"People all said, "beware!" **The ensemble sat down.

**"Beware** you'll scuttle the ship;  
And the devil will drag you under  
By the fancy tie 'round your wicked throat;  
Sit **down-"** Tony sang.

**"Sit down, sit down, sit down,  
Sit down you're rockin' the** **boat!" **Tony and the ensemble sang.

**"And** as I laughed at those passengers to Heaven,  
Ah, ah, ah, ah!  
A great big wave came and washed me overboards,  
And as I sank, and I hollered,  
"Someone save me!"  
That's the moment I woke up, thank the **Lords!"** Tony sang before the choir of train passengers entered.

**"Thank the Lords, thank the Lords!"**

**"And** I said to myself, "Sit **down"-"** Tony pointed to the ground.

**"Said to himself, "Sit down, sit down"-"** They sang.

**"Sit** down you're rocking the boat."  
Said to myself, "Sit **down" **Tony repeated.

**"Said to himself, "Sit down"** The ensemble repeated.

**"Sit **down you're rocking the boat  
And the devil will drag you **under!"** Tony pointed to the ground again.

**"And the devil will drag you under!"** The choir echoed.

**"With** a soul so heavy you'd never float,  
Sit **down-"** Tony sang as the choir joined in.

**"Sit down, sit down, sit down, sit down,  
Sit down you're rockin' the boat-  
Sit down you're rockin'  
Rockin' the boat  
Sit down you're rockin'  
Rockin' the boat  
Sit down you're rockin'  
****Rockin' the boat  
Sit down you're rockin'  
****Rockin' the boat...  
Sit down, you're  
Sit down you're rockin', the boat!"** They all hit high notes at the end. As they ended the song, they all sat down, as did Tony.

"See Kagami? I told ya!" Tony smirked. Kagami's mouth, meanwhile, was agape.

"... What the hell was that..." Kagami muttered. The intercom suddenly came over and called their stop.

"Well, that killed the train ride time." Konata laughed as the lot of them got up and left the train.

"It was a good rest, luckily standing doesn't exactly require a lot of energy." Tony smiled.

"Yeah. You know, I bet with all that exhaustion, I could beat you in a race." Konata winked at Tony.

"Oh no, not again!" Kagami stood blocking the path.

"You're on!" Tony jumped over Kagami while Konata ducked under her arm. They started off again, leaving behind a yelling Kagami and causing them all to run after the two. "What's up Konata?" Tony asked.

"I need your advice." Konata slowed to a walk.

"Have to do with Kagami?" Tony followed suit, huffing a bit since he was still out of energy. Even though he asked, he knew the answer would be yes.

"Yeah..." Konata confirmed. Tony chuckled.

"Konata, I think you're coming to the wrong guy for relationship advice." Tony smiled.

"Maybe, but you're pretty smart. It's just..." Konata pulled out a box from her pocket. "I got this for Kagami, but I don't know when to give it to her." She opened the box to reveal the ring with the almost miniscule ruby.

"That's pretty." Tony smiled, though he thought it looked a little small.

"It looks cheap, I know, but Kagami wanted it and it's all I could afford. She doesn't know I bought it for her though. When do I give it to her?" Konata asked. Tony pondered the question. He sighed as he couldn't come up with a satisfactory answer. He had an idea, but he knew Konata probably wouldn't want it.

"Well, what does the little woman inside you tell you to do?" Tony asked. Konata gave him a dirty look.

"My little woman doesn't know!" Konata replied.

"I thought the little woman knew all?" Tony smirked.

"..." Konata sighed.

"Why not today?" Tony asked.

"Because there's no reason to, she'll be suspicious." Konata tried to shoot the idea down.

"What if you tell her you just wanted to get her something?" Tony asked.

"But a ring?" Konata asked. Tony sighed.

"If it's any consolation, I'm in a similar situation." Tony brought out his own box. He opened it to reveal the necklace we would give to Tsukasa at some point.

"Now THAT'S pretty!" Konata said.

"And I don't know when to give it to her. I admit, I was kinda hoping you could help with that..." Tony scratched the back of his head.

"Why don't YOU give it to her today?" Konata asked, hoping he would have more of an answer then she did.

"It's not time." Tony simply answered.

"What does that mean?" Konata asked.

"It isn't time for me to give it to her. I can't explain it, but I don't think I can yet." Tony replied.

"How very profound..." Konata deadpanned.

"As for you, maybe today? I'm sure Kagami would be very~ happy." Tony smiled.

"So would Tsukasa." Konata pointed out.

"Konata, we're not talking about me, we're talking about you." Tony reminded.

"Wait a second..." Konata paused.

"What's up?" Tony asked.

"I just realized that we've been talking a while. The others aren't here yet..." Konata said.

"You're right... Usually, they come running and scolding us but..." Tony felt a sense of fear grip his stomach.

"Let's go." Konata started running back towards the girls, Tony following. They ran at a speed that was easily much faster then what they had run to get there. After a few seconds of running, and a few apologies from running people over, jumping over them, ducking under them and the like, they found Kagami, Tsukasa and Miyuki sitting on a bench. Kagami looked determined, but Tsukasa looked a little worried while Miyuki was looking expectantly at where Tony and Konata had run off.

"Tsu-chan, Kagami, Mooki-chan!" Tony shouted. The two twins looked up at him and Tsukasa seemed to ease a bit. Miyuki smiled, as if a prediction of hers had come true.

"What are you guys doing?" Konata asked. Kagami, seeing that Konata had come back, got a victorious smirk.

"Well, you two seemed adamant on having your race, so we decided to wait for you." Kagami got up, turned her head up, and closed her eyes with her hands on her hips.

"Hey, that's not nice, we were really worried about you!" Tony scolded. Tsukasa's ribbon drooped.

"I'm sorry Kan-kun, Onee-chan just-"

"Don't apologize Tsukasa, you didn't do anything wrong." Kagami said.

"Oh..." Tsukasa got a look of confusion.

"They're probably just trying to make us feel bad." Kagami smiled on the inside.

"Kagamin, we really were worried about you guys!" Konata protested. Kagami got an almost luminescent blush.

"We-well I'm sorry to have worried you..." Kagami opened her eyes and looked out of the corner of her eyes at Konata.

_Deredere alert!_ Konata squealed in her head.

"But Onee-chan, didn't you just say-"

"Not now Tsukasa..." Kagami interrupted her sister. Tsukasa gave a confused look to his sister, then to Tony, then back, then she looked at Miyuki. Miyuki shrugged.

"We need to get going guys or we're gonna miss Lion King!" Tony said. Tsukasa perked back up.

"Let's go!" She said in a hurry, running forward and grabbing Tony by the hand and pulling him along, illiciting a giggle from the girls. They all started running after them.

"Tsu-Tsu-chan!" Tony shouted, getting dragged behind the excited girl. He didn't necessarily dislike her holding his hand, but the previous running had tired him out quite a little bit and he was only losing more energy. "Tsu-chan, I'm exhausted, please slow down!" Tony asked, sounding more desperate then he meant to. Tsukasa slowed down and hid her eyes under her hair.

"I'm sorry Kan-kun..." She mumbled. _Now he's mad at me..._ "I was just so excited..." Tony's heart broke a little bit.

"Tsu-chan, it's not like that! It's just that I'm still tired from teleporting your bike to your house. Please don't take offense by it!" Tony shouted hopefully.

"Thanks Kan-kun, I guess we should just go, huh?" Tsukasa mumbled half-heartily.

_Whoa, that affected her so much..._ "Tsu-chan, I'm sorry, it was just a little misunderstanding!" Tony said as he walked up beside her. Tsukasa sighed. _Why is she so sad? I wonder if I could..._ Tony got an idea. He took hold of Tsukasa's hand and walked a little faster. Tsukasa looked up with surprise in her eyes. "Shall we run?" Tony smiled. Tsukasa smiled back.

"Yeah!" She nodded and the two were off, still leaving the other girls behind. And though neither forcefully dragged the other, nor did either pull from the other's grip. They both could tell that the smile they both had would probably last the night.

* * *

**POV Konata**

The girls were laughing at how the two had acted.

"So how long do you guys think those two will take?" Konata asked.

"I give 'em a week at most!" Kagami shouted.

"It may not even be that long!" Miyuki said.

"True, with how they're going, they may be an item by the end of the night!" Kagami laughed.

"Geez, how far did those two run?" Konata asked rhetorically.

"Dunno, are they still running?" Kagami asked.

"Well we haven't run into them..." Konata pointed out.

"True, true. Which reminds me, why do you two keep running off Konata? You and Tony having an affair behind our back?" Kagami giggled.

"What? No way, he's my brother Kagami! We just wanna see who's fastest at all times." Konata grinned in such a way that Kagami could tell she wasn't trying to hide the fact that she was lying.

"Yeah right, I know that look Konata, you're not telling me the truth." Kagami said.

"Whatever you say Kagamin~!" Konata chimed. She got an idea and they ran. She pulled out ahead a little bit and jumped, spinning in the air. She hit the ground running backwards, just like Tony had when they raced the first time. "Woohoo! I'm a hedgehog too!" Konata cheered. Kagami, though rolling her eyes, found herself giggling at her silly Otaku.

"Hm... Then again..." Kagami hummed.

"What?" Konata asked.

"You're really fast and your hair is blue... Maybe you're Sonic in female human form!" Kagami laughed. Konata almost stumbled as her eyes widened and her mouth fell open.

"Kagami! That was totally an Otaku line! I never thought of it like that!" Konata laughed as she was forced to turn around. "I'm rubbin' off on ya Kagamin~." Konata moved over and rubbed her cheek against the Tsundere's. Kagami blushed and almost lost her balance while Miyuki giggled.

"Uh, Konata, I don't think that came out how you wanted it to..." Kagami muttered, surprising Konata that she didn't really pull away.

"Why, did it sound perverted?" Konata asked a little flatly.

"Yeah, kinda." Kagami muttered.

"Then it came out exactly how I wanted it to!" Konata laughed. Miyuki kept giggling. "Miyuki?" Konata asked, giving the moe goddess a quizzical look.

"I'm just happy to see you two acting normally again." Miyuki smiled.

"What do you mean?" Kagami asked.

"It's nothing..." Miyuki said dismissively. She knew they wouldn't be able to pursue the subject much more, as they were just about at the mall. They started walking and found Tsukasa and Tony, Tsukasa still holding Tony's hand.

"Kan-kun, we stopped running you know..." Tsukasa muttered, embarrassed.

"Oh, right, sorry..." Tony let go of her hand.

"It's alright Kan-kun." Tsukasa chimed. "I... didn't mind it so much..."

"So Tony grabbed YOUR hand then?" Kagami shouted, causing the two waiting to jump.

"Hi Onee-chan..." Tsukasa muttered, even more embarrassed now.

"Well... kinda." Tony blushed a deep red. Konata laughed.

"That's totally a flag right there." Konata giggled.

"Whatever you say Konata, we should get in..." Tony smiled as he led them in. They got to the part of the mall with the movie theater and Tony walked up to the ticket salesman. "Five please." requested.

"Here ya go." The salesman traded tickets for money less then enthusiastically.

(WARNING! If you have not seen "The Lion King", this is basically going to be a summary of the movie. However, I HIGHLY recommend you watching it before you read this. Apparently I went into deep detail and didn't mean to...)

"Thank you very much!" Tony and the girls all bowed. They entered the theater and found five seats in a row in the middle of the theater, putting on their 3-D glasses on the way. Tony sat next to Tsukasa, Kagami sat next to Konata, and the Miyuki sat in between the two groups. Tsukasa handed a jumbo sized tub of popcorn to Tony. "When did you get this?" He asked in surprise. Tsukasa looked over and smiled a little wider.

"It's a secret." She giggled. Tony smiled, though perplexed, and watched through the previews. As the movie started, Tony looked over to Tsukasa. To say she looked extremely excited would be quite a big understatement. As the Circle of Life started, Tony watched as Tsukasa mouthed each word perfectly in time with the movie. Tony felt his smile widen. He leaned back in his chair and watched. They watched as Simba talked to Scar, but Tony could see Tsukasa clearly did not like the grown lion. Meanwhile, Kagami leaned over to Konata.

"I love how Scar can be such an ass and get away with it..." She whispered. Konata laughed quietly.

"I know, right?" She whispered back. The five sat and watched as the cubs were bathed when Tony made an observation.

"Hey, you ever notice that Simba's mother is sleeping when Simba comes down? She woke up pretty quickly." Tony pointed out.

"I never saw that before!" Tsukasa said in awe of how she could possibly miss anything in a Disney movie. Tony smiled at how cute Tsukasa looked and turned back to see Simba singing about his desire for royalty along with Nala. As they reached the end, Tony chuckled.

"How does Zazu hold up that rhino?" Tony leaned over and asked Tsukasa. She giggled.

"I don't know Kan-kun!" She giggled. They watched as the lion cubs made their way to the graveyard, Zazu showed up scolding them for disobeying Mufasa's orders. The hyenas made their appearance and attacked the two cubs and the bird. Simba gave his best attempt at a roar, but fell short, making only a medium yowl. "You can do it..." Tony heard Tsukasa whisper. He looked over in surprise to see her with a determined look on her face.

_She's seen this before, hasn't she? _Tony wondered. _She's so cute when she looks like that._ He decided and was snapped out of his fixation with Tsukasa by the roar of Simba's father. He turned to watch as Mufasa showed up and demolished the hyenas. Tony chucked. "Love that scene..." He mumbled to himself. _I've got to remember that roar._ He chuckled in his head, making a mental note to memorize the sound of Mufasa's roar. They watched as Mufasa and Simba had their heart to heart talk. Tony glanced at Tsukasa once again to see she was paying close attention. They kept watching to see Scar's song, which Tsukasa didn't seem to enjoy nearly as much as the other songs. They saw Scar tricking Simba into waiting where he was supposed to be trampled by the wildebeest herd trap that Scar had arranged. As Scar reported the "accident" to Mufasa, Tsukasa started to tear up a bit. The lions got there while Zazu scouted out the valley to find Simba. Tony looked to see how Tsukasa was holding up. He decided he should try and lighten the mood.

"So hang on, he can lift a rhino, but he not a lion cub?" Tony asked, intending it to be a joke.

"I guess not..." Tsukasa muttered. Tony could see that she was taking this movie a little seriously. He finally realized he was at a complete loss at what to do to help. He watched as Mufasa leaped into the fray. Tsukasa's tears became larger as Mufasa was repeatedly knocked down. He finally got to Simba and transported him safely away from the stampede. He got knocked back in, but found a way out as he clawed his way up the side of the valley. He finally ran into a piece of rock right below Scar that he couldn't climb. Mufasa called for help from his brother. Scar looked disdainfully down, and then suddenly latched onto Mufasa's forepaws with claws extended. Mufasa roared, primarily from the sudden pain of Scar's claws, but no doubt also due to the sudden flash of realization. His expression slowly changed to one of horror as he recognized Scar's intent.

"Long live the KING!" Scar shouted as he threw Mufasa back into the stampede. At "king", Tsukasa buried her head into Tony's shoulder. Tony, surprised by this, followed his gut again and brought the crying Tsukasa into an embrace. He rubbed her back as a silent invitation to stay as long as she wanted to.

_She hates death so much... I wonder if she just hates it naturally or if something happened..._ Tony thought as Tsukasa started to calm down. Tony glanced up by chance to see Miyuki giving him the sweetest eyesmile of approval you could imagine. Tony looked back down at Tsukasa, who had calmed down and was just starting to look up, a small smile decorating her mouth.

"Thank you..." She mouthed.

"My pleasure." Tony whispered, meaning every word of it. She giggled as she dried the suspended tear droplets that were left in her eyes. They both turned back to see the place Timon and Pumba lived. Tsukasa's eyes started to sparkle.

_I wish I could live there!_ Tsukasa shouted in her head. They watched as the years passed and Simba grew up with Timon and Pumba. Eventually, the scene returned to Scar and Zazu, the latter singing. Scar hushed Zazu, who sang something different.

"**It's** a small world **after~all."** Zazu sang, to which Scar VEHEMENTLY opposed. Tony chuckled.

_I love that they're making fun of themselves for using such a creepy song..._Tony smiled. _Takes some real character to take shots at yourself like that._ Tony thought. They continued watching silently for a while. They saw Rafiki laughing as the Milkweed told him of Simba's continued existence. _Rafiki is awesome. There is no debating this fact._ Tony smirked. He watched as Pumba was almost slaughtered by a lioness as Simba hurled himself over the pig to take up the fight. The lion and lioness fought savagely for a moment until the lioness came out triumphant, pinning Simba to the ground until he recognized his old friend.

"Hey Konata, you've seen this movie before, haven't you?" Kagami whispered to the aforementioned Otaku.

"Yeah, what's up?" Konata asked.

"You ever notice how fast moving a relationship these two have? They reunite, fall in love, "feel the love", and have their first fight all in one day. Two days later, they're apparently married already! Those two are moving even faster then those two over there..." Kagami pointed over at Tony and Tsukasa. Konata giggled.

"True enough, those two have only known each other for a few weeks and their already in love!" Konata giggled.

"I know, right?" Kagami giggled as well. They turned back to the movie to see Timon complaining to Pumba about the imminent loss of their friend. The next song started. Both Tony and Konata sneakily glanced over to their respective Hiiragi. Kagami seemed almost dreamily into the song while Tsukasa mouthed the words, obviously loving this particular song. As it got to Simba's part, Tony softly sang it. Tsukasa looked up at him with a sparkle in her eyes. Tony looked down to her again and was surprised to see her staring at him. He quickly blushed and silenced himself, conveniently at the same time as Simba. Tsukasa giggled as she turned back to the screen. She started softly singing Nala's part. Tony smiled wider. The lions continued the song, Simba finally pinning Nala. The two finished the song and fought for their first time. Simba ran off and met with Rafiki.

_Yes! Go Rafiki!_ Tony cheered in his head. Rafiki joked around with Simba while also helping him. Rafiki led Simba to his "father", after which, Simba reunited with the ghost of his father. After the talk, Rafiki came back. Simba took the advice given to him and started back to the Pride Lands. Rafiki informed Timon, Pumba, and Nala of Simba's return, to which, after they got over a few misunderstandings, they quickly pursued him. They all met him at the edge of the Pride Lands and, after a talk between the four, approached Pride Rock. Simba confronted Scar, at first scaring the lion incredibly by his likeness to his father. Scar preceded to reveal that, untrue as it was, Simba killed Mufasa, having convinced Simba of the fact to make him run away. He backed Simba up Pride Rock, hyenas behind him, and made him slipped. Simba grasped for any gain with his forearms. Scar mockingly thought of where he remembered this from, the image mirroring the scene of his father's death years ago. Scar put his claws on Simba's. As a final act of disdain, he whispered in Simba's ear.

"I killed Mufasa." That simple sentence caused Simba to relive the incident for an instant, giving him massive heroic resolve, enough to let him bring him up from the edge and pin Scar to the ground.

_Never kick the protagonist..._Tony sighed in his head. _Never, ever do that. That's the WORST possible move you can make in a movie or story._ Tony scolded Scar as Simba forced him to confess to the murder. The hyenas jumped Simba, causing the lionesses to come to Simba's aid. Timon, Pumba and Rafiki jumped into the fray, the latter of the three causing Tony to cheer in his head. Rafiki beat seven hyenas in a very "B-movie"-esque way. Simba saw Scar attempting to escape and pursued him. Scar blamed the hyenas in a vain attempt to vindicate himself. The two proceeded to fight in slowmo. As Scar pounced, Simba used a move Nala had used to throw him before when they wrestled, throwing Scar over the ledge. The hyenas found their way to Scar, infuriated by his betrayal, said anger only raising when he claimed them as friends. They approached Scar, about to eat their fill. Tony looked over to Tsukasa, expecting to see a sort of victorious or happy look as the lion she so hated was devoured alive, but all that met him were tears of sorrow. She buried her head into his shoulder again before the hyenas pounced on Scar. He hugged her again, wondering exactly how much she detested death. The movie finally reached it's conclusion with Simba king, the Pride Land restored, and Simba and Nala's daughter anointed. The lights came up, revealing Tsukasa, who was starting to calm down, and Tony, who was still hugging her. Miyuki sighed as she saw how affected Tsukasa was by the movie, saddened by how sad her sister looked. Tsukasa realized the lights were on and quickly regained her composure, though her eyes were still wet.

"I'm sorry Kan-kun..." She muttered.

"It's no problem Tsu-chan. Here, do me a favor and go get yourself some chocolate." Tony handed her several hundred yen. "Konata, Miyuki, could you help her? She's a bit shaken..." Tony said. Konata nodded, realizing what Tony was doing. Miyuki just wanted to help her sister however she could, and so missed Tony's maneuver. Konata patted Tsukasa on the back and the three left for the snack counter. Kagami got up to follow, but Tony grabbed her by the sleeve. She turned around to see him shaking his head. She sat back down. Tony watched the three girls leave and waited for them to be out of ear-shot and sight. He turned to Kagami. "Hey Kagami, I need to ask you something very personal about Tsu-chan." Tony came right out with it.

"You know she'd tell you if you asked her, right? I highly doubt she would keep anything from you." Kagami pointed out.

"I realize that, but that isn't the point. I don't want her to tell me just in case it stirs up bad memories." Tony said, concern prominent in his voice.

"Hmm... Alright, what's up?" Kagami asked.

"It's obvious to me that Tsu-chan doesn't just hate death. She loathes it with every fiber of her being. She hated it when Mufasa died in the movie today, but she reacted just as negatively when Scar died. I can tell she hated Scar, probably because he killed Mufasa, yet she was saddened by his death? I just wanted to know if it was only her nature, or if something... happened." Tony asked.

"That IS a personal question and now I see why you came to me and not her. I'm glad you did." Kagami said.

"Then something did happen?" Tony asked.

"Yeah. It was back in Junior High..." Kagami started.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya Luckies! I'm Akira Kogami, your navigator!"

"And I'm Minoru Shiraishi, the assistant!"

"They all got to go see Lion King! Uuu~, I wish I was there!" Akira shouted.

"We could go see it after the show if you want Akira!" Minoru offered.

"Yeah, let's! Let's go right now!" Akira shouted excitedly.

"Wa-wait, right now?" Minoru stuttered.

"Yeah!" Akira shouted, running off the stage.

"Oh-well-uh, I guess that's a wrap! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, bye nii!" Minoru ran off to join Akira, leaving the music tone unplayed before they left.

* * *

**Aftersection**

Holy freaking crap, that was a long time I kept you guys waiting. I just hope you know, that was purely accidental, I had a few other obligations I had to keep up with that I've been delaying for a few weeks and someone very close to me passed away. But you all don't want to hear my problems, I haven't been lazy with this chapter, I already have the next 3K words written! Sorry this is such a long chapter, it wouldn't have been very long with every other place I could see to cut it. Please forgive me oh great readers! I would just like to thank FlygonMaster, who reads these before I post them and offers his opinions on them. Not only that, but he's a much faster writer then I am apparently. He's written four chapters at about 3-5K words each AND started his new story. This one, had I not cut it, might have gotten to probably at least 17K words(Yeah, I know, way too long for one chapter) but still, he's written four chapters in the time it took me to write one! Anyway, it's a little late here, so I've gotta get off. Goodbye people who fill me with joy and make me smile, I shall see you cometh the next chapter!


	27. Chapter 27: I think something went here

Chapter 27: The Chapter Who's Name I Can't Remember. Seriously, What The Hell Was It?

Heya guys! It occurred to me that I never told you what was funny about the thing I said in my last beginning notes. I said that I was debating about whether to tell you all what I had planned that didn't happen after the end of this story. The reason that's funny is that true love stories have no endings. That's right, I said it. Technically, this story will never end, after the main bit is written and my ideas run dry, it will merely run into a long Hiatus. And while I don't see my ideas failing me any time soon, considering how long it too to write one of them (tournament), should I happen to reach such a point, I won't mark the story complete just in case after, say, twenty years I come up with a new idea, I can write it in! Killa... Killa Killa Killa... You're either gonna love this or hate this. And why don't you like Final Fantasy X? It's my favorite Final Fantasy game! And as I told ya, my brain is hardwired to think of any and all references, especially song parodies, hence the completely irrelevant and pointless song added to the last chapter. HA Sqweebs, got one on you and Flygon! I have another one in the next chapter, you'll just have to wait and see it! And thank you for the compliment Kahalis, that made my day when I read it. By the way for everyone who's read to this point, there is an announcement about the continuity of this story. Time no longer has any meaning in it. It's set after the end of Lucky Star, which was years ago before a lot of the stuff I reference was created. But that's not all anymore. I've realized that if I keep up the pace I've set with chapter length and how long it takes to get them out, it may be well over a year and twenty chapters before I get to the Hiiragi birthday if I don't skip days. So I think I may just... screw with the time line a tad. I'm not saying I'll have a Christmas chapter for, say, chapter 50 and then a Halloween chapter for 51, but still. So, just wanted to get that out of the way now. Please enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**About where we left off**

"Then something did happen?" Tony asked.

"Yeah. It was back in Junior High..." Kagami started. "Tsukasa has always hated the thought of death. It's always made her sick, it was her nature. But..." Kagami recalled her tale. "It was something she could live with in the world. If someone died and it, say, helped a lot of people like Scar's, she could deal with it. But around five years ago, back in Junior High, Tsukasa and I had a friend, though he was more her's then mine. His name was Itsuwari, probably her very best friend. Those two were super close, probably on account of him having a crush on her. Whether she knew or not, I dunno, he wasn't really obvious about it like you are-" Tony's eyes widened as he blushed. Kagami smiled for a second as her suspicion about his feelings were confirmed. "-but they told each other everything. For several years, I thought they were going to be Sickeningly Sweethearts, where their only arguments would be who liked who more or who was cuter..." Kagami reminisced. "...It was the day of graduation from Junior High. Itsuwari came to us with super exciting news. He got admitted into Ryoo High, same as us. Him and Tsukasa hugged each other in excitement and started home, chattering about how they were going to have three more years together." Kagami sighed. "We got as far as we could walk together like we usually did, and went our separate ways." Kagami said. Tony gulped.

_Why don't I like where this is going?_ Tony thought as a pang of fear ran through him. Kagami breathed deeply.

"We got a call from the hospital the next day. Itsuwari had been hit by a drunk driver. There was nothing they could do." Kagami's voice dropped as she relived the loss of their friend. "Tsukasa was devastated. She went into a depression for months... until she met Konata. I guess Konata's ever-cheerful attitude got to Tsukasa, because when she came home that day, she was happy for the first time since we lost Itsuwari. She told me she had met a new friend that day and she wanted to introduce me to her. I was so happy she was alright, you should have heard her talk about her. She probably still remembers what the first thing Konata said to her was." Kagami said.

"What was that?" Tony asked.

"She said "Don't worry Akira, I'll save you!". Tsukasa didn't even realize she was referencing To Heart until I told her later. I don't remember if I ever thanked Konata for saving her." Kagami smiled, thinking of her Otaku.

"What happened that Konata had to save her?" Tony asked.

"A foreigner was asking for directions, but Tsukasa didn't understand him. She was panicking a bit and Konata ran over to see what was happening. She saw a man speaking a language neither of them knew and Tsukasa panicking, so assumed he was causing trouble. She swiftly beat him up. But that's not what I was talking about. She saved her from her depression, I have no idea how different Tsukasa would have been if she had stayed like that. I only know that she would be a LOT different. She might have turned into a depressed empty shell of a girl. It was because of the loss of Itsuwari that her hatred of death escalated to such a magnitude. To her, everyone, no matter how evil, wicked, or mean, has someone who honestly and truly cares about them. She doesn't want them to feel the pain she did then. You're actually the first boy she's spoken more then two words to since he died. She been too afraid to get close to a boy in fear that something might happen to them." Kagami said. Tony was frozen for a moment.

"That's... No one ever told me about that..." Tony muttered.

"You never asked before. Please, just think about that before you threaten to kill someone around her. Even if she's 99% sure that you're not going to kill them, she'll still beg and plead with you not to based on that 1% chance you might." Kagami said.

"Kagami... Thank you so very much for sharing this with me..." Tony smiled a sad smile. It was only then that Tony fully realized the true depth of Tsukasa's hatred for death. Not only that, but his respect for Tsukasa deepened by magnitudes. _Such pains she's gone through. And she holds mine as well. She's so strong... _

"It's alright, you deserve to know. I can tell you care about Tsukasa a lot, and I wanted to thank you. I know if something happened to me and our family, you would step up in an instant to take care of her." Kagami said, causing Tony to blush. "So thanks for caring so much and for showing Tsukasa that it's okay to talk to boys again." Kagami smiled. Tony smiled back.

"I can assure you Kagami, it's my pleasure completely." Tony said. "And you're right... If anything happened, I would take care of Tsu-chan. I'll be there for you all for as long as you'll let me." Tony smiled. Kagami smiled.

"I'm gonna hold you to that." She commented before they were cut off.

"Hey if you two are done, let's go! The Final Ceremony is gonna go without us!" Konata shouted into the theater.

"On our way Konata!" Kagami called back. She turned back to Tony. "I hope I could answer your question." She said.

"You did. Thank you so much Kagami, you have no idea what it means to me to know that." Tony smiled. The two left the theater and saw Tsukasa halfway through a bar of chocolate with Miyuki sitting beside her. The younger twin had a look of pleasure on her face as the chocolate melted slowly in her mouth. _She's so cute when she's-... Geez, she's just cute all the time, isn't she?_ Tony chuckled in his head, realizing he's thought that almost every time he's seen her over the course of the last couple hours. "You guys ready?" Tony asked the group.

"Yeah, let's go!" They all agreed. They all started to jog there, though Tony scooped up Tsukasa a quarter of the way there, just as Konata did Kagami half the way there, much to the embarrassment of the twins. They then decided to slow the pace to one Miyuki could keep up with without getting tired. In truth, at that speed Kagami and Tsukasa probably could have started running again and been fine for the rest of the way and both Konata and Tony knew it, but neither of them said a thing about it. Why should they? They were enjoying the closeness to the girls they loved. It was about twenty minutes before they reached tournament grounds, Masutā meeting them there miraculously. His shirt was soaked though.

"Miyuki, your sink is fixed." Masutā smiled.

"Thank you Masutā." Miyuki bowed as they came to a halt.

"No problem. Let's go see Otōto get some money now, shall we?" Masutā smiled to the group. Again, the unanimous answer was one of affirmation. They went in, conveniently at the same time Akira called all contestants to the ring.

"Well then guys, I guess I'd better go, huh?" Tony smiled as he went to the door to the pit.

"Yeah, we'll be watchin' ya!" Konata shouted as they all went up to the seats they had been occupying for the duration of the tournament in the front row. They sat down to see Tony and the rest of the fighters in the middle of the arena, save the runner-up.

"Where's Shin?" Akira asked. "He has to be here to accept the runner up's money..." Akira mumbled before someone who looked curiously like the manager at the Cosplay Cafe ran up to her.

"Akira, there's a message about Shin." He gave her a piece of paper, which she read quickly thereafter.

"Okay! Thanks Minoru!" Akira shouted. "Everyone, I've just been informed that Shin couldn't be here as he had to leave town!" Akira announced.

_Hmmm... I wonder if it was just town, or the Earth? _Tony chuckled.

"He did, however, leave some instructions for his money! Everything he won will hereby go to the winner, Ryū Tora no Kami!" Akira shouted and clapped, narrating the action as she performed it. Tony stood there frozen, mouth agape.

_Whoa... That's pretty awesome, the runner-up's money is half of the winner's amount! _Tony cheered in his head. _Thanks Hachiman!_ Tony smiled.

"So, let's see how much Ryū is getting!" Akira shouted as she opened an envelope. She took out a check and handed it to Tony, who was surprised it wasn't massive and cardboard. "You get the fake version in a few days by singing telegram." Akira said, apparently reading his mind.

"Ah, thanks..." Tony said before looking at his check. His hand started to tremble.

"Is it a lot?" Akira asked.

"... Yeah..." Tony asked.

"And just think, you another half of that!" Akira shouted.

"Sweetness..." Tony muttered. _With this, I have enough to cover the necklace and still have a good amount left. Not to mention the extra..._Tony smiled.

"So Ryū, any words to anyone in particular?" Akira asked as she handed the mic to Tony. He took it, though unsure of what to do. Then he had a great idea. He threw an arm around Akira's back and looked directly into the camera.

"I most certainly do! To Mrs. Kogami! Stop taking my friend here's money, she works hard for it and she earns every yen of it!" Tony shouted. He turned to Akira. "Now, I'll see to it that you have a bit of extra money." Tony said out of the mic, meaning it. Soon as he had the money in hand, he definitely intended on giving at least 100K to Akira. He just hoped it helped.

"You don't have to do that!" Akira dismissed quickly.

"I know, but I want to!" Tony insisted.

"... Thanks Kan-chan." She muttered low enough that the camera didn't hear her.

"It's no problem." Tony responded. He raised his voice back to normal levels. "I'd also like to thank my best friends, the first ones I've had in... ever. For their privacy, I'm not going to say their names, but they know who they are. Especially because they're in the audience here." Tony laughed.

"Well there it is folks! The world tournament is now officially over! I hope you all had as much fun reading it as our viewers did watching it!" Akira shouted. "I'll see ya next time! Bye-nii~!" Akira winked a star from her eye.

"Cut!" The camera man shouted.

"Alrighty!" Akira shouted. "So, how much did you get Kan-chan?" Akira asked.

"Here, I'll tell you, but it's a secret..." Tony leaned over to Akira.  
"Asante Sana,  
Squash Banana,  
We We Nuga,  
Mi Mi Apana!" He chanted. Akira giggled.

"I guess you watched Lion King recently?" Akira giggled.

"Sure did! I just came from it." Tony said.

"Hey Ryū!" Tony heard from behind him. He turned just in time to see three of his previous opponents. You can guess which one was missing.

"Yo JC! Ingo! Naruto!" Tony waved.

"Congratulations on winning!" JC shouted.

"I'll admit, after your fight with Recoome, I was a little nervous about fighting you Ryū..." Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"I probably would have lost. Have you ever taken pure energy to the hand?" Tony chuckled. "Speaking of which, where is that asshole?" Tony looked around. He saw Recoome. Every area Tony had remotely touched was completely wrapped in a thick cast. Tony chuckled. "Found him." He pointed to Recoome.

"What did the guy do to you? Sure he's a jerk, but you pretty much said you were going to kill him!" Naruto asked.

"He put the girl I love in the hospital. Reason enough?" Tony asked.

"Enough said." Naruto nodded. "We still need to fight though Ryū." Naruto turned to Tony. Tony laughed.

"Yeah, but I need to rest for a bit. That fight with Ha-... Shin really shook me up. Maybe another time?" Tony asked.

"Sure thing. Hey, by the wa-"

"What's taking so long Naruto?" Sakura shouted as she landed next to him.

"I was talking to a friend Sakura..." Naruto explained sheepishly. A white haired man landed next to the bickering two.

_Konaha was only recently rebuilt and these two are already acting like Pain never attacked... _"Well, while we're here, we might as well ask someone. It seems like you two have completely forgotten the mission. We're looking for Sasuke, remember?" Kakashi reminded.

"Who's he? Chances are that I've never met him, but you might as well describe him to me." Tony offered.

"Well, probably the most prominent thing about him is his robe. It's completely black with red clouds on it. That and his eyes." Kakashi said.

"What about them?" Tony asked.

"Both may have looked like this." Kakashi put his headband up. Tony looked at it to see it was red. A very familiar red.

"... How long have you been looking for him?" Tony asked.

"A few years. Have you seen him?" Kakashi asked, replacing his headband.

"I've seen those eyes. I can't forget them. Both eyes had it though." Tony muttered.

"When did you see him?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"It was years ago, I was a kid. Describe him more." Tony said.

"He has long, spiky black hair, has-" Naruto started describing, but Sakura cut him off.

"Here's a picture." She handed Tony a picture of the person they were looking for. Tony recognized him instantly.

"That's him. He murdered my family in cold blood." Tony growled.

"Was it in the last four years?" Kakashi asked, alarmed.

"No, it was at least twice that, maybe around fifteen years ago." Tony said.

"Weird, it couldn't have been him then..." Kakashi began to think.

"That was undoubtedly him. I would remember that bastard anywhere." Tony said.

"But Sasuke didn't have the Sharingan back then, that was before the Uchiha massacre." Kakashi started musing over the details of what Tony had told him.

"Has he learned some kind of time travel jutsu?" Naruto asked.

"It's possible, but I've never heard of something like that. The closest thing I can think of is Madara's ability, but as far as I know, that can only send people across space, not time." Kakashi muttered in contemplation.

"Kan-kun~!" Tsukasa waved from the sidelines. Tony looked back and smiled.

"I'll be there in a minute!" Tony waved back. Tsukasa smiled warmly and left the seats with the three other girls and Masutā.

"I'm guessing she's the girl you like, isn't she?" Sakura asked in a tone that practically screamed that she already knew the answer.

"Yes it is. Nosy." Tony said. "I have to go, it was nice seeing all of you again. Naruto, if you find Sasuke, let me know. We have unfinished business. Ingo, good luck finding the man who killed your father. JC, good luck proving that you're not just another actor with great special effects." Tony said to each.

"If you see Sasuke, let us know!" Naruto said.

"Sorry Naruto. If I find Sasuke, all there will be to report is that you should come pick up his corpse." Tony warned. "You let him know that if he wants to live, he had best avoid me. I do hope he ignores that advice though. I really do." Tony said. "I'll see you all later! And Naruto, we really will have to fight soon!" Tony waved as he took off for the exit. He met up with his friends on the other side of the door. "Hey guys! You ready to go home?" He asked the group. They all agreed and started walking to the point where they would have to separate.

"Kan-kun, how much did you get from the tournament?" Tsukasa asked.

"Enough. Which reminds me, I'll be right back." Tony said before he sprinted back to the tournament.

"Hm.. I wonder what's up..." Konata mumbled.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony ran back into the tournament and found the jewelry vendor.

"Hey, I'm back! I have money!" Tony wrote a check for the money he owed. "Please don't cash that for a couple days, I don't know when I'll have this money in the bank." Tony bowed.

"Thank you Ryū!" The vendor waved. "Wait though!" He shouted as Tony turned around.

"What's up?" Tony asked.

"I have a present for you! Seeing as how you won, I'm willing to offer you a discount on two very special pieces of jewelry, one a ring and one a necklace, a large gemstone in the middle with writing under the gem of the ring if you so choose! The necklace, you describe it and I'll see what I can get it for!" The vendor offered.

"And how much would this run me?" Tony asked.

"The low low price of 75,000 Yen for the ring! I'll tell you the price of the necklace based on my estimate." The vendor shouted. It really was a low price considering it cost him 70,000 to make the ring and get it to him.

"I guess I can spare a bit of money. Sure thing." Tony confirmed.

"What would you like the ring to say?" The vendor got a piece of paper.

"I would like the ring to say "Sage" and have a smooth ruby. The necklace..." Tony began to think. He already had a necklace for Tsukasa, what need had he of another? He thought for a moment before finally coming up with something. Something he had thought of before, but now it wasn't coming customized. The thought made him happy. The thought made him VERY happy. "I think it should be a platinum necklace with a giant amethyst that's a light purple, almost lavenderish. Surrounding the large gemstone should be a multitude of diamonds. The amethyst should be in the shape of a heart. " Tony specified.

"Wow, that's... specific..." The man muttered. He began to think. "Hm... I think I MIGHT be able to get that for... 250,000 yen, but that's the very lowest I can go on it." He said. "Do we have a deal?" He asked, putting his hand out.

"Deal." Tony clasped his hand into the vendor's.

"I look forward to doing business with you!" The vendor smiled.

"Likewise. Now, I need to go, I'll be back for the jewelry." Tony jogged off back to his friends. He came up behind them to see them all halted, watching something on the ground. He snuck up behind them to see a black cat walking in front of them

"A black cat! Isn't that lucky Onee-chan?" Tsukasa asked.

"Yeah, it is!" Kagami said.

"Does the fact that it's crossing our path mean anything?" Konata asked dramatically.

"A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going somewhere." Tony piped up. The group except for Masutā jumped.

"I was wondering when you were gonna say something Otōto." He chuckled.

"Man, I'll tell ya, after watching Lion King, I really want to see the second now." Tony scratched the back of his head. Tsukasa perked up.

"Kan-kun, I have Lion King 2!" She chimed in. She suddenly realized she was inviting the boy she loved into her home and got nervous. "I-if you want to come over, you can watch it..." She blushed and looked slightly away from Tony.

_So freaking cute!_ The thought involuntarily crossed his mind. "I'd love to." Tony said without thinking. He blushed. "I-I mean..." Tony tried to say something he felt was more appropriate.

"Okay, whenever you want to come over..." Tsukasa said. Kagami decided to interrupt to save the two their embarrassment.

"Yeah, maybe dad will finally come out of his room to meet you!" Kagami said.

"Sure... Maybe..." Tony muttered.

"And you can prove your magic to mom!" Tsukasa perked up.

"Yeah!" Tony smiled.

"In that case, why not tomorrow after the exams?" Kagami asked.

"Sure!" Tony smiled.

"Am I invited?" Konata asked.

"Of course!" Kagami chimed. It almost scared Konata, Kagami wasn't generally that... exuberant about how happy she was. It might be because Kagami was subconsciously getting happier and happier to see Konata more. Tony and Tsukasa did not fail to pick up on this either, and they were both enjoying seeing their respective sister getting closer to the other.

"It's getting late, we should all get home." Tony looked at his phone for the time.

"Hey guys." Konata said.

"What's up?" Kagami asked.

"The exams are tomorrow." Konata said flatly. The entire group deadpanned for almost an entire minute.

"TSUKASA, WE NEED TO GO!" Kagami yelled, grabbing Tsukasa's hand and running towards the Hiiragi house.

"Wha-Onee-Bu- Bye Kan-kun!" Tsukasa finally decided to choose a statement and waved to Tony. Tony chuckled and waved back.

"Bye Tsu-chan!" Tony waved back. He turned to the three remaining people. "Alrighty, I'm guessing Masutā is going to see Miyuki home?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, why not?" Masutā smiled.

"And that means me and you are going home together Konata." Tony said. "Let's go!" He shouted as he and Konata started running home. Masutā looked over to Miyuki.

"Do we need to run?" He asked.

"No, I don't believe so. I'm confident I can currently pass the exam." Miyuki said.

"Alright, let's just walk and talk." Masutā smiled. They did just that.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

The twins got to their home, huffing and panting.

"O-Onee-chan..." Tsukasa panted, leaning on her knees.

"Sorry Tsukasa, I panicked a little bit... But we need to study!" Kagami huffed as she walked into the house, followed by Tsukasa.

"Onee-chan~." Tsukasa chimed in a sweet voice.

"Yes, we're studying together." Kagami grabbed Tsukasa and started to walk to her room.

"Are we pulling an all nighter?" Tsukasa asked.

"Probably, think you can make it?" Kagami asked.

"I dunno, maybe! But that sounds like something Kona-chan would do, right?" Tsukasa asked as they entered Kagami's room.

"We-well yeah, I guess..." Kagami mumbled.

"She's rubbing off on you~." Tsukasa chimed happily. Kagami blushed as her sister echoed her Otaku. She decided to try and get Tsukasa off the subject.

"Well we have to study hard, you've got to make it! Remember, Tony is super smart, he'll probably ace the exam no sweat. So if you want to end up in the same class as him, you've got to work at it!" Kagami said to motivate her sister. Tsukasa perked up instantly.

"Alright, let's get to work!" Tsukasa pumped her fist. Kagami giggled.

_I wonder how long this is going to last..._ Kagami thought. Sure Tsukasa was motivated, but she had been motivated before. And the results were usually the same, Tsukasa would fall asleep shortly. "Then let's get started." Kagami smiled.

* * *

**POV Konata**

"This way, I know a shortcut home!" Konata shouted to Tony as they jogged.

"Gotcha!" Tony followed.

"Nice handling during the movie Tony!" Konata laughed.

"I went with my gut. I liked what it told me." Tony smiled. _I'm glad I could comfort her. And I'm glad that she allowed me to get close to her._ Tony smiled wider.

"By the way, what did you need to talk to Kagami about?" Konata asked.

"A personal matter of Tsu-chan." Tony said.

"And did you get the answer you were looking for?" Konata asked. She didn't know what the question was, but she knew Tony would tell her if he felt it was necessary for her to know.

"I did. While I won't tell you what it was about, I do want to thank you." Tony smiled.

"For what?" Konata asked.

"Just know that Kanpeki Otokonoko owes you one." Tony said. "If there's ANYTHING you ever need, just ask. It's yours if it's within my power."

"Wow, I really wanna know what I did now. It involves Tsukasa, eh? Hm... I gave her half a choco-coronet a year ago, does that count?" Konata laughed. Tony laughed as well.

"Don't worry about it Konata. Just... Thanks for helping Tsu-chan." Tony said appreciatively.

"By the way, Tsu-chan?" Konata asked.

"Yeah, it was suggested to me that I give Tsukasa a nickname. Personally, I think Tsukasa's name is much prettier then Tsu-chan, but you should have seen her when I called her Tsu-chan. She was so cute! I just wanted to scoop her up and hug the stuffing out of her!" Tony said excitedly.

"You should have!" Konata said.

"I was too caught up at the moment. I wish I had." Tony sighed at the happy memory. "Konata?"

"Yeah?" Konata asked.

"I love Tsukasa." Tony admitted. Konata jumped and almost fell down mid-run.

"Whoa, that's a strong word you're usin' there Tony!" Konata laughed.

"Can you say you don't love Kagami?" Tony retorted.

"I.. Yeah. I love her." Konata admitted sheepishly.

"So, we've fallen in love with the Hiiragi twins. May the gods help us." Tony laughed. Konata did as well.

"We'll need all the help we can get!" Konata said in the middle of her laugh. "Hey, at least Tsukasa is a girl and you're a guy! You don't have to turn your love!" Konata said.

"True, but I think you'll find your task much easier then you think it." Tony said.

"And what makes you think that? Kagami IS a miko!" Konata said. Tony laughed.

"That shouldn't have anything to do with it! Besides, how can anyone NOT fall for you sis? You're kind, funny, cute, and doggone it, people like you!" Tony laughed.

"Geez, if I didn't know better, I'd say YOU loved me!" Konata laughed.

"I do love ya, you ARE my sister!" Tony replied. Konata smiled warmly.

"Thanks. The feeling's mutual." Konata said affectionately. They jogged in silence for a moment, letting the fuzzy moment pass.

"Ready to study your butt off Konata?" Tony asked.

"Totally, all nighter for the win!" Konata gave a thumbs up.

"Hm... I have an idea, but it's gonna be rough." Tony said.

"What's up?" Konata asked.

"If I... took control of the energy around Kagami's pencil, I might be able to mimic her answers, which I could then pass onto you, Tsu-chan and Mooki-chan. If that worked, that would guarantee us all getting into the same class." Tony smiled as he finished excitedly.

"That's an amazing idea, do you think you could do it?" Konata asked with equal excitement.

"I hope so! If not, I'll give you the answers I come up with, hopefully it will be the same kind of answers that Kagami answers!" Tony said. They were silent for a moment.

"Mooki-chan?" Konata asked.

"Miyuki. Same reason as Tsu-chan, Tsu-chan was so happy, she made me give Miyuki a nickname." Tony smiled.

"You should give me a nickname." Konata laughed.

"Hmm..." Tony hummed. "How about... Kon-kon?" Tony laughed. Konata blinked a few times. She burst into laughter as well.

"Totally! That's hilarious Kan-kan!" Konata laughed.

"Kan-kan?" Tony laughed.

"YOUR new nickname!" Konata clarified.

"I'll take it!" Tony accepted. "It's better then "Kanpeki the orphan"!"

"Most definitely. Hey Kan-kan, does it seem like we've been running for a really long time?" Konata asked.

"Yeah, it does..." Tony slowed to a walk.

"Where are we?" Konata asked.

"I think we missed our houses..." Tony mumbled.

"I think we're lost." Konata said.

"L-lost? I thought you said this was a shortcut!" Tony shouted.

"It is! Look how fast we got lost!" Konata shouted back.

"Let's go back!" Tony said.

"To where?" Konata asked.

"To where we weren't lost!" Tony responded.

"Come on, this looks like a good way to go." Konata pointed.

"You don't have a thing in mind, do you?" Tony asked.

"Even less then that!" Konata stated. They walked off in the random direction.

* * *

**POV Kagami – 4 hours later**

Kagami and Tsukasa were still studying, looking over every bit of the notes they had between them, though Kagami's were a bit more coherent. Kagami took periodic glances at Tsukasa to see how she was holding up. She actually looked like she was still wide awake.

_Wow, she's really determined... I didn't think it would have such an effect on her._ Kagami thought as Tsukasa hadn't seemed to lose any steam over the course of the night.

"Onee-chan, how do I do this?" Tsukasa asked, pointing to a problem.

"Ah, you see, with that one you subtract the eight from both sides, then you raise it to the fifth power and take the square root of what you have left." Kagami explained.

"Oh... Okay!" Tsukasa said with determination. She hardly understood what Kagami had just said, math had never been her strong suit. She might not even be good enough for it to count as a weak suit.

"You're holding up a lot better then I thought you would Tsukasa." Kagami said.

"Thanks Onee-chan... I think..." Tsukasa mumbled. "But you made sense when you said I had to study to be in the same class as Kan-kun!" Tsukasa said.

"Yeah, I'm sure you'll do great with all the studying you're doing." Kagami smiled. Suddenly, her phone started to ring. "Hiiragi here."

"Kagamin~!" Konata chimed from the other end of the phone.

"Hey Konata, what's up?" Kagami smiled despite the fact that she was tired.

"Not much, just lost." Konata said. Kagami sighed.

"Konata, how did you get lost? I thought you knew the way back to your house from the arena!" Kagami said.

"I kinda missed my stop..." Konata muttered.

"Then just keep riding until you get back to your stop!" Kagami scolded.

"Well... I kinda mean that I ran past my house while I was running with Kan-kan and now we don't know where we are..." Konata mumbled.

"Kan-kan?" Kagami asked.

"Tony! It's his new nickname!" Konata said excitedly.

"Oh, so you got Tony lost with you too?" Kagami asked.

"Hi Kagami!" Tony shouted in the background. "Hi Tsu-chan!" Tony shouted despite not knowing if Tsukasa could hear or even if she was in the room.

"Hi Kan-kun!" Tsukasa shouted back. Kagami smiled to herself.

"Wow, Tsu-chan's still awake! I didn't expect that..." Kagami heard Tony say to Konata.

_That's kinda mean... Correct, but mean._ Kagami smiled to herself. "Well what do you expect me to do about it?" Kagami asked.

"Tell us where we are!" Konata said.

"I don't know!" Kagami shouted.

"Uh-oh Kan-kan, even Kagami doesn't know where we are. I guess we're doomed." Kagami could almost picture Konata shrugging nonchalantly.

"Well, been nice knowin' ya Kon-kon." Tony said. Kagami giggled.

"What's around you?" Kagami asked.

"Um~... A Mcdonalds... A Burger King... Um... A mall... A – Oh hey, they're showing Lion King in 3D!" Konata shouted. Kagami sweatdropped.

"Um... Konata..." Kagami said flatly.

"Yes~ Kagamin?" Konata chimed.

"Are you back at the same mall we were at today?" Kagami asked. Konata hummed.

"Yeah!" Konata said. Kagami sighed.

"You don't know the way home from the mall?" Kagami asked.

"'Course I do Kagamin~!" Konata cooed.

"Well then why the hell did you call?" Kagami shouted.

"Well geez Kagamin, I was gonna tell you a super awesome idea Kan-kan had so we could all be in the same class. But if you don't wanna hear it..." Konata bluffed. That caught Kagami's attention instantly.

"Wait, what? What do you mean, we can be in the same class?" Kagami asked excitedly.

"Probably, but you don't wa-" Konata started again. She was swiftly cut off.

"OF COURSE I DO!" Kagami yelled.

"Whoa! Down Kagami!" Konata laughed. _I didn't expect a reaction like that!_ Konata laughed in her head. Kagami's face turned carmine as she realized how enthusiastically she had responded.

"S-sorry Konata, I just wanna be in your guys' class, ya know?" Kagami quieted down.

_Cute! _Rang out in Konata's head. "'Cause you get lonely~?" Konata chimed.

"I don't get lonely!" Kagami shouted.

"Sure you do!" Konata argued.

"Whatever... Let's just hear this plan of his." Kagami blushed.

"Um... Let him explain, something might get lost in translation..." Konata said flatly. There was a second where shuffling could be heard.

"Yo Kagami!" Tony greeted.

"Hey Tony. What's this plan of yours?" Kagami asked, trying to contain her excitement.

"Alright, I'll try and sense the energy around your pencil as you move. Then I'll use the disturbance I sense to guess which answer you chose. Then I'll pass it to Tsu-chan, Kon-kon, and Mooki-chan!" Tony explained.

"That sounds... complicated enough to work!" Kagami smiled. "I did just realize something though."

"What's that?" Tony asked.

"You now have a nickname for everyone in our little group except for me. I'll admit, I feel a little left out." Kagami said sarcastically.

"A nickname for you, huh?" Tony hummed.

"Kan-kan, say-" Konata started to whisper what she thought was out of reach of the phone.

"Hang on Kon-kon, I wanna think of this myself. More personal that way, ya know?" Tony said.

"Well alright then." Konata back up. Tony hummed.

"Kyo-chan!" Tony said enthusiastically. Kagami could hear Konata start laughing her cute behind off in the background.

_Gah! I did it again!_ Kagami shouted. It wasn't so much that she had called Konata cute that it was she had specified her behind. Which Kagami had subconsciously looked at on more then one occasion. She caught herself once. She didn't exactly look away quickly. "You're kidding me." Kagami said.

"What's up?" Tony asked.

"Did Konata tell you to say that?" Kagami asked.

"No, why?" Tony asked.

"You two are getting more alike all the time..." Kagami sighed. "You've still got differences, but still..." Kagami added, thinking of Konata's cuteness.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Tony said flatly.

"Konata gave me that same nickname about a year or two ago." Kagami sighed. Tony laughed.

"You're kidding!" Tony laughed.

"No, she isn't!" Konata laughed.

"Then how about Kagami-sama?" Tony asked.

"Okay, Konata told you that one." Kagami said.

"Yeah, that one she did. But it was funny, huh?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, I suppose..." Kagami smiled.

"I wanna talk to Kan-kun!" Tsukasa flailed her arms in a matter similar to Konata earlier when Kagami had pried the Otaku off of her.

"Tony, you wanna talk to Tsukasa?" Kagami asked, knowing full well that the answer was gonna be an enthusiastic yes.

"I most certainly do want to ta-" Tony started before he started suddenly, silence holding the line. There was a moment of silence.

"Tony?" Kagami asked. No response.

* * *

**POV Konata – Same time**

"Okay, we've been wandering for hours Kon-kon, what are we gonna do? This obviously isn't getting us anywhere." Tony said.

"Let's call Kagamin and see if she can help!" Konata suggested.

"How can she?" Tony asked.

"She probably can't, but we can also relay your strategy to her!" Konata said.

"Alrighty, that makes sense." Tony said.

"Got your phone?" Konata asked.

"Yeah, you forget yours?" Tony asked.

"Yeah..." Konata said, accepting Tony's phone. "By the way, is this a droid?"

"Yep yep!" Tony smiled. "I hacked around a bit and guess what I got on it!"

"What's that?" Konata asked. Tony held out his hand and Konata replaced his phone.

"Siri, talk dirty to me." Tony said.

"Humus. Compost. Pumice. Silt. Gravel." A female voice said.

"Whoa! Wait, isn't Siri something for the iPhone?" Konata asked.

"Yeah, but a few switched circuits, a couple fused phones and I had Siri! It was actually kinda difficult." Tony chuckled.

"Can I try?" Konata asked.

"Go ahead!" Tony handed her the phone.

"Siri, will you marry me?" Konata asked. There was silence for a moment.

"Who is this?" Siri asked.

"That's my sister, Konata." Tony clarified.

"We hardly know one another." Siri responded. Tony took the phone back.

"Will you marry ME Siri?" Tony asked.

"That's sweet master. Is there anything else you need help with?" Siri responded. Dots appeared by Konata's head as she stared at the device, thinking about what it had just called him. She looked up to Tony, a catgrin on her face.

"Is this your brother's phone?" Konata asked.

"... No." Tony blushed a bit.

"Why is it calling you master?" Konata's catgrin widened.

"... Because I like being called master, okay?" Tony scratched the top of his head. "I told it my name was Master."

"That's fine master, we all have fetishes." Konata winked.

"...Do I even want to know yours?" Tony asked.

"I dunno, do~ you?" Konata asked.

"Hmmm... Sure. Go ahead." Tony permitted, a little scared.

"Well of course Yuri, Yaoi, Erotic Lactation-" Konata started to list off.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, that's enough there Konata! … Erotic Lactation, huh?" Tony asked.

"Mhm." Konata nodded.

"You're very... forward with your sexual preferences. Isn't that last one basically where you're breast fed?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, pretty much." Konata smiled, never missing a beat.

"I'll bet once you have Kagami to yourself, she'll be more then willing to appease your fetish." Tony smirked, causing Konata to blush at the thought. "Though, hopefully she won't have the same fetish."

"Why?" Konata asked.

"She probably couldn't get anything." Tony's eyes drifted down.

"Hey!" Konata shouted.

"Ah, you know I'm only teasing!" Tony laughed.

"Besides, my flat chest is a status symbol! It's super rare!" Konata put a hand over her chest proudly.

"Well, I guess Tsu-chan's pretty rare then as well." Tony said without thinking. He would soon regret it.

"Oh~, so you've been looking then?" Konata asked, her catgrin reappearing. Tony jumped and blushed.

"Well, I- Ya kno- ahehe..." Tony scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "What were we doing again?"

"Hm... Oh right, we were gonna call Kagami!" Konata said.

"There's a bench, let's go sit." Tony pointed. As they walked over to it and turned to sit, Tony held a hand up to stop Konata.

"What's up?" Konata asked.

"Kon-kon, we're gonna sit down now. Try not to get lost on the way down." Tony said. Konata pouted.

"Yeah yeah." She said as she dialed Kagami. That's a lot of typing to do again. You all know how the call went. I'll flash near the end.

**Supah Flash**

"Tony, you want to talk to Tsukasa?" Kagami asked. Tony smiled much wider.

"I most certainly do want to ta-" Tony heard a click. "-lk to Tsu-chan!" Tony smiled. He waited a moment. "Tsu-chan?" Tony asked. No response. "Tsu-chan~?" Tony asked. He took the phone away from his ear and looked at the black screen. "Huh. Musta died on me." Tony said. "Damn it! I wanted to talk to Tsu-chan..." Tony sighed. The two started walking home.

"So let me ask you, would you prefer to call her Tsu-chan or Tsukasa?" Konata asked.

"I think Tsukasa, but she prefers Tsu-chan. So that's what I call her." Tony smiled.

"Hey, maybe you should ask her to call you master from now on!" Konata laughed. Tony blushed.

"I don't think I want to ask her to do that..." Tony mumbled.

"Why not?" Konata asked.

"'Cause I think she might and I might not be able to control myself if she did..." Tony's face started to resemble Kagami's in hue after she had yelled as he pictured Tsukasa actually calling him that.

"She probably would! I think she would pull a total Yui face!" Konata laughed.

"So, if my plan works, you won't have to study!" Tony smiled.

"Yeah, I hope you can pull it off!" Konata cheered. They quickened their pace a bit until they saw a large group of males in a crowd. They seemed gathered around someone and there was a lot of movement. It wasn't until Konata and Tony got closer they realized what was going on.

"Kon-kon?" Tony said.

"Yes Kan-kan?" Konata responded.

"Why the hell is it that every time it's just you and me, there's someone getting beaten or robbed?" Tony asked, the former applying.

"I dunno, I noticed that too..." Konata mumbled.

"I'll get 'em." Tony said, dashing forward. He felt that, while Konata might have a bit of martial arts training, that many people would probably be over her head. Tony jumped into the middle of the group, his feet landing on either side of a collapsed boy about his age. "FUS RO DAH!" Tony shouted, sending the group hurtling back. Tony took a stance. Three boys ran up and started attacking Tony, but it was obvious they didn't have a lot of fighting experience. Tony started taking the three of them with one hand. He used his free hand to hit them off. The remaining two boys backed up.

"We'll get you Caster!" They shouted as the other three got up and ran away with them. Tony eased and turned around, expecting the boy to be unconscious. However, the boy got to a sitting position and, though thoroughly beaten, had a smile on his face.

"Thanks man." He said.

"Damn kid, you're tough. You had to be pretty good to last against that, why don't you come with us and join our little family?" Tony asked, putting a hand out to help to boy up.

"Huh?" He asked.

"Sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself. I get excited when I see tough people. My name is Kanpeki Otokonoko, what's yours?" Tony asked, pulling the boy to his feet.

"Sanjo, Sanjo Caster. It might be from the concussion, but you look familiar." Sanjo said.

"You may recognize me from the World Tournament, I was Ryū Tora no Kami." Tony said, starting any first aid he could without any real supplies. It wasn't much, but he could at least diagnose some of the injuries.

"Wow, nice, you're world famous dude! I'm pretty lucky that you came along." Sanjo chuckled.

"Look at you kid. Beaten to a bloody pulp and your laughing like it's nothing. Like I said. You're tough. You interested in fighting?" Tony asked.

"Yeah! You interested in teaching?" Sanjo asked.

"Hold that thought, what was my name again?" Tony asked.

"Kanpeki Otokonoko, why?" Sanjo asked.

"Well, you don't seem to have a concussion, you replied quick enough and remembered my name. That would have been a bit more difficult had you been injured." Tony said. "That said, I warn you. I'm not gonna be an easy teacher." Tony warned.

"That's alright, I'll try and be an easy student." Sanjo replied.

"Well okay then! By the way, just in case I can't train you at a given time, and if she isn't opposed to it, perhaps my sister can train you. Kon-kon?" Tony asked.

"Sure, Master Liu encouraged I take on a student!" Konata said.

"Who?" Tony asked.

"My old martial arts teacher." Konata clarified.

"Ah. Well, what do you say Sanjo?" Tony asked the boy.

"Thank you for taking me as your student." Sanjo bowed. Tony smiled.

"Training will take place at 3-14-17 Kita-Satte. I have a training room inside, and my number is ***-****. Please call once you're feeling better and we can begin." Tony smiled.

"Thank you master." Sanjo decided to be formal. A feeling of joy took over Tony at the title.

"I look forward to working with you." Tony put a hand out, which Sanjo firmly gripped and shook, sealing the deal.

"As do I." Sanjo smiled.

"Think you can make it home okay?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, probably." Sanjo looked in the direction of his house.

"Very well then. I'll see you when you're feeling better." Tony smiled as he and Konata started walking off.

"Goodbye master." Sanjo said before starting to walk off as well. _Wait until Mikeru hears about this... I just met and became the student of a god!_

"You've got a student!" Konata whispered to Tony.

"So do you." Tony whispered back.

"He's most yours though." Konata said.

"Will you settle for he's ours." Tony smiled.

"Deal!" Konata smiled as their houses came into view. At the sight, Konata started running faster, catching Tony off guard. They arrived. "Ha! I win Kan-kan!" Konata cheered for herself.

"You cheated!" Tony accused with a smile on his face.

"I don't cheat! I bend rules! There wasn't a rule about running faster!" Konata said. "Maybe YOU cheated!"

"How can I cheat, there were never any rules!" Tony shrugged.

"Iunno..." Konata shrugged. "Hey, if Tsukasa was a Yu-Gi-Oh card, what do you think it would be like?" Konata asked.

"Hm... A high defense... Low attack, like lower then Kuriboh... Her card effect would say "You can not attack this monster while you control one Kagami Hiiragi". And she would be one of the cutest duel monster cards ever." Tony thought. Konata laughed.

"I can totally see that!" Konata laughed. "Well, good night Kan-kan! Been nice getting hopelessly and desperately lost with ya!" Konata waved as she went up to her door.

"Same same Kon-kon!" Tony waved back.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

"Hmph. He either hung up or his phone died." Kagami hung up. Kagami looked over to Tsukasa to see she was disappointed. "Hey, you get to see him tomorrow at school!" Kagami smiled to her twin. Tsukasa smiled back.

"Yeah..." She smiled.

"Hey Tsukasa, Tony has a plan to copy my answers. He said he would pass it along to you, Konata, and Miyuki. So if you want to hit the sack, you can." Kagami offered.

"Onee-chan, you never want us to copy you!" Tsukasa pointed out.

"We-well, I want to be in a class with you guys..." Kagami blushed, looking back to her work to avoid deredere detection. Tsukasa, while not commenting on it, did notice.

_Onee-chan is slipping... I think she means she wants to be in a class with Kona-chan._ Tsukasa giggled correctly in her head. "Okay Onee-chan. I'm gonna go to sleep, I'll see you in the morning." Tsukasa got up.

"Good night Tsukasa!" Kagami waved as her blush settled.

"Night Onee-chan!" Tsukasa waved back. Kagami smiled.

_You better be right Tony._ Kagami thought as she continued studying.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Minoru shouted out. "Hiya luckies! I'm going to be your navigator today, I'm sorry everyone, but Akira's getting chewed out at the moment for leaving early. So, what to say, what to say... I didn't really prepare anything for this! Um... This is harder then Akira makes it look..." Minoru puzzled.

"Hiya Luckies!" Akira shouted as she jumped into the camera.

"Akira! You're back, how did it go?" Minoru asked.

"Damn director cut my pay." Akira said scornfully.

"Ouch. I'm sorry Akira." Minoru said. He remembered something. "Hey, maybe you can ask Tony to have a talk with him! He's already said he'll talk to your mother!" Minoru said. Akira lit up a bit.

"Yeah! That's totally an awesome idea Shiraishi!" Akira shouted, a twinkle in her eye. "Maybe he can convince them to give back all the pay they cut for no reason!" Akira said.

"I'll bet they'll listen to a world champion fighter..." Minoru smiled.

*Music Tone*

"I guess that's all the time we have for today! I'll see you all next chapter! Bye nii~!" Akira chimed.

"..."

"So you think Kan-chan will help?"

"Yeah, I bet he will. Maybe he can get your mother to give back that yen a fan sent you!"

"That would be amazing..."

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

Hey all! Did you enjoy this chapter? Did you enjoy my references? I got one off on Flygon and Sqweebs(again). The Sqweebs one was super small, but still there! Did you enjoy typing this chapter up? What? You didn't type this? Who did? …. I did? Oh, right, I remember now. Anyway, this all came pretty quickly, I have no clue what in half this chapter to be completely honest. I've realized that, while I type faster and better and come up with better ideas when I'm tired, I also have some pretty bad grammar. I looked over this several times and found something each time hehe. My thanks to Flygon Master for his continued help as Beta of this story! I'll probably remember something that went here later and either add it before publishing or add it to the next chapter's beginning notes. In any case, I'll see you next chapter!


	28. Chapter 28: Examination!

Chapter 28: The Day After the Forgotten Title

Hello everyone! For once, I'm completely clueless as to what to write in this section. I'm kinda just typing on the thought of nothing. Killa, I've been spending a while debating on if it would be Sasuke or someone original. To be honest, I'm still not entirely sure of my decision. Both of them hold their own set of challenges. Luckily, I have at my disposal a Naruto expert of three, not to mention what I can come up with myself for a set of issues with Sasuke. Sorry for the misunderstanding Sqweebs, the drunk driver wasn't a reference to you. Something... almost exactly like that happened to me when I was a kid. I digress, none of you want to hear about that. Flygon, whether I give you too much credit or not it purely opinion, and whether you know it or not, you help me quite a lot with this story. The only detriment is when I come up with an amazing idea for my story and then you send me a chapter a couple days later with the exact same thing in it... LOL you really do have a bad habit of mind raiding... In any case, thank you very much for all the help you, maybe unwittingly, give me! Don't worry Edge, I'll tell you when I go on hiatus, but I have no intention of doing so soon.

* * *

**In the morning**

Tony woke up and stretched. He barely remembered what had happened after he entered his house the previous night. He shrugged and got up.

"Mornin' Ototo!" Masuta shouted from the living room.

"Morning bro. What's up?" Tony walked out after he had dressed, putting on regular clothes.

"Not much." Masuta was laying on the couch.

"Masuta, you're gettin' a little lazy you know." Tony teased.

"Hey, I spent twelve eternities in the special forces, so I damn well deserve to be lazy." Masuta said defensively.

"I'm just teasing you bro." Tony smirked. "Sorry. I've gotta go get the exam out of the way though."

"No problem. Just wish Miyuki luck for me!" Masutā waved. Tony chuckled.

"What's going on between you two?" Tony asked.

"Nothing!" Masutā shouted quickly.

"And he said I was in denial..." Tony mumbled with a chuckle as he left. "I will!" Tony waved. He ran out, excited to see Tsukasa and hoping his plan would work. He smiled to himself, quickening his pace. He got to school quite early and decided to wait outside for his friends to arrive. It then occurred to him that he had left without Konata. _Whoops..._ He scolded himself in his head. _Oh well, payback for hitting me with that mace at the cafe._ Tony decided. About ten minutes later, Kagami and Tsukasa arrived.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Kagami awoke to find herself in some kind of space surrounded by a red fog. Suspended all around her in mid air were massive eyes staring at her, watching her hungrily, studying her every movement. She stumbled around a bit before she heard an almost demonic voice.

"Welcome to the realm of your nightmare." It greeted.

"Where am I?" Kagami shouted.

"You're in a realm of utter despair, one where every moment is spent in unimaginable agony and not even the very bravest of souls venture!" The voice cackled maniacally.

"Comiket?" Kagami asked in a shout.

"What? Er... no! This is a realm where the only ones who inhabit it were forcefully dragged, kicking and screaming, and where each moment of misery feels like an eternity!" The voice cackled again.

"...Still sounds like Comiket." Kagami commented.

"You're in hell, okay? Didn't the giant eyes floating all around you give it away?" The voice shouted impatiently.

"I thought they were just Otaku. Think about it, most of them probably have never seen a girl in real life outside their family come to one of these things, and they might be cosplaying as eyes!" Kagami pointed out.

"...Huh... Maybe we are at Comiket..." The voice contemplated.

"Exactly!" Kagami shouted.

"Well then. I couldn't live with myself if I forced you to stay at Comiket. Goodbye." The voice bade as the dream faded. Kagami woke up for real this time and blinked.

"The hell was that..." Kagami muttered. She looked around to see she had fallen asleep at the table at which she and Tsukasa had been studying, her pencil stuck to her cheek. She tried to remember the night before, but found that she couldn't remember much after Tsukasa left. She stood up and stretched. She looked at the clock to see there was plenty of time to get ready for school. However, she knew she would have to wake Tsukasa up eventually and so decided she would make it sooner then later. She changed into clothes that she hadn't been wearing the day before and left the room. She walked down the hallway to her sister's room, but found the door open. "Tsukasa?" Kagami called into her sister's room. There was no response, so Kagami looked in. Tsukasa was no where to be seen. _There's no way..._ She huffed. She walked to the kitchen to see Tsukasa making breakfast. "Well hi there Tsukasa..." Kagami greeted her sister. "You're up early."

"Yeah Onee-chan, I don't know why either! I couldn't sleep much last night." Tsukasa said.

"Are you okay?" Kagami asked, though the smell of Tsukasa's cooking was getting to her.

"I'm alright, thanks. It's just when you said that Kan-kun might be in a different class..." Tsukasa trailed off.

"Tsukasa, I know you like him, but you're getting to be... different. You're getting up before me, you're staying up better. Is there something up?" Kagami asked. Tsukasa sighed and smiled to herself.

"Well, mom gave me some advice a while ago, when I was late because I fell asleep with Kan-kun on the subway. She said to enjoy what time I have with him. And I don't know if something is going to... happen, ya know?" Tsukasa muttered. Normally, Kagami's mood would drop with her sisters, but she had an idea that would hopefully lift Tsukasa's mood.

"Well, think of it like this Tsukasa." Kagami walked up next to her sister. "Tony's really strong. Like, REALLY strong." Kagami emphasized. Tsukasa looked away from her cooking for a moment to look her sister in the face, her lips changing into a small smile. "I'm willing to bet if something like... did happen again, the car would be more messed up then him." Kagami smiled.

"Yeah... thanks Onee-chan." Tsukasa smiled. _He'll be there for me._ Tsukasa smiled to herself.

"Besides, I don't think there's anything that can stop him from seeing you. In fact, even if he... ya know...-" Kagami smiled, trying to recall Tony's exact words. "-I think he would burn his way across the afterlife to get back." Kagami cheered inside as she was sure she had gotten it correct.

"You think so?" Tsukasa asked.

"I think so. I bet even Hachiman would be hard-pressed to keep him away." Kagami giggled. Tsukasa followed suit as she turned back to breakfast.

"Thanks Onee-chan. Would you like some breakfast?" Tsukasa asked.

"Definitely!" Kagami said excitedly. Tsukasa made a plate and gave it to her sister. "Thanks, this looks delicious!" Kagami smiled.

"I'm glad it looks good!" Tsukasa smiled. As Kagami turned around to go sit down, she saw their mom standing in the doorway, leaning on the frame with an arm on her forehead.

"Well look at this? Tsukasa is actually up before I am?" Miki smiled. "And making breakfast? What a rare treat." Tsukasa blushed a bit from the praise of their mother, who did all of the cooking Tsukasa didn't.

"Would you like some mom?" Tsukasa asked.

"Most certainly if you're offering." Miki confirmed. She went and sat down at the table with Kagami. "Weren't you two studying together last night?" She asked in a whisper.

"Yeah, but I let Tsukasa go to sleep early. I don't really remember much after that though..." Kagami told her mother.

"Hm? I remember waking up and seeing Tsukasa walk to her room on my way to get something to drink. On my way back, I saw her entering your room." Miki said.

"What? That's weird..." Kagami said. _Then again, I was really tired. I was more putting a front on for Tsukasa._ Kagami thought. "Hey Tsukasa, you said you couldn't get much sleep last night?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah Onee-chan, don't you remember? I came back and we studied more until you decided you were too tired." Tsukasa reminded her sister, leaving out the fact that Kagami had actually fallen asleep before Tsukasa had left. Tsukasa hadn't the heart to wake her big sister up, and thought about what she would have wanted in her sister's place. To sleep.

"Wow, I don't remember that at all..." Kagami commented as she finished her breakfast. Tsukasa, in the meantime, had made both her mother and herself breakfast and was in the middle of her own plate. "Tsukasa." Kagami said.

"Hm?" She hummed, a mouthful of her meal.

"Tony doesn't exaggerate." Kagami smiled. Tsukasa blushed as she swallowed.

"Thanks Onee-chan." She smiled.

"What does mister Tony say?" Miki asked with a smile.

"He compliments her cooking every time it's brought up. Even more so when he eats it." Kagami smiled.

"Oh~, Tsukasa, you've been cooking for him?" Miki asked. Tsukasa blushed more.

"Yeah... He saved my life, so I cooked him dinner..." Tsukasa blushed.

"I bet if you ask him, he'd say he got the better deal." Kagami smirked.

"He really likes her cooking, doesn't he?" Miki directed the question to Kagami.

"He really does." Kagami commented.

"Well who can blame him?" Miki smiled as she and Tsukasa finished.

"You ready to go Tsukasa?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah. Let's go Onee-chan!" Tsukasa said as she and her sister rose from the table.

"Good luck you too! Do your best!" Miki waved.

"Thanks mom!" They both shouted. They left the house and started walking.

"Do you think Kan-kun can do it?" Tsukasa asked uncertainly.

"We'll just have to see. To be honest, I don't really understand what he's even gonna do, ya know?" Kagami responded.

"Yeah..." Tsukasa mumbled. Neither of them had understood Tony's explanation very much. They walked in relative silence for the rest of the way. They saw the topic of their conversation shortly.

"Hey guys!" Tony waved enthusiastically.

"Hi Kan-kun!" Tsukasa waved back with equal zeal.

"Hey Tony, you ready to try this "strategy" of yours?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah. What pencil are you gonna use?" Tony asked.

"This one." Kagami handed him a number 2 pencil. Tony studied it and tried to feel any difference between this pencil and anything else. After a minute of concentration in which they were all silent, Tony found that the pencil gave off a kind of... distinct vibe. Not only that, but all of the trees around them seemed to give off a similar aura. There was the same vibe coming from several of people's bags around them.

"Curious... It's like everything has it's own... feel." Tony said.

"What?" Kagami asked. "What do you mean "feel"?" She continued her question.

"I'll be honest. I know you're probably expecting some drawn out, complicated and damn near impossible to understand explanation, but I don't know. I haven't the slightest clue as to how to describe this to you." Tony said bluntly. He decided he should at least try and give an attempt at one. "It's... It's as if I... know this pencil, this material. It's a weird feeling." Tony said.

"It sounds weird. Hey, if it works..." Kagami shrugged.

"I hope it does." Tony said as they all walked to their respective homeroom. Suddenly a voice came over the intercom.

"Attention! The following students have volunteered for the 16 Kilometer hike after exams today:" The voice said. There was a moment of silence as they walked quietly, trying to hear the poor souls. "That is all." The voice said. The three began laughing as they arrived at Class B.

"Good luck Onee-chan!" Tsukasa chimed. Kagami smiled.

"Thanks. I'm counting on you Tony." Kagami smiled at Tsukasa, but her gaze turned extremely serious on the second sentence as she address the boy. Tony gulped.

"I'll do my best." Tony promised honestly. He knew if he failed to get them all in the same class, Kagami would probably gut him alive. From the tone of her voice, he guessed she would use the same pencil she held in her hand. Tony and Tsukasa entered the room and took their seat. Tony focused as the feeling of Kagami's pencil grew distant. It seemed to turn around and stop moving, which Tony took to mean that she had arrived at her class. It started moving closer by about a foot until it stopped again. Suddenly, the feeling widened to fill the whole of Kagami's classroom. A pit of panic formed in his stomach. _I'm sensing the wood, not Kagami's pencil specifically!_ Tony realized to his horror. They were alone.

"Ok roll-call time, Hiiragi?" Ms. Kuroi shouted.

"Here!" Tsukasa called back.

"Otokonoko?"

"Here."

"Izumi?" No response came to her as she looked to the desk of the small Otaku that was empty.

_Uh-oh, did she run away again?_ Tony thought to himself. Konata suddenly threw the door open and, with an anime excuse, took her seat. _Whew..._ As Kuroi continued, Konata turned around.

"So, ready to copy Kagamin~?" Konata asked. Tony dread giving her his answer.

"Konata..." Tony muttered, his head hanging. Konata's face turned to a somber look as he didn't use her new nickname.

"What's wrong?" Konata asked.

"My plan failed. We're on our own." The color drained from Tony's face as he told her, only just loud enough for Tsukasa to hear too. He looked up to see Konata give a deep breath, then shrug.

"Eh, that's alright, I studied last night. No offense, but I wanted a back up plan." Konata said. Tony lifted an eyebrow in surprise.

"You did? No offense, but you don't seem the study type." Tony smirked.

"I'm not, but I wanna be in the same class as Kagamin, ya know?" Konata smiled.

"Yeah, I suppose I can see that. What I'm really worried about now-" Tony turned sideways in his desk. "-is Tsu-chan. I'm sorry, I can't copy your sister." Tony said.

"I heard Kan-kun, it's okay. I studied with Onee-chan until morning!" Tsukasa smiled. Tony's other eyebrow raised.

"Well why did I even bother?" Tony chuckled.

"Alright class, I'm about to administer the placement exam that will determine whose class you'll be in next year, along with what level of education you'll be receiving." Kuroi started reading off a card that she was required to read. Konata suddenly got a panicked look.

"Kan-kan, stall her a minute!" Konata said, a certain hurry in her voice.

"Kan-kan?" Tsukasa giggled.

"No time, Kon-kon needs time." Tony said before wracking his brain. "Is Ms. Kuroi married?" Tony asked Tsukasa quickly.

"I don't think so..." Tsukasa put a finger to her mouth in thought. "Nope!" Tsukasa smiled.

"Thanks." Tony said appreciatively before raising his voice to normal parameters. "Ms. Kuroi, you look very pretty today." Tony said.

"Why thank you Otokonoko, now what do you want?" Kuroi responded.

"Why, Ms. Kuroi, what made you think I wanted anything other then to ask a simple question?" Tony looked hurt.

"I know you Otokonoko, AND I saw you talking with Izumi. What's the question?" Kuroi asked.

"Well, pretty young thing like you, I was just wondering how you aren't married yet?" Tony smirked. Kuroi's look turned into a glare.

"I like being single, no reason to tie the knot if it means it goes around your neck, right?" Kuroi said, not so much as a question as it was a challenge for Tony to speak again.

"Well there's a lot to said for marriage." Tony said.

"Marriage ain't all it's cracked up to be. You know, to be honest, marriage is probably the chief cause of divorce." Kuroi said knowingly, looking back at the paper to signify the conversation was over. Konata turned around again.

"Thanks Kan-kan!" Konata thanked.

"No problem, what was so important? I can't keep torturing Ms. Kuroi, she'll get tired of it." Tony said.

"Lucky eraser." Konata simply stated as she held up a Haruhi print eraser, completely unused. Tony sighed.

"Oh. Alrighty then." Tony muttered.

"We will now begin the exam." Kuroi said as she passed out the answer sheet and test upside down. "Flip your exam up now." Kuroi said after she had them all passed out.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Kagami walked into her homeroom, already knowing her fate.

"Hiiragin! It's been so long since I saw you!" Misao ran up and, with noticeably more enthusiasm, glomped Kagami. The Tsundere prepared for the impact with as bored an expression as always, having this same thing happen to her every Monday, but still almost got knocked over, as Misao put extra oomph into her tackle hug.

"Misao, you saw me the other day." Kagami sighed.

"But still. Would you want to be in the house with Kurono for any amount of time?" Misao asked.

"I guess I see your point. Still though, why do you have to hug me every time you see me?" Kagami asked. Misao hugging her held all the annoyance of Konata's hugs without any of the weird joy that she seemed to be getting from it lately.

"'Cause I love ya Hiiragin!" Misao shouted. Kagami sighed as she facepalmed.

"Yeah yeah..." Kagami said as she walked to her desk and sat down.

"So cruel Hiiragin..." Misao sniffed as she walked to her desk.___That chibi's gonna take Hiiragin away from me..._ Misao thought sourly. She felt so lonely without Kagami and she knew that the Tsundere's constantly growing attachment to Konata would only exacerbate the lonesome. Misao saw only three options. Either she attempt to befriend the midget, not an appealing prospect, she try to drive Kagami away from the Otaku, or she push Konata in front of a car. ___Meh, knowing Hiiragin, she'd push Chibi out of the way and take the car herself._ Misao thought, a bad taste in her mouth as a picture of the coma inducing crash involuntarily appeared in her head.___ She's just that kind of a friend._ Misao thought fondly. ___So that means I either need to be Chibi's friend, or get Hiiragin away from her..._ Misao thought. She thought of every time she had seen Kagami and Konata together. Appealing as the thought of Kagami no longer hanging out with Konata seemed, she knew the task of separating them for good was extraordinarily daunting, to say the least. She couldn't see that happening, even with all the influence she held over Kagami. ___That leaves me the option of getting to be friends with Chibi. Sheesh. This isn't going to be fun._ Misao thought, hating life at the moment. However, it seemed the only way she could get closer to Kagami and, hopefully some day, turn her away from the Otaku.

"Alright class, I'm about to administer the placement exam that will determine whose class you'll be in next year, along with what level of education you'll be receiving." Ms. Yukari read aloud. Kagami and Misao sighed in unison, though for different reasons. Their teacher passed out the exam.

___You better be right Tony._ Kagami thought as she started, making broad movements with the back of her pencil to try and make as large disturbances as she could, hopefully big enough to help Tony.

**What seemed like years later**

"Alright, put your pencils down, the exam is over. If you finished, good luck on the results. If you didn't, may the gods have mercy on your soul." Yukari added on the last bit. "I will now take up the exams." She read and acted out the action she had narrated. Meanwhile, Kuroi was doing the exact same thing. Luckily, everyone of importance had, indeed, finished on time. The only people who were nervous of their performance were the Hiiragi twins. Konata, Misao, Tony, and Miyuki were all confident in their answers. They all walked out of their respective rooms, but Class B waited for Kagami to arrive. She arrived with Misao in tow.

"You really wanna come see Konata Misao?" Kagami asked.

"Sure, I wanna... try and make peace with the Chibi. For all I know, we might end up in the same class next year."

"That's very big of you Misao." Kagami praised her friend.

"Thanks." Misao muttered. Before they could meet up with the lot of the friends, Konata ran up and glomped Kagami much the same way Misao had before.

"Kagamin! I failed the exam, I just know it! Tony couldn't copy your answers and I didn't know any of them!" Konata cried.

"WHAT? ARE YOU SERIOUS?" Kagami practically screamed.

"No. He couldn't copy your answers, but I studied my butt off last night." Konata catgrinned. Kagami stood paralyzed for a moment until she computed what Konata had said.

*Sigh* "Don't do that to me Konata..." Kagami sighed in relief. Kagami knew Konata had a way of pulling off all nighters.

"How can you stand that dimwit?" Misao commented. Konata's head shot towards her.

"Watch that dimwit talk Misakichi, your light's been out since I first met you." Konata replied.

"By the way Chibi, just a small question here, is your hair naturally blue or do you dye it?" Misao asked with scorn.

"Is that fang fake or is your mother a dog?" Konata retorted. Misao opened her mouth to retort, but her words got caught.

_Note to self, Chibi is slightly intelligent..._ "At least I'm not a midget..."She commented. Konata was getting tired of this.

"At least I'm not literally the daughter of a bitch." Konata commented. Misao's nostrils and eyes flared with anger.

"You wanna go Chibi?" She shouted.

"With pleasure!" Konata took a stance. It went to waste, however, because at that moment, Tony cast his consciousness forward and, acting on instinct, hit both of them invisibly with the intention of knocking them off their feet. Oddly enough, they didn't move and, for an instant, all of their emotions were his as well. He could sense a kind of confusion and anger directed at Misao, and also a burning hatred for Konata. What really caught him off guard was that not only was there a vast feeling of love for Kagami coming from Konata, but a different sense of love for the Tsundere from Misao. Suddenly, he felt a feeling of overwhelming panic coming from the both of them, and then all feelings he could feel from them were completely shut off to him. The both looked visibly shaken by the entire experience, though it had only lasted the span of several heartbeats. The action cost more energy then Tony would have liked, but it had been a move of desperation more then anything so that the two wouldn't fight. Konata and Misao both looked at Tony with a sort of fear in their eyes. "Kan-kan... What the hell was that?" Konata asked. Misao took several steps back and glared at Konata. She also caught a glimpse of Kagami. Said Tsundere could recognize that Misao was debating on whether or not to take the opportunity she was being presented with. Kagami shook her head. Misao looked as if she had been struck, backing up, then turning and running. Kagami ran after her.

"I thought you were going to make peace with Konata! What was that?" She asked.

"She's lucky he stopped me." Misao said scornfully. Kagami got a tad angry at Misao avoiding the question.

"You're lucky he didn't let her kill you." Kagami said. Misao looked at her.

"Who's side are you on?" She shouted.

"I'm not ON anyone's side! I'm just wondering why you changed your mind!" Kagami asked.

"I didn't, she was being just as annoying as she always is! How can you deal with her?" Misao asked.

"Because she's my best friend!" Kagami shouted, unwittingly cutting Misao deeply. It was then Misao realized she had lost her position as Kagami's best friend. She had been replaced. "And she- Misao!" Kagami shouted as Misao turned away from Kagami and sprinted in the opposite direction of Konata and co, ducking and dodging other students with surprising dexterity. Kagami already knew she couldn't keep up with the brunette, as said brunette took track and was the fastest on the team. Probably third fastest in the school behind Konata and Tony. Kagami sighed. What she didn't see, however, were the tears streaming down Misao's cheeks. Kagami walked back to her friends.

"What was with that? Did she come just to pick a fight?" Konata asked as they started out of the school. Kagami sighed again.

"She said she wanted to make peace with you so you two could maybe be friends." Kagami said, sad that the attempt had failed. Konata sighed.

"Well, she isn't giving me a very good impression that she isn't like her brother. She's being a jerk." Konata said.

"I know Konata. Please, just give her another chance. She's not a bad person! I just have to figure out what's going on with her." Kagami pleaded.

"As long as you want me too, I'll give her another chance." Konata said. "And what the hell did you do Kan-kan?" Konata turned to Tony. He shrugged.

"I'll be honest, I have no idea. What I did, I did out of instinct." Tony shrugged.___ Maybe I can ask Hachiman later. Can I call him or do I have to wait for him to show himself again..._ Tony thought.

"But let's forget about that for now! We still have a movie to wa-" Konata was interrupted as her phone rang, which her father conveniently had made sure she brought with in case of an emergency at home during the exam. This call, however, was not from her father. "Hello?" Konata picked up. She suddenly got an urgent look. "By who? A man named Shífēn? Is he still there?" Konata asked. "Okay, I'll be there as soon as possible!" Konata hung up.

"Konata?" Kagami asked.

"My master was beaten in a fight and almost killed! I've gotta go." Konata put her phone away.

"Want me to come?" Kagami asked.

"I would love that, but time is of the essence! I've gotta sprint!" Konata got ready.

"Want me to come?" Tony asked.

"Thanks for the offer, but I might not even get there before he leaves." Konata said.

"Good luck." Tony said.

"Thanks." Konata took off, easily faster than anyone had seen her run before.

"I guess it's just us then." Tony said, worried for his sister.

"Yeah." Kagami said, equally worried if not more so. "I guess let's go."

"I guess..." Tony muttered as they walked towards the Hiiragi house.

* * *

**POV Konata**

Konata was running her hardest, taking every short cut she knew of, jumping fences as tall as she was with relative ease. She got to her destination in several minutes, but was thoroughly exhausted. She entered the building.

"There's the one I told you of!" Her master pointed to her.

"You're Izumi?" The man asked.

"Yeah..." Konata panted. Her master, Liu, widened his eyes.

"You can't fight, can you?" Liu asked, seeing Konata's exhaustion.

"I... I don't think so... I just ran a few kilometers in about five minutes..." Konata panted. Shífēn sighed.

"Saitama has disappointed me. I came here because I heard this was the best martial arts school in the town, but he barely put up a fight!" Shífēn pointed to the fallen master. "It would seem I've beaten the best. Let's go." He called to the enormous crowd that supposedly belonged to him. As they passed Konata, she spoke up.

"Wait!" She said. Shífēn stopped.

"Yes?"

"You may have beaten my master, but you haven't beaten the best." Konata called, a little desperate for this man to be beaten.

"Oh? And who is the best?" Shífēn turned and asked.

"My brother. Ryū Tora no Kami." Konata turned to face the man.

"And where might I find this man?" He asked. Konata swallowed.

"He's at-" Konata proceeded to tell Shífēn where Tony would be.

"Thank you for your help little girl. I'll be sure to tell him who sent me after I beat him." Shífēn smiled. Konata smiled inwardly.

___He doesn't have a clue._ Konata smiled. Shífēn and his crowd left, but not before Konata recognized what looked like a sword being held by one of the man's followers. She gulped. She then remembered that Tony had seemed to be able to give her and Misao such a weird feeling, they had been unable to move. She went over to help her fallen master. "Master Liu!"

"I hope this brother of yours is really as good as you think..." He muttered. Konata smiled.

"He's even better." She said. She looked about to see the place in disarray. "I guess we had better get to work cleaning up." She straightened up and did just that, along with all the other students.

* * *

**POV Hiiragis**

"Yeah mom, we're about to get there. Thanks a lot!" Kagami said into her cell phone as they approached the Hiiragi house. "Good news, she actually got dad to come out of his room!" Kagami smiled to Tony. Tony shifted uneasily, but otherwise did his best to conceal his dislike for the man.

"Great." Tony said with hollow pleasure. "Let's go." Tony opened the door for the two girls. He followed them in.

"Welcome to our home!" Tadao shouted from his place at the head of the living room table.

"Thank you." Tony bowed. "It's pleasant to meet you sir." Tony said.

"Enough with the sir. Odd though. You look like a friend of mine, though his name eludes me." Tadao said. Tony scowled in his head as he realized the man was talking about him.

___At least he doesn't remember it's me..._ Tony sighed.

"So Mister Kan-chan, I believe you owe me a magic demonstration." Miki smiled. Tony smiled as well.

"Indeed I do and I know just how to do it." Tony smiled. He knew what he was about to do was likely to drain his energy considerably, but he felt like showing off a bit. Not to mention he knew Tsukasa would flip out. Tony took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Tadao looked confusedly between his wife and the boy.

"What's going on here?" He asked. Tsukasa walked over to her dad as Tony focused.

"Just watch. I bet he's gonna do something amazing!" Tsukasa whispered to her father. Tony started murmuring sentence after sentence, detailing everything he wanted done and that the spell was to terminate as soon as he commanded it to do so. After a solid minute of straight talking, he finally stopped, opened his eyes, and raised his hands. He threw them violently at a nearby broom, which started to float. Tony smiled as the broom sprouted arms, bringing forth a gasp from the Hiiragi family. The broom set to work, walking into the kitchen. The family went into the kitchen to see the broom sweeping the floor while dishes from dinner washed themselves. Tsukasa marveled as a classic Disney scene came to life before her eyes, all with the exception of it getting out of control. After a moment, however, the dishes set themselves down and the broom flew to the wall, setting itself gently down. The entire family turned to see Tony, leaning on his knees and huffing in obvious exhaustion. His skin had turned a ghostly white.

___That took a lot of energy..._ Tony commented in his head. He regained his composure slightly and pushed himself up, sweat glistening on his brow. "That enough Mrs. Hiiragi?" He smirked. The woman's mouth was agape, as was the rest of her family.

"Ye-yeah..." Miki muttered.

"Pl-please come sit down..." Tadao motioned for Tony to return to the living room.

"Thank you very much." Tony didn't hesitate. His legs weren't the most stable at the moment. He went into the other room and sat down.

"Can I get you anything?" Miki asked. Normally Tony would decline the gesture, but under the circumstances, he was quite obliged to eat. His stomach was already answering for him with a rather large growl, which was quite embarrassing for him. Miki smiled.

"Say nothing more, I'll heat up some of the dinner from earlier." Miki said, returning to the kitchen.

"Thank you." Tony smiled. Tadao came back in.

"So Mr..." Tadao started.

"Otokonoko, Kanpeki Otokonoko, but no one calls me that. If you wish, there are a few names I seem to go by nowwa days like-" Tony started.

"Ryu Tora no Kami." Inori supplied.

"Kan-kun." Matsuri smiled.

"Kan-chan!" Miki shouted from the kitchen. Tsukasa's face flushed.

"Tony." Kagami smiled.

"We-well... Yes. I do go by those, though I don't recall mentioning but a few of them to anyone but my friends. Apparently your family has heard of me." Tony said, embarrassed.

"I can see that. Have you been here before?" Tadao asked.

"Only on the outside, and then I was only here to drop off your daughter." Tony said. Tadao's brow furrowed.

"How well do you know my daughters?" Tadao asked.

"I'd like to think I know them rather well." Tony responded.

"And your relationship?" Tadao asked.

"Friends, sir." Tony said. Tsukasa would be lying if she said she didn't feel a little sad, though she knew Tony wouldn't exactly be able to joke about something like that to her father.

"What did I tell you? There's no need to be so formal. As I understand it, Tsukasa talks quite a bit about you." Tadao said, a spark of amusement entering his eyes. It vanished soon enough though.

"Unslaad Krosis." Tony said, confusing all in the room. Seeing their confusion, he realized he had spoken a language unfamiliar to them. "Innumerable pardons." He reiterated in a more familiar language.

"You do that a lot." Kagami commented.

"Unslaad Krosis." Tony repeated, knowing that everyone now knew what he was saying. "Sorry for speaking another language arbitrarily." He apologized.

"It's alright. What language was that anyway?" Kagami asked.

"That was in Dragon Tongue." Tony said, as if his knowing it was nothing out of the ordinary and that the lot of them should know it as well. Miki returned and put down a plate of food, which Tony ate with ravenous zeal.

"Dr...Dragon tongue, eh?" Kagami deadpanned. "That's something I would expect Konata to say." She said.

"Say what ya will Kagami, but I wasn't lying when I told you how versatile my communication skills are." Tony said matter of factly between bites. The food was gone momentarily, even though it had been a big plate. "Thank you, whenever I work a spell like that, it's indescribably exhausting." Tony sighed. His energy replenished, if only barely.

"Is there anything in particular you'd like to watch?" Tadao asked, offering Tony the remote. Tony raised a hand to deny it.

"No thank you. I don't watch much, if any, television." Tony refused, hoping he was acting polite. His lack of experience in the field of socialization seemed to be becoming ever more painfully obvious. "Please excuse me." Tony said as he got up to use the restroom. It was about a minute after he had left, there came the smash of a door. Tadao ran out the front door to see people piling in, one in the lead, one next to him with a sheathed sword.

"Hey, you can't just-" He started yelling before getting pushed out of the way. Miki ran in and saw to him.

"I heard Ryū Tora no Kami is here?" The man in the lead said as he entered the living room, much to the fear of the girls. "I wish to challenge him!"

"Not a good idea unless you brought friends." Kagami said.

"And if I did?" The man asked. Kagami looked into the group of easily a hundred people behind him.

"You shoulda brought more." Kagami smirked. The man seemed to light up.

"He's really that skilled?"

"Let's put it this way..." Kagami said.

"**They** say you don't tug on Superman's **cape,"** Inori said.

"**You** don't spit into the **wind,"** Kagami added.

"**You** don't pull the mask off the ol' lone **ranger,"** Matsuri said.

"**And** you don't mess around with **him." **Tsukasa finished.

"You make him out to be a god." The man accused.

"And you are?" Tony came out.

"I am Shífēn Shúliàn Zhànshì, are you Ryū Tora no Kami?" Shífēn asked.

"If I am?" Tony asked.

"I've heard you're the best in Saitama. I wish to fight you." Shífēn said.

"You've brought a lot of people to see you challenge me." Tony observed.

"I'm opening a fighting school and I want to prove my skill." Shífēn said.

"To open such a school, all you need is a good location. You don't need to fight me. Please leave." Tony gestured for the door. While he wanted to have some fun and fight Shífēn, he was a guest in the Hiiragi house, and exhausted besides. Tony started to walk away.

"Ryū! Don't give us those excuses! You're just scared to fight, aren't you?" Shífēn shouted.

"Fight fight fight! This is a house! Our home! No one will fight you here." Miki came in from the other room with Tadao.

"You heard her. The exit is the way you came." Tony gestured to the front door.

"I heard you fought like a woman, but to have a woman fight for you? Disgraceful..." Shífēn mocked.

"No one is fighting here." Tony repeated.

"Don't worry ma'am. I won't kill him." Shífēn turned to Miki. "If you're so sure he's going to lose, I'll use one hand! Even better, I won't use any hands!" The master martial artist shouted, putting them both behind his back. The girls turned to Tony with looks that almost said, "Are you gonna take that?" Tsukasa, in particular, was getting upset.

"..." Tony remained silent.

"What a disappointment. And I was hoping he would at least get beaten with honor and not this disgraceful refusal. Let's go, there are no skilled fighters here!" Shífēn shouted.

"BE QUIET!" Tsukasa shouted to the surprise of everyone, including herself. Shífēn stopped. The Hiiragi's started to talk amongst themselves. After a moment of deliberation, Tsukasa walked over to Tony. "Try not to break anything..." She whispered as they started leaving the room. Tadao approached Tony.

"Please get our honor back." He whispered before he left. After all of them had left, Tony turned to Shífēn with a smirk on his face.

"How do you expect to beat me if you fight like a girl!" Shífēn taunted more.

"Fighting has no gender. There is no such thing as "fighting like a girl". Why, my sister is a martial artist. I fight like me." Tony said. "Ready?"

"Ready!" Shífēn smiled, taking a fighting stance. Tony took one of his own. Shífēn leapt towards Tony, fist drawn back as he threw a punch. Tony pushed it to his side using his arm, catching Shífēn's punch with the same arm. Shífēn threw a kick, Tony matching it just enough to turn Shífēn around. Shífēn spun and retook his stance. He threw a kick, Tony backing up just enough to dodge, Shífēn following through with a multitude of roundhouse kicks. Eventually, Tony had to duck to avoid hitting something behind him. Shífēn's foot knocked the T.V. off the table it was on, causing it to break. Shífēn retook his stance, but Tony jumped back. Shífēn walked slowly up, but Tony walked backwards, looking at the T.V. Shífēn looked at it as well.

"I'll pay!" He shouted.

"Oh!" Tony smiled, retaking his stance. Shífēn shuffled up and threw a punch, Tony catching it by the wrist. He felt it being pulled from he grip as Shífēn backflipped in an attempt to kick Tony, but Tony jumped to the side. Shífēn's kick crashed a table, the dishes on it flying everywhere and shattering. Tony stared in disbelief at it.

"I'll pay!" Shífēn shouted. Tony sighed as he retook his stance. Before combat could commence though, Tsukasa poked her head through a door.

"Kan-kun! Onee-chan says that if you don't attack soon, everything's gonna get broken!" Tsukasa shouted.

"Alright." Tony smiled at seeing Tsukasa. Even after she closed the door, he kept looking.

"Stupid girl." Shífēn said. Tony's head snapped towards Shífēn.

"**Watch what you say now.**" Tony glared at Shífēn, irritated. Tony shifted his stance. Shífēn threw a punch, being caught by Tony again. Once again, he backflipped, but this time, Tony threw his fist down and hit Shífēn's leg with enough force that he was put back on his feet. Unfazed, Shífēn tried a haymaker, but Tony stepped into it and made it so that the arm wrapped around his back instead of doing damage. With this maneuver, he put his own arm around Shífēn's back and put his arm down, forcing him to bend down. Tony used the opportunity to start punching him before Shífēn rolled out of it. He got up and started whirlwind kicks. Once he got up to Tony, he turned it into a full roundhouse kick, the momentum of all of his previous kicks adding into it. Tony backed up a step and, while Shífēn was mid-kick, threw his own kick on the inside of his thigh. Shífēn lost his footing and had to catch himself on his hands. He jumped back up, his leg in severe pain. He threw one of his hardest punches, but Tony merely smacked it off and started a flurry of fisticuffs of his own, hitting Shífēn at least seventy times in five seconds. He finished it off with a kick to the Master's face. Shífēn fell to the floor, stunned for a minute.

"Master!" a couple of people rushed up and helped him up. He shook them off soon as he got to his feet.

"**Shífēn, are you okay?**" Tony asked.

"I'm fine!" He shouted. He grunted as he went to throw a punch, but his foot caught on his sword, bringing it from it's sheath. As Tony knocked his hand aside, Shífēn spun and caught the sword. He continued his spin and swung the sword, Tony jumping back. Shífēn kept swinging his sword, Tony trying to gain some foothold, but being pushed back through the house. Eventually, they came to the middle of the house, the outside area that held the pond with Kagami's fish. Tony jumped over it near the tree, where he noticed a small branch. He snapped it off and started parrying the sword strikes, avoiding the sharp edge of the sword and only hitting it on it's sides or the back. Eventually, he swept at Tony's feet with the sword. Tony jumped over it and hit Shífēn in the head with the branch. Shífēn backed up, slightly dazed as a welt began to become prominent. Tony sighed and shook his head. Every attempt to attack Tony would get parried or reversed until Shífēn went in for an overhead swing. Tony ducked down slightly and jammed the branch into Shífēn's armpit, stopping the sword inches from Tony's head. Shífēn's followers opened their mouths in surprise. Shífēn breathed hard several times, and then took his sword in his other hand and swung again. It was obvious that he was not using his main hand anymore. Tony spun, hit him in the back, then the hand, then Shífēn's back end. His sword fell, Tony kicking it's hilt so that it flew back and pierced a rock far away from anyone. As Shífēn spun around to _try_ and counter Tony, he found the branch at his throat. Tony pushed him back into a tree.

"**Give up?**" Tony asked.

"Fine! You win." Shífēn said, defeated. "You're style of fighting has beaten mine."

"You're wrong. It's not a matter of styles. It's a matter of you." Tony said, pulling his branch back. "You may leave now." Tony said, gesturing back inside. The Hiiragi family had joined the crowd and watched as Tony practically destroyed the master, even as low on energy as he was. Tony smiled as Shífēn looked dejected and walked out, followed by his crowd. The Hiiragis looked at Tony, beaming. Once the giant group had left, Tony let his fatigue show and took to a knee. Tsukasa was the first to shoot over to Tony and help him up, but the rest of the family soon came as well. They helped Tony back into the living room, which was thoroughly wrecked. Tadao sighed.

"I hope he does pay, we don't exactly have a load of money..." He said, looking around.

"If he doesn't, I'll pay." Tony said.

"I couldn't ask you to do that, I barely know you." Tadao said.

"You don't have to ask. If it's to help Tsukasa and Kagami, I'd give all the money I own." Tony said truthfully.

"Thanks, but I can't accept that." Kagami quickly denied. Tony's expression turned to one of amusement.

"Oh, there isn't a choice on your part." Tony said matter-of-factly. "You'd have to take it." Tadao raised an eyebrow.

"Well thank you for your generosity I guess. I don't suppose I could argue with a god, now could I, Mister Ryū Tora no Kami?" Tadao smiled.

"Sage, if you don't mind. I'm no god, no matter how I'd like to say otherwise. Please, if you must call me by a name so honorable, have it be sage instead of god." Tony requested. Tadao shrugged.

"As you wish. Tatakai no Kenja then." Tadao suggested.

"I like it, thank you." Tony smiled. He turned to Tsukasa. "Are you ready to see Lion King 2?" Tony asked.

"Yeah!" Tsukasa chimed with apparent happiness. Tony remembered something.

"Hey, guess what's coming to theaters?" Tony said.

"What?" Tsukasa asked.

"Beauty and the Beast in 3D." Tony smiled. Tsukasa did exactly what he knew she would do. An enormously cute squeal of pure delight emanated from the girl.

"Onee-chan! Hear that? Isn't that your favorite one?" Tsukasa asked.

"Yeah! I can't wait!" Kagami smiled.

"So, shall we go watch you two?" Tony asked the twins. Tsukasa answered in the affirmative, but Kagami hummed.

"I think I'm gonna give Konata a call, see where she is and maybe if she wants to hang out." Kagami leaned on one of her hands lazily. She hoped her act would work. She was indeed going to call Konata and see if she was free, but she would have been almost as happy watching Lion King 2 with Tony and Tsukasa. _But they're gonna be in there alone. Alone in a dark room.__ Um..._ Kagami thought to herself. She was contemplating whether it was really a good idea to leave the two alone in a room. In a dark room. With a movie playing that could easily drown out sounds. Kagami shook her head violently to coax herself out of the trance she seemed increasingly susceptible to. ___I guess they'll be okay. I have no doubt they could come out a couple, but I just don't want them to go too far... If it's at a particularly romantic time in the movie, things could get out of hand... No. I trust Tony not to take advantage of Tsukasa._ Kagami decided.

"Okay Onee-chan!" Tsukasa chimed happily. It wasn't that she didn't want her sister to watch with them, but now she and Tony would be able to be alone. And Kagami and Konata would be as well. Who knows where that would go? Kagami took her phone out as Tony and Tsukasa stood up and started to Tsukasa's room.

"Tsukasa, leave your door open!" Tadao shouted. Tony smiled inwardly.

___I guess I understand his apprehensions. A boy he barely knows going into a dark room alone with his adorable, airheaded daughter. I would probably do that same thing. Still kind of a drag though..._ Tony sighed. They got into Tsukasa's room, the girl finding the movie within seconds of entering. She put the movie in and looked back to see Tony standing awkwardly in the middle of the room.

"Kan-kun?" Tsukasa asked.

"I.. have never been in a girl's room before, it's... cute." Tony blushed a bit. This was also one of the first times Tony had been alone with Tsukasa since his emotions had escalated to their current height. Tsukasa giggled.

"Well it's the same as a boy's room, the zipper is just on the other side." Tsukasa smiled as she sat down on her bed. Tony looked at her and smiled.

"Seriously, how good is your memory? You seem the type to be forgetful, yet you quote me word for word." Tony smiled. Tsukasa giggled, though not sure if she should be insulted or not.

"I can remember things when I need to!" She argued. Tony's smile widened, though he stayed standing. "Come sit..." She blushed as she pat the bed next to her. Tony blushed as he went and sat on her bed.___ I'm alone with Kan-kun..._ Tsukasa smiled. The movie started playing. The screen showed Rafiki holding the newest cub to be born into the pack.

_Another Circle of Life starts…_ Tony thought with a smile as he sat next to Tsukasa. The approving sight of Mufasa appeared in the sky, gazing onto his granddaughter. _I like this song. He lives in you!_ Tony sang along in his mind. Little did he know Tsukasa was doing the same beside him. The screen cut to Kiara, the aforementioned cub, playing in front of her father's paw. She went off to go play, mimicking the thing Simba warned her of overly often and giggling at her father's predictable attitude. Nala came up behind her and playfully scolded her for mimicking her father, causing the young cub to giggle once again and run off. Simba shouted one last warning to his daughter, this time making her mother giggle. As Nala compared how Simba and his daughter were almost exactly alike at the same age, Simba recognized the similarity without protest and scolded how they use to act at her age, recalling how much trouble they use to get into. Simba and Nala nuzzled a bit before the lioness left. Simba called Timon and Pumba, who oddly didn't look at all different from the first time they were seen in the previous movie, over and requested they look after his daughter. "You know…" Tony said.

"What is it Kan-kun?" Tsukasa asked.

"If Kiara DID get into trouble, like a hyena attack or an outland lion attack, what exactly are Timon and Pumba gonna do?" Tony asked. Tsukasa thought for a moment, allowing the movie to continue to the point that they were found out.

"I see what you mean…" Tsukasa giggled.

"I know right? I mean, send a lioness! Someone who can fight, someone who can move stealthily. A lioness is use to having to fight to get food for the pack and prowling to sneak up on her prey!

"Yeah, but I guess Timon and Pumba DID keep Simba alive for years, they much have SOME survival skills!" Tsukasa debated.

"I suppose that's true." Tony smiled. They watched as Kovu and Kiara met. _So it begins._ Tony observed. He watched as they almost got eaten, then Simba came and mimicked his father, roaring with fury. He and Zira reunited and gave each other death glares. Simba picked up Kiara and left. About half way home, he told the others to go ahead. Nala understood. It was time for The Talk. Simba gave almost the same scolding his father had given him all those years ago. As Kiara rejected her heritage, Simba began singing of the bond they shared.

"It always amazes me..." Tsukasa almost whispered, seemingly to herself.

"What?" Tony asked.

"Simba's first song in the last movie was about him ruling everything with an iron fist. This song though, he's singing about being one with everything. It's just amazing how much Simba matured, from the lion bugging Zazu about being a mighty king to a king who knows his place in the circle of life and everything... It's just incredible..." Tsukasa said.

"I have to say, I agree with you there Tsu-chan. That's one reason I love this song so much." Tony smiled. Tsukasa nodded her agreement. Tony yawned.

"Are you okay Kan-kun?" Tsukasa asked.

"My apologies, that spell earlier seriously drained me..." Tony mumbled lethargically.

"Oh..." Tsukasa said understandably. Not that she understood casting spells, but she did understand being tired. Being very tired. Tsukasa looked back to see My Lullaby playing. "This song kinda reminds me of Be Prepared, ya know?" Tsukasa mumbled to Tony. She let the song finish, but Tony never responded. "...Kan-kun?" Tsukasa asked as she looked over at him. He had fallen asleep and slouched forward. He looked extremely uncomfortable.___ Um... What should I do?_ Tsukasa wondered.___ I know!_ She smiled. She lightly grabbed him and leaned his head into her lap. He seemed a lot more at peace now as he obviously enjoyed his new pillow. It made her smile almost as widely as he had subconsciously done once he was in her lap. It also seemed that simply watching him made her tired. She yawned. She blinked, but never reopened her eyes and was asleep soon.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Kagami leaned on her hand as she pulled out her phone.

"I'm surprised she wasn't with you already Imoto." Matsuri smiled.

"Well, she was going to come over, but something came up at her martial arts school so she had to go. I figure she must have taken care of it by now though..." Kagami said as she clicked one on her speed dial.

"I hope you two can hang out." Matsuri smiled. Kagami smiled back as she walked to her room.

"Hey Konata. How are things at the school?" Kagami asked.

"They're okay Kagamin, how's the movie?" Konata asked.

"I'm not watching, I was more wondering if you wanted to hang out if everything was good at the school?" Kagami asked, nervous for some reason. She always hung out with Konata, right?

"Really Kagami? You'd rather hang out with me then watch Lion King with Kan-kan and Tsukasa?" Konata asked ecstatically. Kagami paused in surprise. Konata's enthusiasm was very unexpected. Not even her enthusiasm, just it's abundance. "Kagami?" Konata snapped Kagami back to reality.

"Actually, kinda..." Kagami got a light blush, thankful they were talking on the phone instead of in person so that Konata wouldn't be able to see.

"Kagamin, are you blushing?" Konata cooed. Kagami blushed deeper.

___What the- How did she know?_ Kagami shouted in her head. "No!" She shouted in the phone.

"You're so cute when you're like that." Konata giggled. A vein made itself prominent in Kagami's head, though she wasn't exactly angry. She was mostly just embarrassed.

"Look, you wanna hang out or what?" Kagami asked, trying to sound stern but her embarrassment cracked through her voice. Konata giggled again.

"I would love to. What do you wanna do?" Konata asked.

"I dunno, I-" Kagami was going to try and brainstorm, but a thought came to mind. "Hey Konata?" Kagami asked, a sternness in voice.

"Yes?" Konata asked.

"Who was the person who came to your school?" Kagami asked.

"Why?" Konata suddenly sounded guilty.

"Because someone with what I think is the same name came here and challenged Tony to a fight. Did you send him here?" Kagami asked, her best attempt at anger in her voice. If Konata answered the affirmative, there was no doubt she was going to be furious. She didn't know how much so, but she would be.

"Yeah... I'm really sorry Kagamin, but he beat up my master and I was too tired to fight him! I'm sorry, but I really wanted him to get his butt kicked!" Konata apologized in obvious desperation for Kagami not to be angry. Kagami felt her fury start to lower a bit. Until she remembered her broken dishes and television.

"He broke our television and half our dishes!" Kagami shouted.

"Oh." Konata said on the other side of the phone. She sounded like Kagami had just hit her on the head as hard as she could. Kagami's rage subsided completely this time. "I'm sorry Kagami." Konata apologized for the third time in the conversation. This fact just struck Kagami, being probably the fourth time she had heard Konata sincerely apologize. Said Tsundere's heart melted once she realized this.

"It's okay Konata, he said he would pay!" Kagami shouted quickly, NOT wanting to hear Konata sound so sad anymore. As always, hearing Konata sad utterly depressed Kagami, which is why she hated it so much.

"Oh, I'm glad. So, did Kan-kan win~?" Konata asked rhetorically. Kagami smiled.

"Complete. Annihilation." She almost giggled. "Though he seemed to have a bit of trouble, he cast a super big spell earlier and it almost completely wiped him out."

"What did he do?" Konata asked.

"You remember the Sorcerer's Apprentice that Disney did?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah?" Konata said, recalling the ten minute clip Kagami was talking about.

"Yeah~. We have a pretty clean kitchen now." Kagami smiled. Konata gasped.

"Whoa, really?" Konata shouted.

"Yeah. Tsukasa, needless to say, was overwhelmed. She couldn't talk again until that guy came in and started challenging Tony." Kagami giggled.

"That's awesome! Anyway, I'm at my house, you wanna meet somewhere? Maybe meet at Gamers?" Konata suggested.

"Sounds like a plan!" Kagami smiled. "I'll meet you there!" Kagami said.

"Meet ya there!" Konata shouted happily. Kagami hung up the phone and sat smiling.

_Why am I so happy just to see her?_

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya Luckies! I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami~!"

"And I'm the assistant, Minoru Shiraishi. So what have we got today Akira?" Minoru asked.

"Nothing!" Akira shouted.

*Music Tone*

"Wait nothing?" Minoru asked.

"Nope, the author has to end this quick!" Akira said.

"..."

"What's that about?" Minoru asked.

"Once this is published, read the after section and you'll find out! Exciting news is on the way!"

"Well alright then..."

*End*

* * *

**After Section**

So, uh, yeah. Exciting news about the story. As of these words, this story is officially, and exactly, 200,000 words long. Only 5-6 more chapters before mine is the longest in the Lucky Star Section! This is so exciting for me, you guys don't even know. Anyway, I better cut this short before I go over. Sorry for taking so long with this one and I hope you all enjoy and review!


	29. Chapter 29: Perchance to Dream

Chapter 29: Perchance to Dream

Oh man. I got so mad at this chapter. I got SO mad at this chapter. December 24th, I sat down, excited at my latest chapter. I started typing. I typed for a solid five hours and type on and off the rest of the day after that. I had four thousand words. Four. Freaking. Thousand. "Open Office has had an error and must close." I hadn't saved. I yelled. "Would you like to restore the following documents? Chapter 29" Hell yes! Five minutes later, it pulls up an empty document. I almost cried a little. Mostly because I was typing spur of the moment. When I do that, what I come up with is a few cuts beyond my usual. It also has the side effect of me not being able to remember what I wrote until I read it a few times. In my opinion, and if I remember correct, those four thousand words were some of the best I've written. I only vaguely remember the topics of what I wrote. Ulti, don't worry about Liu, he's going to have about as much spot light as Ayano has had up until this point. I know, I said that about Masutā, but I'm sure about this one. Holy Riot... *Smirk* And yes Sqweebs, you did tell me about Beauty and the Beast in 3D hehe, thanks for that. I even saw a commercial for it a few weeks ago. I was happy. And yes Flygon Master, you mind raid! Some of my best ideas are in your story, though I must admit, I think you wrote them out better then I could have. And a few of them work better in your story anyhow! So pay it no mind. By the way, I'm fully aware of how wrong I've had the breakfasts thus far in the story. The only one that was right was the one they served in the hospital. If it's okay with all of you guys, I might try better at that. And by the way, lifting your eyebrows is also a sign of disrespect in Japan. This isn't so in my story, I'm sorry but it's already happened a lot in here. I hope you guys don't mind!

* * *

**POV Tony**

"No... No no no no no..." Tony heard. He woke up and blinked time or two before he realized he had fallen asleep in Tsukasa's lap. He blushed profusely and sat up. He then looked for the source of the noise and thought about it. It sounded like Tsukasa, but she was asleep and didn't seem the sleep talking type. His train of thought was interrupted, however, as Tsukasa jolted up, screaming.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

"Mom, can I go hang out with Konata?" Kagami asked as she came out of her room.

"I guess, but you've been hanging out a lot lately, I haven't gotten to see you too much! Maybe you shouldn't spend the night this time?" Miki asked, though not as a question.

"Alright, I understand. How long can you give me?" Kagami asked.

"How about an hour?" Miki suggested.

"Oo, that's not a lot of time! If that's all, I better get going now! Thanks mom, I'll see you later!" Kagami shouted as she ran towards the door. "Tell Tsukasa I'm borrowing her bike!" Kagami shouted.

"Will do!" Miki shouted back to her daughter. She sighed. She recognized the tone and look that Kagami was starting to get whenever she was going to see her small, blue haired friend. She had started getting the same aura as Tsukasa did when she talked about Tony, the same kind she remembered described to her when people told of how she talked about her husband. _I'm worried for her. How will Ta-kun react?_ Miki wondered. Miki knew that if her daughter did turn out to be a lesbian, Miki herself wouldn't love her any less, but the subject had never come up between her and her husband. If the time came when Kagami came out of the closet, Miki could only hope that Tadao's reaction wouldn't be what she feared it would be.

Kagami dashed over to the bike her sister owned and hopped on, riding as fast as she could towards her destination. She almost closed her eyes and really enjoyed the breeze, but the fact that one could seriously injure one's self from doing something like closing your eyes while driving any sort of vehicle made her refrain. She rode for about five minutes before she realized she was getting way too tired, way too fast. She slowed down and smiled while she panted at how close she had gotten herself to Gamers. She was there in another five minutes to see Konata standing outside, looking around hopefully. Kagami smiled to herself as she arrived.

"Hey Konata!" Kagami shouted. Konata whipped around to see Kagami and smiled warmly.

"Kagamin~!" Konata waved to the Tsundere. Kagami giggled. She had never noticed how cute Konata was when she waved so widely like that. She looked like a little girl. Kagami arrived and dismounted.

"Konata, how the hell did you get here before I did? I rode as fast as I could!" Kagami shouted.

"I apparated, of course! Silly Kagamin~." Konata giggled and latched onto Kagami's waist, causing the latter to blush.

"Ko-Konata! That isn't an appropriate time to hug someone!" Kagami scolded her Otaku. "Besides, you're drawing attention!" She shouted.

"So it's okay if I hug at an appropriate time then?" Konata looked at Kagami with a catgrin. Kagami blushed harder.

"Th-that's not what I said!" She shouted. "You're still attracting way too much attention!" Kagami shouted. She wasn't exactly angry with Konata, quite the opposite. It was very weird. The annoyance she had associated with Konata hugs was gone. She was happy. Embarrassed, yes, but happy.

"No I'm not. You're the one shouting." Konata smiled at Kagami, looking up into her eyes sideways and resting her cheek in between Kagami's stomach and ribs. The gaze had Kagami suddenly locked in place. She knew there was no point in resisting, nor did she want to. Her heart started beating quicker. Konata's face turned from one of amusement and teasing to one of hope. "Kagamin... Do you like it when I hug you like this?" Konata asked, having heard Kagami's heartbeat quicken. Luckily, Kagami had averted her gaze at the last moment.

"Yo-you never answered my question..." Kagami mumbled as she blushed even harder.

"My school is near here. Now..." Konata answered quickly. The abrupt end to Konata's sentence made Kagami look back to her. She saw the look of hope and found herself unable to look away. "Do you like me hugging you?" Konata asked again. Kagami blushed as her mind seemed to muddle.

"Yes." Kagami answered, the hopeful look forcing her to be unable to think very much on the question. She would have normally refused it, no matter the truth, but she found she couldn't lie. The look on Konata's face changed from hopeful to pure joy as she hugged harder. Kagami suddenly felt like she was being compressed at a junk yard. "Kona-" Kagami got cut off as the air from her lungs evacuated, forced out by the strength of Konata's hug. Now that she was thinking again, Kagami was impressed at the fact that Konata could knock the wind out of her with a hug around the waist. She must figure out how she did that.

"Kagami, I'm happy..." Konata mumbled. Kagami didn't hear it though, as she was currently suffocating.

"Kona- Can't... Breath..." Kagami mumbled. _How the hell is she this strong?_

"Oh! Sorries..." Konata loosened her hug considerably. However, Kagami looked back at Konata and smiled as she panted, trying to catch her breath. Konata smiled such a smile that betrayed the vast happiness behind her eyes. Kagami could find herself getting lost in how happy she found herself because she was seeing Konata so happy. She could hear the ringing of bells, which confused her until she realized someone had just opened the door to Gamers.

"Hey, if you two are going any further, could you wait for my camera to get ready?" A stereotypical otaku asked. Konata and Kagami looked at him and sweatdropped. Needless to say, they broke apart quickly.

"Let's go in, hm?" Kagami asked. Konata smiled inwardly and nodded. They entered and looked up to see the clock. They had hugged for twenty minutes! Which meant Kagami had only twenty more before she would have to go, and that was if she could ride as fast as she had before, which she seriously doubted. While she was sad to see she didn't have much more time to spend with Konata, she didn't exactly dislike how she had spent her time. "Hey Kona, I've only got about ten more minutes before I have to go home." Kagami sighed as she set an alarm in her phone.

"Aw~! Okay Kaga-..." Konata fell silent for an instant.

"Kona? Are you okay?" Kagami asked.

"Kagamin. Did you just call me Kona?" Konata asked, a stunned look on her face. Kagami blushed.

"Ye-yeah... I like the sound of it. Is that bad? If it is, I can stop!" Kagami said the last two sentence in apparent hurry. Konata smiled and shook her head slowly.

"No. I love it. Thanks Kagami." Konata smiled at Kagami. Kagami blushed a bit more.

"We-well cool. I'm glad, you've had a nickname for me for so long, ya know?" Kagami scratched her cheek. Konata merely made a cute squeak in response, one that Kagami would have sooner assumed had come from Tsukasa. It made Kagami giggle, though she kept it in until they had gone to separate aisles. Kagami saw a game that looked mildly interesting, the fifth in a series. There wasn't much to go on as far as cover art, however, as the only thing on it was a sort of dragon in the form of a diamond. The rest of the cover, save the name of the game, was black. Kagami shrugged and replaced the game. If they weren't going to bother making a half decent cover, how good could the game be? She picked up another game and turned it over. She started reading the back. It seemed like a nice romance game, oddly in the same section as the last game. She stood reading for about five minutes, rereading the basic plot. After that, she heard giggling again. She looked over, already knowing the giggle belonged to her Otaku, and sighed. "What is it now?" She asked. Konata said nothing, but pointed to the game again. Confused, Kagami looked at the game again. This time she looked at the pictures as well. She blushed at how graphic the yuri was right on the back of the cover.

"Kagamin, I didn't know you were into that stuff." Konata smiled. It was odd, she sounded like she was teasing, but also not teasing. Almost hopeful.

"Wha-? No! It's not like that, I was just reading the back!" Kagami shouted. Konata slid over and looked on the back. There were girls kissing. Girls necking. Girls doing... other assorted activities. It made Konata blush from all the pictures.

"What do you think of it anyway?" Konata asked truthfully.

"Think of what?" Kagami asked.

"Yuri. Girls dating. Ect." Konata clarified. Kagami seemed to ponder the question.

"I suppose if they're in love..." Kagami thought some more. She obviously couldn't have contempt for it, she was almost completely addicted to yaoi, though she would never admit it. And she didn't dislike yuri, not in the least. "Yeah. I think it's fine. If they love each other, they should be able to do whatever they want." Kagami smiled. Konata felt as if she had come a hundred steps closer to her love.

"Would you read it in a manga?" Konata asked.

"If the story was good, I don't see why not." Kagami responded.

"I mean graphic-wise. If it was a graphic yuri manga, would you still read?" Konata asked.

"Why?" Kagami gave Konata a questioning look.

"Just wondering, I have a few manga that you might like, but they have some pretty graphic yuri in them, that's all." Konata scratched her head. Kagami put a finger to her mouth and hummed.

"Well... I think the graphics don't really matter, if I got to a part I didn't want to see I could skip it..." Kagami said.

_She's missing the point!_ Konata complained. "No, I mean if you had to read it." Konata said.

"You're pretty insistent on this Kona. Are you sure you don't just want something else to tease me about?" Kagami asked.

"Kagami, I promise I won't tease you." Konata said with such certainty and honesty, Kagami knew she was serious. Kagami would thus give a serious answer.

"I would read it. It's not the kind of thing that I would read just for that element, but I wouldn't dislike it." Kagami answered. Konata's cheers in her head were the equivalent of a choir of a thousand joyous people singing.

_I thought she wouldn't like it because she was a Miko and her family worked in a shrine with her! This is awesome! I find out she likes me hugging her, she gives me a cute nickname, and she admits to liking Yuri all in twenty minutes! _Konata cheered in her mind. "Kagami?" Konata asked.

"Yeah?" Kagami replaced the game. Konata sounded like she was going to ask another serious question and two said questions a row was a rare thing indeed from the Otaku.

"How are you gonna know when you fall in love?" Konata asked.

"What? Now that's an odd question Kona. What brought that on?" Kagami asked, an eyebrow raised.

"I-I dunno. Just curious, ya know?" Konata said. "What will they be?"

"They won't be irresponsible, I can tell you that." Kagami said.

"I can name better then you can the things they won't be. But what WILL they be?" Konata asked.

"Hm... Well... I think I'll know." Kagami said. Konata raised an eyebrow herself.

"You'll just... know?" Konata asked.

"Yeah. I've imagined every bit of them. From their strong moral fiber, to the knowledge in their head. And they'll never gripe." Kagami pictured.

"You've wished yourself a regular flawless one, the ever nice, all perfect type..." Konata rolled her eyes.

"Yes! And I'll meet them when the time is ripe." Kagami smiled.

"You've got this person all figured out, huh?" Konata sighed.

"Yep. All figured out." Kagami nodded. "I'll know when my love comes along. I won't take a chance. They'll be just what I need. Not some one night stand romance." Kagami said dreamily. "I'll know when I run to her arms that I'm home, safe and sound... Until then, I'll just wait... Yes, I'll know when my love comes along." Kagami smiled.

"No no no Kagamin! You can't just do that!" Konata shouted.

"What?" Kagami asked.

"You're trying to find a custom fit in an off the rack world. You can't just order people specific, you've gotta take 'em as is!" Konata argued.

"Well fine, let's hear what you've got to say." Kagami pouted.

"M-me?" Konata asked, caught off guard. She hadn't expected to be called out. And she very well couldn't tell Kagami that she was already in love. She had to think. Quick.

"Yeah, you!" Kagami pointed to Konata accusingly.

"Um... Mine will come as a surprise to me... Mine, I'll leave to chance and chemistry." Konata said nervously.

"Chemistry?" Kagami asked, seemingly interested. This made Konata a bit bolder.

"Yeah. Chemistry!" Konata smiled. "Suddenly I'll know when my love comes along! I'll know then and there. I'll know by the sound of her voice how I care... How I care... How I care..." Konata said softly, surprising Kagami. Konata was getting deep. "And I'll stop. And I'll stare... And I'll know in my heart. I'll know I'm in love. I won't even ask "Is this right? Is this wise? Is this smart?" And I'll stop and I'll stare. At that face." Konata stared into Kagami's eyes with a certain sternness and rubbed Kagami's cheek almost sensually. "In the throng~. Yes. I'll know. When my love comes along." Konata found herself getting lost in the moment and becoming hot. She started moving closer to Kagami, as Kagami was doing the same. Konata wasn't pulling Kagami closer. As they neared each other, there was a loud ringing. Kagami pulled away and took out her phone.

"Go home!" Was on the screen, flashing with the rings. Kagami sighed.

"I... I've got to go Kona..." Kagami turned away. Her and Konata's hearts were beating so fast. Konata personally felt her heart was about to explode. She had just almost kissed Kagami. Had she been going along with it? Was she just too stunned to shove Konata away? Would she have hated Konata had her alarm not gone off?

_Damn it, I want answers!_ Konata cursed in her head. _Why can't this be easier!_ Konata shouted as her love left the store, got on her bike, and rode off. Konata sighed as she decided to head home.

Kagami was riding home, a blush on her face and confusion in her head. _What the hell was that? Did I almost just... No, there's no way. But what if I... No! But this feeling..._ Kagami could feel her chest tightened. It was as if iron bands had been placed around her body and were at this moment constricting her. The feeling, however, wasn't one of discomfort. She felt weird. She wanted to get home and rest. That was it. She needed rest. She got home just in time and staggered inside.

"Kagami? What's up?" Matsuri asked. Normally, Kagami would have been surprised that she wasn't called Imoto, but right now she just wanted to get to bed.

"What do you mean?" Kagami asked.

"Your face is flushed. You look tired." Matsuri commented. "And it almost looks like you're having trouble walking. Are you okay?" She asked again.

"Yeah. Thanks for the concern." Kagami mumbled before she went into her room.

"Something's up with her." Matsuri mumbled. Kagami walked into her room and laid on her bed.

_What is this feeling?_ She thought before she drifted off.

* * *

**POV Konata**

Konata was running home and getting close. She saw someone at the front door of Tony's house. As she neared, she recognized it as Masutā.

"Hey Konata, what's up? You look a bit shaken up. Something go wrong with the exams?" Masutā asked.

"No, it's nothing." Konata said, slowing to a walk. Oddly, she was tired from a run that was otherwise luxurious for her. Maybe it was her heart's recent acceleration that had yet to subside.

"You're lying. Tell me what the problem is." Masutā stepped forward.

"I don't wanna talk about it. I think Miyuki did well on her exam." Konata said with excitement. She wasn't truly excited about it, but she had to feign it in hopes of getting Masutā off subject, or at least distract him for an instant. It did the latter.

"So I've heard. But seriously-" Masutā was interrupted as Konata pulled out her phone.

"Yeah! I'm here, I'll be in in a second, don't chew my ear off so much." Konata scolded the person she was pretending she was on the phone with, her father.

"Sorry for getting you scolded, but this isn't finished Konata. You'll have to tell me eventually." Masutā warned.

"Yeah yeah, no problem." Konata said dismissively as she entered her house. She closed her phone once inside and sighed.

"Welcome home Konata, what's up?" Sojiro shouted from the living room. "How was your exam?"

"Hey dad. Not much. Probably passed it." Konata said as she walked through the house. She was exhausted for some reason. She wanted her bed.

"Konata, you okay?" Sojiro asked.

"Fine dad. Just tired. Where's Yu-chan?" Konata looked around.

"She's spending the night at Minami's. You sure you're okay? You seem tired." Sojiro said.

"I just told you I was tired dad. I think I'm just gonna go to bed." Konata yawned.

"What about food?" Her father asked.

"I ate while I was out." Konata said, having eaten between her school and Gamers. "Good night."

"Good night." Sojiro sighed. His daughter would never tell him what was troubling her when she was sad. It frustrated him.

Konata entered her room and plopped on her bed. She rolled over and spotted her diary.

_It's been a little while..._ She sighed. She picked up her diary.

_Dear Diary,_

_I almost kissed Kagami today! I wish I had. I so wish I had. I asked her about how she would know who she loved. She responded by telling me that she'd just know. And she listed off a whole bunch of stuff! Hm... now that I think back, I think Kagami said she at one point... Maybe my wish that she liked me is messing with my head. I don't know if I can live up to her expectations, but I sure as hell gotta try! I think the best I can do is try to make her feel safe when I hug her. She said she liked it when I hugged her too! That made me so happy. I don't think I can even put it into words. Imagine something you enjoyed more then almost anything you can think of was healthy and profitable and good and stuff. I don't think that even does it. I love her. I wish she could see that. I'm tired now. I'm going to sleep diary. Thanks for listening._

_Konata~_

Konata turned onto her stomach after replacing the notebook on the stand beside her bed. She yawned and fell asleep.

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

Tsukasa was walking down the street with Kagami and Itsuwari. Her friend had just gotten news that he would be going to the same high school as her and her sister! Tsukasa was so happy, she could burst. Itsuwari was the only boy she really associated with much. As they were walking, they heard the beep of a car. Itsuwari looked over and threw Tsukasa and Kagami further over. Tsukasa watched in horror as Itsuwari mouthed a goodbye before he was taken by a car.

"ITSUWARI-KUN!" Tsukasa screamed. She saw him sprawled across the road several dozen feet away. Tsukasa, Kagami, and.. Tony?... ran over to him.

"Kagami, call an ambulance!" He shouted. "Don't worry, I'll try and heal what I can." He said to Tsukasa. Kagami got out her phone and started dialing as Tony and Tsukasa made it to the boy. Suddenly, Tony stopped, forcing Tsukasa to stop as well.

"Kan-kun?" Tsukasa asked in a panic. Why was he stopping? Itsuwari needed them!

"GUUUUN!" Tsukasa heard.

"...Tsu-chan RUN!" Tony shouted loudly, throwing his arms to either side. Tsukasa watching in terror as a beam of light enveloped him. A scream of pure pain could be heard as the light subsided and Tony was gone. Tsukasa fell onto her rear.

"Tsukasa! Run!" Kagami shouted. Tsukasa saw her sister running towards Recoome. "Hey you big smelly ape! Come after me, not her!"

"No...No no no no no..." Tsukasa started mumbling to herself in hopes that by constantly repeating it, it may become reality. Recoome started laughing. There was another flash of light and Kagami was gone save for one dark purple ribbon, flying away in tatters. "NO!" Tsukasa opened her eyes as she started screaming. She gasped for breath before she saw Tony, squinting in the little light they had, but concern easily visible on his face. Tsukasa buried her face into Tony's chest and cried. Tony was caught off guard. However, he knew what seemed to work. He hugged her and brought her close.

"Tsu-chan, are you okay?" He asked.

"Itsuwari-kun... You... Onee-chan... Recoome..." Tsukasa cried into Tony's chest. It was then Tony understood exactly what had happened.

"There there Tsu-chan. It was all a bad dream. Don't worry about it. It's all over now, I'm here. Don't worry, nothing can hurt you anymore." Tony rubbed Tsukasa's back as he repeated his comforting words. How long he held her, he didn't know. The movie had long since ended, but he would hold her for as long as she required and would let him. They sat there for what seemed like forever until there was a pounding at the door.

"TSUKASA!" Tadao shouted. He opened the door and blinded the two. "Damn you kid, what did you do to her?" He yelled. Tsukasa teared up a bit. While she would normally come to Tony's defense, she felt in no shape to confront her father. As several tears slid down Tsukasa's face, Tony got angry at the man who was accusing him of hurting the girl he loved.

"I have done nothing to harm your daughter. I would never do **anything** to hurt Tsukasa." Tony said, his voice starting to betray his dislike for the man.

"Oh, and I guess she just woke up and started crying, is that it?" Tadao shouted. Miki tried to calm him, but she wasn't having very much luck. Tony's anger rose.

"Yes! She had a bad dream, what makes you think I would hurt her?" Tony shouted.

"How do I know what you did? You two are in this room alone in the dark and I hear my daughter screaming bloody murder! Didn't I tell you to leave this door open? How do I know you weren't just trying to-" Tadao was cut off. Tony's anger had reached a point where he wouldn't tolerate it any longer. And while he knew he couldn't, he wanted so badly to hurt this man. This man who would reject his daughter for who she loved. This man who would say that Tony was harming his other daughter. This man who would do these things and think himself in the right. Tony imbued his thoughts with energy. He didn't let them hurt Tadao, only cause the man to understand exactly WHO he was accusing and WHAT he was accusing him of. Tony gave words to this action and yelled _into_ the shrine keeper's mind.

_"Learn your place! THINK before you next speak, my patience has reached it's limit! I love your daughter with all of my heart and would die defending her if ever the need arose! Choose your next words carefully, before my discipline breaks."_ Tony's voice boomed as angrily as he had ever spoken, his voice growing even more menacing with the last sentence. He then added in as threatening a voice: _"If not for Tsukasa being right here, I would slaughter you where you now stand. I won't tolerate threats against her or insults to my love for her. Remember that."_ Tony didn't want to admit it, but since he had met Tsukasa, the thought of killing something, much less a person, had begun to sicken him ever more. He realized that the girl now sitting in front of his chest was slowly rubbing off on him, erase the training he had gone through to make it so killing wasn't traumatizing for him. However, he saw no reason that those thoughts should carry over to Tadao. And while none of the words were actually spoken aloud, there was a look of pure fury in his eyes that easily gave away the gist of what he had just said to the man. For a moment, no one spoke as Tadao stood, paralyzed under Tony's mental assault.

Tadao stopped and widened his eyes for a moment. "Oh. That's how it is." Tadao mumbled. "I'm sorry." He turned and walked away. Miki gave a questioning glance to Tony, as did Tsukasa. Tony sighed.

"Later." He said. Miki looked at her husband, back at Tony, shrugged, and followed her husband.

"Kan-kun..." Tsukasa sighed as she leaned against him. Tony smiled.

"I'm here Tsukasa." He hugged her around her shoulders. "And I'm not going anywhere. Not for a long long time." He squeezed her a bit. She mumbled something under her breath, but Tony couldn't hear it, nor did he feel he needed to. "You're welcome." He smiled. Tsukasa sighed.

_That isn't what I said..._ She thought to herself. What she had just said had taken all of her courage. She wanted to repeat herself, but she couldn't. She couldn't tell him again._ I love you Kan-kun._ She repeated in her head as she drifted off to sleep again. Tony wanted more then anything to stay there with her, to fall asleep with her in his arms, but he knew he couldn't. He gently set her head down onto a pillow and got up from the bed. He exited and closed the door to the room as quietly as he could. As he walked out through the living room he saw Tadao and the other Hiiragis.

"I apologize for assuming the worst Tony." Tadao spoke up. "I didn't know you-..." He apologized.

"It's okay Tadao. You're right, you didn't know. And I might have made the same assumption in your position." Tony said. "And I apologize for using such... forceful methods to make you see." Tony apologized in return.

"It's forgotten. Don't worry about it. Can you stay or do you need to go?" Tadao asked.

"I had probably better go. There's someone I need to meet soon. Thank you for having me in your home." Tony bowed.

"It was our pleasure." Tadao said in return. Tony walked out and started walking back to his house. He had no clue what he had done to Tadao, Konata, and Misao, but he wanted to know exactly what the hell he had been doing. He knew how to do it, just not what it was. His first thought had been that he might have read their minds, but that wouldn't generally grant them the same boon and allow them to read his own, which seemed to have happened in both circumstances. Tony placed his hands together.

"Hachi Style: God Seal Release." Tony muttered the phrase the god had specified. A familiar presence made itself known in his mind.

_What's up kid?_ Hachiman asked. _Either you're not fighting or you're fighting someone extremely powerful. You're not in sage form._ Hachiman noticed.

_Sage Mode. And I'm not fighting._ Tony specified.

_Ah, of course. Unslaad Krosis. So what did you need then?_ Hachiman asked.

_I did something odd today. I have no clue how I did it, but for an instant, Konata and Misao's emotions were open to me, as if they were my own. What happened?_ Tony asked.

_Oh~, I see. You simply cast your consciousness forward and... sort of melded with theirs. In this way, their thought become linked with you and vice-versa. When you do this, the person will offer up what defense they can. If you overpower it, you'll have complete access to their thoughts and emotions. If their willpower is stronger then yours, however, you'll lose and the opposite will become true. Since you haven't know and you seem to just be going on your instinct, you haven't yet used a defense. I suppose I should train you, hm?_ Hachiman sighed.

_I would like that. Thank you boss._ Tony smiled.

_Boss, eh? I like that._ Tony got the impression that Hachiman had smiled. _I'm going to assault your mind until you learn how to defend. After that, it's only a matter of time before you strengthen your defense._ Hachiman said. All of a sudden, there seemed to be a massive weight on Tony that made him buckle down. Just as suddenly, he was no longer in control of his actions.

"I think we can consider this a failure." Tony found his body saying. He was once again in control of his functions. _Damn... Any pointers?_ Tony asked. Losing control of your body was a very disconcerting experience.

_Try thinking of something. One thing and nothing else. Make that the focal point of your mind._ Hachiman said.

_Hm..._ Tony thought. What could he focus on? He saw a sign for a half off sale at a clothing department. _Why not?_ Tony shrugged. He started focusing on it. Sensing he was ready, Hachiman started his assault again. Tony was overwhelmed just as fast as earlier. _Damn it!_

_You're missing the point. You need to focus on something that you can think about it and nothing else. What's most important in your mind? What can you devote your being to for a time and allow nothing to distract you?_ Hachiman asked. Tony hummed in thought. Suddenly, the answer was apparent.

_Tsukasa._ He smiled. He started thinking of everything about her. She was the only thing on his mind. Sensing he was ready again, Hachiman renewed his assault. Tony thought only of Tsukasa and barely even thought of the god. It was a moment or two before the strain disappeared.

_You've got the basic concept. That was about what I expect you could do with your mind right now._ Hachiman said, referring to the amount of effort he had put into the assault. He didn't get a response. _Kid?_ He asked. Nothing. He realized that Tony was still concentrating on Tsukasa and not paying Hachiman any mind. The fact that he was being ignored amused and annoyed the god. He would have to teach Tony when the appropriate time to stop focusing would be. He gathered twice as much energy as before and sent a mental spear towards Tony's mind. It glanced off. _Whoa... Damn kid._ Hachiman raised his eyebrow. He decided not to be repelled again. He looked at the area around Tony. He noticed a sign above the boy. He took control of the energy around the chains holding it up and forced it to implode. The chains crushed, the sign hit Tony on the head, distracting him enough that Hachiman easily overwhelmed him again. _You've gotta learn when to quit kid._ Hachiman scolded.

_Sorry. How was that?_ Tony asked.

_That's almost perfect, actually. You've got the basic concept. You just have to keep a small eye on the actual attack, or you won't know when it's over and thus when to attack. But I suppose I'm getting ahead of myself, chances are you'll never need to defend from an attack. Mostly you'll just have to defend your mind from them while you attack._ Hachiman said.

_Alright, I think I got it._ Tony smiled. He tried to send an attack on Hachiman to see if he did indeed have it, but after an instant he was sent to his knees, exhausted.

_Kid? What happened?_ Hachiman asked.

_I just tried to send an attack to you to see if I could hide my mind, but it took all of my energy!_ Tony shouted in his mind.

_Because you just tried to attack me from this distance kid. You don't have to energy to do that. I do._ Hachiman said matter-of-factly. _Try it on a random person. If you have learned it as well as you hope, they won't be able to tell who did it. And if you can subdue their mind, you can take control of their body. Though I trust you won't go that far unless necessary._ Hachiman said as pure energy flowed into Tony and rejuvenated him. He had no more energy then normal, but that amount was not full. Tony looked at a random girl and projected his mind onto them. The girl froze, a panicked look on her face. Tony could feel an extreme amount of panic from the girl, but it was in no particular direction. Tony severed the connection and cheered in his head. _That's also kind of a telepathy, as you discovered with Tadao. Congratulations, you've learned a new trick!_ Hachiman said.

_Thanks for the help boss!_ Tony cheered. _I have a quick question though._ Tony said.

_Ask away._ Hachiman said.

_Usually you make some massive, explosive entrance, but not this time. What's up?_ Tony asked.

_Ah. I have a... well, sort of a student. His name is Hakai, he wanted to know if I could teach him. He's good, but not massive, explosive entrance good yet._ Hachiman said.

_Ah. I'll have to meet him. Both the students of a god? That would be cool, maybe have our own little match..._ Tony chuckled in his mind.

_Sure, who knows who would win?_ Hachiman laughed as well.

_You do, don't you?_ Tony asked.

_Yeah, but why spoil it?_ The god asked.

_Meh, I'll just have to see. Anyway, thanks for the training boss!_ Tony thanked.

_No problem._ Hachiman said before his presence vanished. Tony started running home, excited at his new ability, and skidded to a halt in front of his house. He looked at his closed house and cast his mind out. He felt the presence of someone inside. He returned to his head and opened the door. Lo and behold, Masutā was in the living room, laying on the couch and watching TV, drinking out of a bottle.

"Have you moved all day? And getting that beer doesn't count." Tony asked.

"Sure I have! I went to visit Miyuki and see if she needed any more work done on her house." Masutā protested.

"You like her." Tony accused.

"Yep." Masutā agreed.

"Come on, you know you d-... Oh. Well okay then." Tony chuckled.

"Hey, you be quiet, I don't wanna hear it. Miyuki is really smart, really pretty, and damn it if she isn't cute." Masutā sighed.

"Well why are you drinking?" Tony asked.

"Well..." Masutā sighed as he began to recall.

* * *

**At the Takara house**

There came a knock at the door. Miyuki hurried over and opened the door to reveal Masutā.

"Hey Miyuki, just figured I'd come over and see if there was anything else you needed. Maybe check and see if the sink is still holding up." Masutā said.

"Ah, thank you. Please come in." Miyuki bowed and let Masutā enter.

"Oh~, is your little friend over again Miyuki? Darn I wish we could pay you for the help, but our money is disappearing." Yukari complained.

"Eh? I don't need any pay, but what do you mean "disappearing"?" Masutā asked.

"Well, we just started losing thousands of yen, I figured it was a bank error since I lost my credit card, but it just kept going." Yukari said cluelessly.

"Mother! I think someone might have stolen your card!" Miyuki shouted in surprise.

"Oh no silly, I lost it! There shouldn't be anything to worry about, I'm sure the bank will figure things out before we're evicted next month." Yukari said, blissfully ignorant of her stolen card.

"Evicted?" Miyuki shouted, this time in fear.

"Yes, you see, our payments have stopped coming in and my work isn't enough to keep this house." Yukari sighed.

"She works?" Masutā turned to Miyuki.

"Online." She whispered back to him. "It was good money." She added.

"Oh." Masutā said. "So you haven't kept up payments?" He asked.

"Not really, I lost my card a couple months ago." Yukari said.

"Mother, why didn't you say anything?" Miyuki asked.

"Well there's no need to worry, this will all blow over soon." Yukari practically chimed.

* * *

**Back at Tony's house**

"I see. So they're getting kicked out, eh?" Tony asked.

"Yep." Masutā took another drink.

"How much is their house? Maybe I can buy it." Tony suggested. Masutā handed him a paper, having known his brother would ask. Tony read it. "Give me a swig of that." Tony sighed. "I can't afford to buy this, even with the tournament money. How the hell are they living there?" Tony complained.

"Apparently when Miyuki's mother and father were married, her father was extremely wealthy. When they divorced, Yukari started getting alimony to support how she was used to living... Unfortunately, it seems the time they've been getting alimony is up." Masutā explained.

"Miyuki has a father?" Tony asked.

"Her mother and father divorced when she was very young. They seem happy though. I need to think of something." Masutā said. "I've gotta pay off the payment they owe and this months payment..." He started wondering.

"Tell ya what bro, you can figure out how to keep their payments up and I'll cover their current debt." Tony said. Masutā looked at his brother.

"... That's a lot of money Otōto." He said.

"Hey, if I can't help my brother when he needs it, what good is having money? Besides, they print more of it every day, I just have to find another tournament to enter." Tony smiled, hoping to convince his brother. Masutā blinked a time and smiled.

"Thanks. I'm gonna see about getting a job." Masutā said.

"Yeah, maybe something with manual labor that most other people couldn't do. You're stronger then most." Tony said.

"That I am Otōto. That I am." Masutā smiled.

"Poor big brother, no more lazy slob for you." Tony laughed. Masutā laughed too.

"Yeah, I guess not." He laughed.

"I'm gonna go hit the sack." Tony stretched and went to the entrance of the hall way. "Good night former bum." Tony called.

"Night Otōto." Masutā called back. Tony walked down and entered his room. He found his book bag and gave it a light tap. Snickering at his joke, he laid down into his bed and fell asleep.

"Your friends are going to die." A voice rang out from the void.

"What? Who are you? What are you talking about?" Tony yelled.

"I... am you." The voice cackled as an apparition of himself appeared in front of him. "What makes you think you can save them?"

"What makes you think I can't?" Tony retorted.

"Your history. Both your parents are dead because you couldn't protect them. Your mother died TWICE because of you and your inability to protect her!" The ghost yelled at him.

"No... I will protect my friends!" Tony yelled out, using his new ability to throw his conscious out at the ghost. He felt nothing. The ghost cackled.

"Did you not hear me? You can't beat me, I'm the part of you that knows the truth! You're not strong enough to protect them, you're too weak to do anything! Tsukasa has already ended up in the hospital once. How many times do you think it will take before she's mortally wounded? She's going to die!" The shade yelled. Tony yelled.

"NO! I'll train harder then! I'll give her the amulet, I'll put more enchantments on it, I WILL NOT LET HER DIE!" Tony screamed. He didn't know how to refute what the apparition said. It scared him.

"You know it. I know it. They will meet their end before long." The apparition chuckled as it vanished.

"**NO!**" Tony screamed aloud as he woke up, rocking the foundation of the house. Masutā slammed through the door, guns drawn.

"Otōto, what's wrong, why were you screaming?" Masutā asked. Tony shuddered and sat up, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Nightmare. Sorry to worry y-" Tony was cut off by his phone ringing. He picked it up. "Yeah?"

"You okay Kan-kan?" He heard Konata asked, seemingly panicked.

"Wow... did I wake you?" Tony asked, feeling guilty.

"Doesn't matter, are you okay?" Konata asked again.

"Yeah. Sorry, I had a... nightmare. It was really bad." Tony sighed.

"Wanna talk about it?" Konata asked.

"Thanks, but no. I don't want to keep you up any longer. I'm sorry." Tony apologized again.

"It's no problem. I'm just glad you're safe. Don't worry about keeping me up, I was having an odd dream myself." Konata said.

"Wanna talk about it?" Tony smiled.

"Petals." Konata said.

"Pedals? Like, bike pedals? Flower petals?" Tony asked.

"Flower petals." Konata said.

"What about them?" Tony asked.

"They were everywhere. Tony... I need to talk to you later. When it's not three in the morning." Konata said.

"No problem Kon-kon, we can talk once we both get up later." Tony smiled and hung up the phone.

"So you're okay?" Masutā sighed and smiled.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Thanks for checking on me." Tony smiled.

"No problem Otōto. Sleep well." Masutā smiled.

"You too bro." Tony smiled. The three, Masutā, Tony, and Konata, all went back to sleep.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Water. There was water everywhere. Oddly, the water wasn't the normal color of water. It was cobalt blue, the same color as Konata's hair. Kagami tried to look around, tried to call out, but everything she could see, anything she could say, was swallowed by the ocean around her. She was drowning.

"Kagami..." Kagami heard call out. Odd, it didn't sound right for some reason. "Kagami..." She heard again. Who was that? "Kagami!" The voice sounded almost desperate. Kagami lurched awake and looked over wearily to see Tsukasa, tears suspended in her eyes.

"Tsukasa... You okay?" Kagami asked.

"I... I had a nightmare... Can I..." Tsukasa mumbled. Kagami understood and lifted her covers without hesitation.

"Come on. You wanna tell me about it?" Kagami asked.

"Thanks Onee-chan, but... I just wanna be close to someone right now." Tsukasa mumbled as she climbed into the bed. It wasn't so much someone as it was someone from her dream.

"Well, if you want to tell me, I'll listen." Kagami said.

"Okay Onee-chan. Thanks." Tsukasa smiled.

"It's no problem. By the way, were you calling me by my name?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah, when I called you Onee-chan, you wouldn't wake up." Tsukasa mumbled.

"Ah." Kagami replied._ No wonder it didn't sound right, she never calls me by name..._ The two snuggled into the bed and tried to sleep. Neither had much luck however. It was about twenty minutes of silent tossing and turning before either spoke again.

"Onee-chan?" Tsukasa said in a questioning tone.

"Yes Tsukasa?" Kagami replied.

"Do you think me an Kan-kun go well together?" Tsukasa asked.

"Sure Tsukasa. You two have chemistry." Kagami said.

"Chemistry?" Tsukasa asked, hoping for clarification.

"Yeah, chemistry." Kagami smiled, not giving any further explanation. They were silent again. Kagami was kept up by her thoughts of Konata. "... Tsukasa..." She said uneasily.

"Yes Onee-chan?" Tsukasa replied. Kagami was silent for a while, almost to the point where Tsukasa didn't know if she would say anything else. The Tsundere was trying to think of how to phrase her question.

"Can I... pose a hypothetical question that has nothing to do with anything really?" Kagami asked. This peaked Tsukasa's interest in the subject at hand.

"Sure Onee-chan, what is it?" Tsukasa asked.

"If, say, Miyuki or Konata turned out to be a lesbian... What would you think?" Kagami asked. She was a bit confused about her emotions right now, but she wanted to be sure of Tsukasa's position just in case what she was feeling about Konata was in fact love. After all, the two had just almost kissed... Tsukasa smiled to herself.

"Are they in love Onee-chan?" Tsukasa asked.

"They're... debating on that. You're avoiding my question Tsukasa." Kagami said.

"Not avoiding, just getting more information." Tsukasa smiled. Kagami suddenly wondered if she had said too much. "I would support them all the same, and love them just as much as I always have." Tsukasa said.

"Ah. Okay, thanks Tsukasa. Just so you know, I'm intending on asked them the same thing." Kagami lied. She didn't want her sister to think this had anything to do with her. Tsukasa giggled in her head at how obvious her sister was being.

_YES! She's totally feeling the love! I just know it!_ Tsukasa cheered in her head. "Okay Onee-chan. Good night." Tsukasa smiled.

"Good night." Kagami said back. The two snuggled in closer to the bed. Tsukasa tossed and turned for a while more, but sleep refused to come to her. She turned again and this time came face to face with Kagami, said Tsundere's eyes open and staring at her twin. Tsukasa jumped a bit.

"Sorry Onee-chan, I just can't get to sleep..." Tsukasa mumbled, a little scared for the punishment she would receive. Kagami looked scary in the dark.

"It's okay Tsukasa. Is it that nightmare?" Kagami asked. Tsukasa shrunk a bit and nodded. Kagami sighed. She hated seeing her sister like this.

"Onee-chan, could you...?" Tsukasa trailed off. Kagami smiled.

"Of course." She nodded. Tsukasa smiled and closed her eyes, snuggling her head into the pillow. Kagami sat up a little and started running her fingers through her twin's hair as she started to sing in a soothing voice.  
**"I** love you. A bushel and peck.  
A bushel and a peck, and a hug around the neck.  
Hug around the neck, and a barrel and a heap.  
Barrel and a heap and I'm talkin' in my sleep.  
About **you~."** Kagami sang softly.  
**"About **you~.  
'Cause I love you. A bushel and a peck.  
You bet your pretty neck I **do~."** Kagami smiled.  
**"****Doodle, **oodle, oodle,  
Doodle, oodle, oodle,  
Doodle, oodle, oodle, **doo."** Kagami sang, still petting Tsukasa. The younger girl seemed to be comforted as she usually was when Kagami sang this particular song. And so Kagami continued to sing until Tsukasa fell asleep, which luckily didn't take long. Tsukasa seemed at peace now and Kagami snuggled in again. Soon the both of them were fast asleep.

* * *

**POV Konata**

Konata woke up and yawned, stretching. She instantly remembered what she wanted to tell Tony. She picked up her phone and clicked 5 on her speed dial. It rang a few times before Tony picked up.

"Hello?" Tony asked roughly.

"Hey Kan-kan, wanna come over to my house? I'll make you breakfast." Konata offered.

"Kon-kon? Wow, when I said when we woke up, you really meant when we woke up. What's up?" Tony asked.

"I kinda wanna talk about it in person." Konata said.

"Understood. That's alright, I've gotta get up anyway and whatever I eat over here would suck compared to what you would make. Thank you very much, I'll be over as soon as possible." Tony said.

"Thanks. I'll see you when you get here." Konata hung up. She got up, got dressed and was out of her room quickly. She sighed in relief that neither her father nor Yutaka were up yet. She got an apron on and started cooking, figuring maybe she could get done before Tony got there. She had the rice prepared and had started on the soup when a knock came at the door. Konata ran over and opened it to reveal Tony, who sniffed the air.

"Smells delicious from here." Tony said. Konata smiled and welcomed him in. "So what's the occasion?" Tony asked as he sat in the kitchen.

"I just needed to talk to you. Something... crazy happened yesterday." Konata said. Tony lifted an eyebrow.

"Oh?" Tony asked. Konata put rice in front of him. "Thank you for the food." Tony smiled.

"Well... Yesterday, Kagami gave me a nickname." Konata said.

"Insane, I could never, ever see her doing anything like that in a million years." Tony smirked.

"I didn't finish." Konata pouted as she took the rice away. Tony grasped in the air as his food was taken away, his stomach growling.

"I'll be good." Tony said. Konata replaced the rice, which Tony started to eat before it could be taken again.

"She also admitted that she liked it when I hug her." Konata smiled as she finished the soup. She put it on the table. "And she said she liked Yuri. Tell me what you think so far." Konata asked as she saw Tony had a large amount of rice in his mouth.

"I have a mouthful at the moment, but I'll try my best." Tony mumbled out.

"That's what she said." Konata responded. "On a scale of your brother to Tsukasa." Konata offered a scale to judge her food.

"You're way closer to Tsu-chan then to Masutā." Tony chuckled.

"Thanks." Konata giggled. "That isn't it though." Konata said as she sat down herself and started to eat.

"What else happened?" Tony asked. "So far it sounds like that was quite a successful venture."

"Well... I asked her how she would know when she fell in love." Konata said. Tony stopped eating.

"And?" He asked.

"Well, after naming a number of things, she asked me." Konata said. "I told her and started getting lost in the moment..." Konata mumbled. Tony had put down his chopsticks and was looking at Konata with an intense stare. "I almost kissed her." Konata admitted. Tony cheered.

"And how did she react?" Tony asked.

"Her alarm to leave went off before we made contact. The thing is... she didn't pull away until her alarm went off." Konata said.

"Sounds like she's realizing her feelings for you." Tony smiled.

"How do you know though? She could have just been too stunned to push me away. She could have hated me if I had actually kissed her!" Konata shouted. Tony chuckled.

"Man, you put up a cool front, but you're just one big bunch of nerves, ain'tcha?" Tony asked.

"Little bit." Konata pouted.

"Konata, I'm sure Kagami has feelings for you. She just needs to realize it. In my mind, it's not a matter of if she'll return your feelings, it's when. It seems like it's gonna happen soon. So don't worry so much." Tony said reassuringly.

"Thanks..." Konata smiled. "Wanna help?" She looked up.

"In any way possible Kon-kon." Tony smiled.

"Glad to hear you say that. Do you remember what you did to me and Misakichi?" Konata asked. Tony got a bit uncomfortable.

"Yes." Tony nodded.

"Do you think you could do that to Kagami without her knowing?" Konata asked. Tony's expression turned a bit more somber.

"Yes I could." Tony answered.

"Tell me how she feels!" Konata said. Tony seemed to contemplate the request.

"Konata... I'm sorry. That isn't fair." Tony said. "You can't just DO that. It isn't fair. It isn't right."

"Says who? They're your powers, and you can use them how you want!" Konata argued, having not expected Tony to reject her request.

"Would you want me to tell Kagami about your feelings?" Tony asked. Konata sighed.

"I guess not... But the information is still there! You can figure out how Tsukasa feels about you!" Konata said. Tony sighed.

"I'll admit, the thought has tempted me. The information may be there, but it isn't mine to take. You remember how violated you felt when I accidentally did the same to you?" Tony said.

"Arg! You're too honorable Kan-kan. It's revolting." Konata sighed. "And I cooked you breakfast." Konata pouted.

"And it was delicious. But I'm sorry Konata, there are some secrets that must only be told by the secret keeper." Tony said.

"Fine. I get it..." Konata sighed. "Well, let's go see them I guess!" Konata got up after they finished their breakfast.

"Let's." Tony smiled as he got up.

* * *

**POV Hiiragis**

Tsukasa got up and yawned. She rubbed her eyes and looked over towards the door to see Kagami, arms folded and leaning on the frame of the door. The word badass came to mind, but Tsukasa quickly scolded herself for allowing such profanity to enter her head. The fact that Kagami had also gotten out of the bed, over Tsukasa, and over to the door without waking her twin up was pretty surprising too.

"Morning Onee-chan." Tsukasa smiled.

"Good morning Tsukasa. I'm feeling rather triumphant." Kagami smiled.

"Why's that?" Tsukasa asked.

"I woke up first AND got over here before you." Kagami grinned.

"I didn't know that mattered to you Onee-chan." Tsukasa smiled. Kagami blushed in embarrassment.

"Well, it really doesn't, it's just nice to know I can still do it." She explained. "I'm not losing my touch, ya know?"

"Yeah, I guess I understand." Tsukasa got up.

"It's a good thing you woke up though, I was a bit bored waiting." Kagami said.

"Well, if I hadn't woken up, I'd still be sleeping." Tsukasa said. She blushed much like her sister had when Kagami started giggling. The two left the room and walked into the kitchen. "Onee-chan..." Tsukasa mumbled.

"Hm?" Kagami hummed quizically.

"I need to find a way to get Kan-kun to fall for me..." Tsukasa mumbled. Kagami grinned.

"Why don't we think on that over juice?" Kagami asked. Tsukasa nodded.

"Alrighty!" She chimed. She opened the refrigerator after getting a cup to see what they had. None of them seemed to appeal to her over the others, but suddenly she got an idea. _Why don't I mix them!_ She smiled. She grabbed out three of the juices that she felt would make a tasty combination and started to mix them into a hopefully good mixture. As she finished pouring the third liquid, a thought struck her. _...That's it._ She smiled. _That's how I get him!_ She cheered in her head. "Onee-chan, I have the most perfect idea!" Tsukasa shouted.

"Oh really? What is it?" Kagami asked.

"Well..." Tsukasa smiled widely.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya Luckies! I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami~!"

"And I'm the assistant, Minoru Shiraishi. So what have we got today Akira?" Minoru asked.

"Nothing!" Akira shouted.

"Hey Akira. We've got a delivery for ya!" The man who always makes deliveries shouted, coming onto the camera screen only long enough to hand Akira a letter.

"Thank-you Thank-you! Let's see here, it looks thick..." Akira said as she turned the letter upside down and all around, as if she had never seen the likes of it before.

"Open it up Akira!" Minoru shouted, ignoring the perfect "That's what she said" moment.

"Alrighty!" Akira took a knife from under the counter.

_What the hell was that doing under there?_ Minoru thought as a pang of fear ran through him. Akira slid the knife across the top of the letter, allowing it to open. She squeezed the sides of it together so she could better look at it's contents. Her hands began to shake. "Akira?" Minoru asked. Akira turned to Minoru and held the letter so he could see. His eyes widened. "How much is that?"

"I dunno..." Akira fished through the contents to find an actual letter in her letter. She opened it. "Dear Akira, my apologies for not getting this to you last chapter, but the time restraint kept it from being delivered on time. A fan wanted you to have this on the condition that you don't let your mother lay a finger on it... I hope it helps and that you'll continue to contribute your acting talents to my story in the future. I have high hopes that you'll stay with me after twenty nine chapters and until the "end" of this story... Signed: Acsuperman." Akira read aloud. She pulled the money out and a little note fell out. She picked it up as well and read it. "The fan, however, gave American currency, so I took the liberty of exchanging it for you. Find enclosed: 77,794,637 ¥." Akira read from the note. She sat there for a moment, in a daze from the events that had just transpired. She took some of the money out and started to count it with a gingerly touch, as if she feared she would somehow break it.

*Music Tone*

"Um, Akira?" Minoru asked. Akira wouldn't talk. "Well, I guess that's all for today then! We'll see you all next week! Bye nii!" Minoru shouted.

"..."

"Akira, you okay?" Minoru asked.

"Huh? Yeah. I'm okay. If I'm right though, in American currency, this would literally be a million dollars that someone just gave me. That's insane..." Akira mumbled.

"I suppose I can understand that..."

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

Bwahahaha! I just referenced something that was updated today! BOO YEAH! Anyway, now that that is out of my system... What did you all think? I was thinking of adding another section to the end of certain chapters. Ask Hachiman! You see, these explanations (like the one about consciousness and such in this chapter) are things that I know some of you probably don't care for. So, at the end of the chapter, I'll have Hachiman explain what it is and how it is so that it doesn't clutter the chapter for those of you who don't care about it. If the explanation is only a few lines, I'll go ahead leave it in, but if it's drawn out like this one, I might just make it a separate section completely. Do you guys realize that this chapter puts me almost within 30,000 words of my target? RezleVettems' full Lucky series is 242,769 words. Mine is 211,147 words. Holy crap, I'm no where close to finishing this story! The couples haven't freaking gotten together yet! When they do, that's probably half the story! HALF! This story isn't going to be longest by a little, it's might go as far as to double the current champ! Sweet baby Jesus, this is going to be longer then the series itself, it might already be... I hope you guys will stick with me through the journey. Anyway, a big thank you to one Flygon Master! Thanks for your help! And thanks to all of you who read this story and review, all 28 of you!


	30. Chapter 30: Plans

Chapter 30: The Plans

Yo yo yo! Reviews, I loved them! I'll admit, I got nervous. The last chapter went a day without even being read. In any case, Thank you all for reading, each one of your reviews makes me smile! Sqweebs, Sorry to say, but Hakai was the only reference I had planned in the last chapter. Flygon, I plan on using Miyuki more, but I dunno, hopefully I can do it! I find her hard to write for sometimes, or I'll just plain forget her. I'll keep writing if you'll keep reading Holy :) Ulti, sorry for the loss, but thanks so much for the compliment! I saved constantly on this one, so luckily I should be good. Thanks Edge, I'll be sure to convey your congratulations to the cast! So, chapter 30! Ten chapters ago, Tony beat the hell out of Recoome! Twenty chapters ago, Tsukasa cheered Tony up in this story's first song parody! Thirty chapters ago, this story didn't exist on paper! Zero chapters ago, Tsukasa gets pregnant! …... er... Wait, what? That's not for another 127 chapters? Damn, um... Play me off Johnny! *Piano solo*

* * *

**POV Konata**

"Hey Kan-kan, you should come fight with my master while we're out." Konata said.

"Hang on... Shífēn beat your master and I beat Shífēn... Logic dictates I would win against him as well." Tony figured in his head.

"Ah, but it's a different style completely! Master Liu is really experienced!" Konata argued.

"If you want. Let me know when though, if your master was in as bad a condition as you said, he needs rest." Tony said.

"True." Konata agreed.

"But..." Tony trailed off.

"What?" Konata asked.

"I wouldn't mind seeing you fight. Maybe we could go today and see you fight someone on your level?" Tony suggested. Konata seemed to find the thought amusing for a moment, then regained her composure.

"Sure, let's run it by our girls." Konata smiled.

"Let's. Shall we go ahead?" Tony asked.

"Hang on, if we're going to my school, I wanna get changed." Konata said as they got up.

"Ah, alrighty then." Tony waited for Konata to come back out. She was back out soon with white sweat pants and a sleeved cheongsam on that went down to her feet, the slit on the dress going up to her thigh. "What's with the fancy garb Kon-kon? Cosplaying as Sakura?"

"No, my master gave me this when I stopped training. It's super easy to move in." Konata smiled fondly, twirling around to prove it.

"If you say so, whatever helps ya." Tony smiled.

"Let's go!" Konata cheered. The two left the house. "Hey Kan-kan?"

"Yeah Kon-kon?" Tony asked.

"Do we really need to run?" Konata asked. Tony smirked.

"You're just nervous about seeing Kagami after yesterday, aren't you?" Tony asked.

"Wouldn't you be if you almost kissed Tsukasa?" Konata argued.

"Maybe." Tony chuckled. "What happened to all that excitement you were showing several moments ago?" Tony asked as the two started walking at a normal person's pace.

"Front, remember?" Konata said.

"Ah, of course. Baen." Tony apologized.

"Oh, so you know the Ancient Language too?" Konata smiled as she looked at Tony.

"I wasn't just being funny when I said how versatile I am as far as communications are concerned. I'm surprised you know it." Tony said.

"Otaku." Konata said simply.

"Is that gonna be your excuse for knowing any obscure language that I also happen to know?" Tony asked.

"Pretty much." Konata smiled. Tony chuckled.

"Well then. I think you and I have a mostly untouched subject here. How many of these languages DO you know?" Tony asked.

"I'm fluent in over six million forms of communication." Konata flashed a grin over at Tony.

*Sigh* "Whatever ya say sis." Tony said. "Can we run? I really wanna see Tsu-chan." Tony asked. Konata winced a little. Tony noticed this. "Come on, you gotta face her eventually."

"Yeah, I guess... Let's go." Konata started to jog reluctantly. Tony followed. "So... you really think Kagami's just in the closet and not straight?" Konata asked.

"She's so far in the closet she could say hi to Tumnus, but yes. She'll come around, I know it." Tony said with absolute certainty that carried into his voice.

"If you say so..." Konata mumbled, happy and hoping her brother was correct. "How long do you think?" Konata asked.

"Well... The problem might not be so much as when she falls in love, it's more of who also holds influence with her." Tony said. Konata looked over at him.

"What do you mean?" Konata asked.

"I shouldn't tell you this, but do you remember that night I had plans with Kagami and you, Tsu-chan and Mooki-chan all went to the bar?" Tony said.

"Yeah. What about it?" Konata asked. Tony sighed.

"Not long after you left, Kagami's father walked in. I talked with him a little and got it out of him that if Kagami was to be a lesbian, he would disown her." Tony said. Konata stopped cold.

"What..." She mumbled.

"That isn't it. Remember when I stopped you and Misao yesterday?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, of course..." Konata looked at Tony, who had stopped as well.

"I really, REALLY shouldn't tell you this..." Tony mumbled. He looked Konata. "You have to promise you'll never repeat this information." Tony said.

"Vel eïnradhin iet ai kona." Konata said. 'Upon my word as a woman' in the Ancient Language. It amused Tony mildly that she said it like that for a few reasons. Mostly because it meant she was using a language that it was supposedly impossible to lie in, which Tony assumed was the reason she had used it.

"Alright. I could read all of your emotions, as well as Misao's. I think she loves Kagami as well. She may very well try and steal her from you." Tony warned. Konata clenched her hands into fists.

"I'll kill her." Konata said, reasonably upset.

"You know you don't mean that. And you know that even if you did, I wouldn't let you. Konata, the most I can see from Misao is a general disruption, not an actual threat for taking Kagami from you." Tony said. Konata sighed.

"How can you be sure?" Konata asked. "How can you be sure that Misakichi won't steal Kagami?"

"I can't. No one can be. All I can say is that Kagami seems to enjoy your company immensely. I've yet to see her general reaction to Misao, but I can't imagine it could be much more positive than it is when she's around you. I'll see what I can see, but just know this. Had Misao attempted to kiss Kagami, I'm sure her reaction would have been swift and violent. Not how she reacted to you." Tony reasoned.

"... If you say so..." Konata said, her throat catching. "But... I can't."

"Can't what?" Tony asked.

"I can't... get Kagami to date me... Not now. Not now that I know she'll be disowned if she does..." Konata mumbled.

"Konata-"

"No! I can't be selfish about this! I love Kagami, but I can't do that to her!" Konata protested. "I love her, so I have to put her happiness above my own, no matter how much it hurts..." Konata's voice cracked.

"Konata! If she falls in love with you, you'll no longer have a say in the matter of what she does. I'm sorry I ever told you. I have no idea what I was thinking. Forget what I said." Tony said.

"How can I? You just told me that if I get the girl I love to love me back, I'll destroy her life! What am I supposed to do? What would you do if Tsukasa would be disowned if she dated you?" Konata shouted. Tony sighed.

_Forget what I sai-_ Tony started to cast a spell, but cut himself off. He sighed as he realized how much he was about to abuse his ability. He had made a mistake, and now he would have to deal with it and fix it without doing anything against Konata's will. _It sucks to be a good guy._ Tony sighed again. He made a silent oath to never use her powers to do anything against someone's will unless it was with just reason or the need was extreme. He began thinking again. "Konata... I'm going to change his mind. I have a plan. It's going to use logic that Tadao can't deny and it's almost certain to work." Tony said.

"...What is it?" Konata asked.

"We'll need Miyuki's help. Once Kagami tells her parents that she loves you, and trust me, she will, Tadao will probably reject her based on her being a lesbian." Tony said.

"What's Miyuki have to do with it and how are you going to argue his point?" Konata asked, curious. Tony smiled.

"My argument is that Kagami isn't a lesbian." Tony smiled as the two started walking again.

"... Once more, with clarity." Konata requested.

"She doesn't like girls. She likes you. Or... will. That's where Miyuki would come in." Tony said. Konata blushed a bit at the first part, but by the end had a look on her face.

"I don't know if I like where this is going." She commented.

"Miyuki is gonna have to do something intimate to Kagami. By my guess, a kiss would do it best. If I'm right, Kagami will be taken aback and ask in a yell what the hell were we thinking. And that's it." Tony smiled. Konata looked confused.

"That's it?" Konata asked in a flat tone.

"Don't you see? I think we can both agree that Miyuki has some larger... features about her that would tempt even the most devoted family man." Tony said.

"True, true." Konata nodded knowingly. She knew that more then once she had wished she could nuzzle between Miyuki's voluptuous lumps.

"Once she reacts negatively to a kiss from the walking moe ball, her father will have to see that she doesn't like girls, she just likes you!" Tony said. Konata thought for a moment. Tony could see she would probably need a little more of a push. "However, for this plan to work, she needs to have fallen in love with you and you two need to be dating to the point where she would go to her family and tell them of your relationship. Get it?" Tony asked. Konata thought a moment more.

"I get it. Alright then. I promise I'll make Kagami mine if you promise that her dad won't disown her." Konata said. Tony smiled.

"Vel eïnradhin iet ai osthato." Tony said, though replacing the word for woman with sage.

"Then we're agreed." Konata said before they caught sight of the Hiiragi twins, coming outside their house. Tsukasa in particular looked happy, which brought a smile to Tony's face.

"Hey you two!" Tony waved.

"Kan-kun!" Tsukasa shouted cheerfully as the two groups converged. "I need a favor, but I need to ask in private." Tsukasa whispered to Tony.

"As you wish." Tony nodded. Tsukasa smiled wider as she thought back to her seemingly infallible plan.

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

"Well..." Tsukasa smiled. "I get him to make me a love potion!" Tsukasa chimed happily. Kagami raised an eyebrow.

"Tsukasa, are you sure about that? If he loves you because of a potion, then what happens when that potion wears off?" Kagami asked.

"Um..." Tsukasa started thinking. Kagami could tell how hard her twin was thinking by the way Tsukasa's tongue ran across the top of her lip. Kagami hummed. She knew that Tony already liked her sister, and would probably gladly date her, so she figured she might as well let her sister continue.

"I have an idea!" Kagami smiled.

"What is it Onee-chan?" Tsukasa asked excitedly.

"Why not have him make a potion that won't affect him, but it will affect you! Make you more attractive to him or something." Kagami suggested.

"I'm surprised to hear you say that Onee-chan, that sounds like the kind of thing you would scold." Tsukasa observed. Kagami got a bit worried that she had been seen through. Tsukasa was right, this was exactly the kind of thing she would scold, but she had hoped that Tony would confess to Tsukasa earlier if she looked more attractive. Not to say she thought her sister was unattractive, Tsukasa could give you a cute attack with a glance, but anything that can get her twin closer to happiness was something that Kagami could tolerate and encourage with a clear conscience.

"It normally is, but if it gets you two together that much closer, shouldn't you go for it?" Kagami asked.

"I guess!" Tsukasa smiled at the idea. It had merit and if Tony loved her because of the looks she would soon be sporting, maybe it would carry over until after those looks faded. "Oh~, I wanna go see him and ask him if he can do it! I don't even know for sure that he CAN make potions!" Tsukasa whined.

"Don't worry Tsukasa, I'm sure he's going to be able to, he's a magic man, remember?" Kagami smiled.

"Yeah, I guess so..." Tsukasa began to think. _How can I let him know I want it without outing myself? Um..._ Tsukasa thought.

"Hey Tsukasa?" Kagami asked, bringing the airhead from her daze.

"Hm?" She hummed quizzically.

"Why not just confess like normal?" Kagami asked.

"I tried Onee-chan!" Tsukasa protested. Kagami looked surprised.

"Wait, what?" Kagami leaned forward and shouted, having been taken off guard. "When did this happen?" She asked.

"Yesterday, I woke up after falling asleep during the movie. I had a nightmare and dad came in and accused Kan-kun of hurting me. I wanted to defend him, I really did, but I couldn't really talk much... It was so weird, with a glare, Kan-kun somehow told dad something that made him apologize! That was when, but I couldn't do more then mumble it under my breath..." Tsukasa sighed. "He didn't hear me and I fell back asleep... Onee-chan, I can't do it again! I don't have the courage..." Tsukasa sighed again. It pained Kagami to see her sister in such distress.

"But courage is something you can't be afraid to have." Kagami protested.

"But I am!" Tsukasa argued back. Kagami figured the only way to help her sister at this point was to break a promise she made to Tsukasa a while back.

"Tony likes you." Kagami said. Tsukasa looked at her with a bewildered look.

"What?" She asked.

"Yeah. You don't need to do any of this, he already likes you." Kagami said. Tsukasa seemed extremely happy and hopeful for a moment, but she started thinking.

"Onee-chan, why wouldn't you tell me that earlier?" She asked. Kagami found herself cut to the quip. Upon reflection, her reasoning had been a tad silly. While she thought, Tsukasa got an odd look. One that Kagami wasn't sure she had ever seen from her sister before. "You're lying, aren't you?"

"No, I wouldn't lie about something like this!" Kagami protested.

"When did he tell you?" Tsukasa demanded.

"Well... He didn't real-" Kagami was cut off.

"He never told you, you're lying to me!" Tsukasa shouted. The anger that Tsukasa was showing was something Kagami wasn't used to. She most certainly didn't like it.

"Tsukasa, I swear I'm not lying!" Kagami pleaded with her sister to believe her.

"Then why wouldn't he confess?" Tsukasa asked. Finally, something Kagami could answer.

"The same reason you won't probably!" Kagami said.

"But... Kan-kun is so brave, he can do anything! Something like that shouldn't scare him..." Tsukasa said.

"I'm sure it does though. I really hope it was okay, but... I told him about Itsuwari." Kagami confessed. Tsukasa seemed to ponder her opinion on it. "Tony was curious about you, but he was worried that asking you directly would stir up bad memories." Kagami said. Tsukasa smiled to herself.

"I guess it's okay. That was thoughtful of him to think of me like that." Tsukasa smiled.

"Yeah. Wanna go see them?" Kagami asked.

"Sure!" Tsukasa nodded cheerfully, not missing the fact that Kagami had just included Konata automatically. "I think I'll still ask him a potion though. I'm getting excited now! If he does already like me, that might be enough to push him over and confess!" Tsukasa said, excitement easily distinguishable in her voice. The twins got up and walked out to the front door of their house, where they exited. They turned around to see the very topic of their conversation.

"Hey you two!" Tony shouted and waved.

"Kan-kun!" Tsukasa cheered, waving as the two groups converged. "I need a favor, but I need to ask in private." Tsukasa whispered to Tony.

"As you wish." Tony nodded. Tsukasa smiled wider as she thought back to her seemingly infallible plan.

"Hey Kona, what's up with the getup?" Kagami giggled.

"Kona?" Tony smiled widely.

"A super cute nickname Kagami gave me!" Konata cheered. Tony thought back a bit to when Konata had made her oath of secrecy earlier.

"_**Vel eïnradhin iet ai kona." Konata said. **_

Tony snickered. _I guess that means Konata certainly is a woman!_ Tony thought.

"Well..." Konata started, but Tony took over from there.

"Hey guys, we were thinking of going to Konata's martial arts school and seeing her fight! What do you guys think?" Tony asked. Kagami got a worried look.

"Is that okay? You're not gonna get hurt, are you Kona?" Kagami asked.

"Don't worry Kagami, if Kon-kon gets hurt, I can heal her, remember?" Tony said.

"I guess that's true." Kagami sighed. Tony smiled at how concerned Kagami seemed. He wished he could glean her emotions from her head, but he knew he shouldn't. "Sure. I guess let's go." Kagami smiled.

"Tsu-chan?" Tony asked.

"Let's go!" Tsukasa chimed. The group started off.

"Come on!" Konata got into an alley way.

"Kona, isn't this the kind of place that people get kidnapped in?" Kagami muttered, a little afraid of the dark passage.

"Kagamin, we have a martial arts mastah and a god, there's really no need to worry!" Konata chimed.

"Master is a little bit much, isn't it Kona?" Kagami giggled. Konata giggled cutely, flashing a grin to Kagami. Kagami giggled again as the lot of them walked through the alley. To be safe, Tony extended his consciousness out around the area, but found them alone save the alley cat and the people in the buildings they were going in between. The got to the other side, Konata took a right and the lot started jogging. Taking shortcut after shortcut, they were there before even Tsukasa got tired enough to have to sit down.

"By the way..." Konata said.

"What's up?" Tony asked in reply.

"They might act... a bit odd." Konata said as they got to the entrance to the school.

"How so?" Tony asked.

"Just watch..." Konata opened the door and led the group inside. As they entered, the class of what Tony would guess was about 50 students, there were resounding gasps. They all suddenly stopped, got to the sides, and knelt, forming a line to where the master currently was. Tony looked around in surprise as he saw the student's weird behavior. As they walked, they heard the occasional:

"It's Izumi-sama..." "Izumi-sama is back..." "I wonder who's with Izumi-sama?" "Is that Ryū Tora no Kami with Izumi-sama?" Tony looked around as all the students seemed to be in awe.

"Kona, what's going on?" Kagami asked the Otaku in a whisper.

"I'm kinda one of the best here." Konata responded. Kagami was about to reply, but they were interrupted.

"Konata-lǎoshī!" A man walked up and put a hand on Konata's shoulder, a large grin on his face. Tony noticed a bandage on the right side of the man's head and a limp in his left leg.

"Hey teach, what's up?" Konata smiled. Tony's jaw dropped.

"Nothing much, whipping these wimps into shape." The master looked around. "And you even wore the cheongsam I gave you for graduation!" Liu smiled wider.

"Wait a minute, are you the master of this school?" Tony asked. The master turned his attention to Tony.

"Yes, I am. Why do you ask?" He asked.

"Well you just called Konata the equivalent of "senpai". Does that mean-"

"It means that she has surpassed me, yes." The man laughed. "She's earned the title of Master."

"Wow Kona, I knew you practiced martial arts, but I didn't know you were that good!" Kagami said, genuinely impressed.

"So what's your name sir?" Tony asked.

"My students call me Master Liu." The man bowed. Tony bowed back.

"Liu, pardon me, but that sounds more a Chinese name than a Japanese name." Tony said.

"Well that might be because I am Chinese. This is a Chinese martial arts school and Konata-lǎoshī is... was my star pupil!" Liu motioned to Konata.

"Master! Think you're up to a fight with my brother here?" Konata asked, gesturing to Tony. Liu looked to Tony and raised an eyebrow.

"You're Ryū Tora no Kami, eh?" Liu smiled.

"Yes sir." Tony bowed.

"By the condition you're in, I assume you beat Shífēn. If that's the case, you'll beat me. Besides, I'm still hurt from that fight." Liu said.

"I noticed. It's no problem, but I did want to see Kon-kon here fight." Tony smiled.

"Who are you gonna fight?" Kagami looked around. She thought she saw some of the students shiver. Konata hummed. "One of the students?"

"No offense to anyone here, but Konata-lǎoshī is the best here. None of them would have a chance." Liu said.

_I wanna impress Kagami..._ Konata thought to herself while she contemplated.

"Well, I could heal you and you could fight her." Tony smirked.

"She would still win." Liu said without hesitation.

"Master, your best fifteen! On the double!" Konata shouted as if ordering. Kagami's head snapped towards Konata.

"FIFTEEN? Kona, that's WAY too many!" Kagami shouted. Meanwhile, Liu was rallying students.

"Tsuyoshi, Takeru, Takeo, Yuudai, Masaru, Katsu, Isamu, Meijin, Minarai, Sukiru, Tatakau, Butoka, Kira, Shoyu, Mayumi, front and center." Liu ordered his students. Boys and girls alike stepped forward and got in a half circle in front of Konata.

"Kona, no. You're not fighting fifteen people." Kagami forbid.

"Don't worry so much Kagamin, I'll be fine." Konata gave a look of certainty to Kagami. It didn't almost nothing to cause the Tsundere's worry to subside, but she didn't offer any more resistance to the idea. Konata smiled to Kagami and turned towards the circle of people. Konata put a fist in her hand and put it in front of her, as if to display it. The fifteen students looked like they were about to void their bladder and their knees looked as though they would go into business for themselves at any moment. They all bowed and took their stance, doing their best to steady themselves. Konata looked around. _I can't let myself get hurt, Kagami is worried about me._ Konata thought. She rolled her sleeves up to just above her wrists. Liu laughed.

"What's that about?" Kagami asked the master.

"I feel bad for the students now." Liu chuckled.

"Why?" Kagami asked.

"Watch." Liu said simply, a smile on his face.

"Ready." Konata smiled as she took her stance. Suddenly, one of the boys ran up from behind and threw a flying kick. Konata spun around and caught the kick on top of her shoulder. She lifted her shoulder and caused the boy to fall down. She faked a kick at his head that told him he was out. Three more students came forth and started assaulting Konata, but Konata danced from one to the other, parrying their attacks and occasionally throwing a power punch that would knock one off their feet. They got back up and noticed that another had taken up the fight in their absence and thus stayed back for a moment since it was dishonorable for ALL of them to attack at once. One of the girls came up and threw a strike with the tips of her fingers. Konata slapped it off before it made contact and brought her other hand up, smacking the girl one way, and then the other, sending the girl spinning to the ground.

"Whoa..." Kagami muttered as her Otaku continued fighting. Konata spun around to catch a punch in a manner similar to the kick earlier. She bent the boy over and began repeatedly punching him. It was as if she could sense a blow coming from behind, attempting to take advantage of the position she was in. Konata kicked the boy's legs out from under him, dropping him and Konata onto the ground, where she spun across his back and avoided the blow she knew was coming. The fact that she could have easily broken the boy's arm made him realize he was out. Konata popped back up and spun around. She caught a leg by the ankle, a girl having tried to kick Konata in the stomach. Konata kicked a boy who had run up in the stomach, throwing him back, before stepping back, forcing the girl into a split. Konata put her foot onto the joint that connected the girl's leg to her pelvis and pushed down slightly. The girl winced as Konata could have broken her leg easily and rolled out. A boy ran up from beside Konata. She threw a powerful punch at the head and then the stomach. He was thrown off his feet and had a coughing fit. He was out. She leaned back to avoid a flying kick. A guy ran up and tried to strike her. She sidestepped him and threw a chop to the back of his neck. Out. She caught another guy's punch, pulled him in, and struck him in the chest, throwing him down to the ground. She started a fisticuff flurry on the fallen boy that, though not as strong or fast as Tony, was still devastating. Another one out. A boy came up and threw a punch. Konata caught it by the wrist, pulled him in, and crashed an elbow into the side of his neck. In pure instinct, she wrapped her arm around the boy's head until she was holding the back of his head. She bent him down, almost kicked him in the face, grabbed him by his forehead, and spun him around. He landed hard on the side, out. A boy stepped up to her and kicked, but Konata grabbed it, pushed him in such a way that he would be thrown off balance and end up on his stomach. She knelt down, tapped his back with her foot, and then the back of his head with her elbow. He rolled on out. The last six saw that the first nine had been thoroughly destroyed and Konata barely seemed out of breath. Honor be damned, all six shot forward. Konata started evading, parrying, and delivering her own blows, relying only on her instinct and reflexes. Where she would smack away one punch, she would throw a kick the other way and vice versa. It was about a minute of it, Konata trading off blows with the six. Eventually, seeing there was no other way to finish it, she fully stopped restraining herself and threw one of her strongest punches at one of the boys, throwing him a good ten feet and knocking him unconscious. Now that one of the six was out, and they were losing more energy then she was, Konata started gaining the upper hand. Within another few minutes, Konata stood in the middle of five people, who were all collapsed on the floor. Konata was leaning on her knees.

"Mother of god..." Tony's mouth was gaped open.

"How was that?" Konata looked up at Tony, breathing heavily.

"Amazing. Hang on..." Tony looked at the boy Konata had hit with most all her strength and walked over to him. He put his hand on the boy's chest and pressed slightly. Tony got a bit of a panicked look. "Heal." He muttered as his energy took a massive dip. He knelt down in exhaustion as the boy got back up, though everyone noticed there was a certain chill in the air now. Only Tony knew it was because he had needed to use energy from the area around them to maintain the spell long enough to fully heal the boy.

"What happened to me..." He muttered, rubbing his chest.

"Konata smashed your ribcage in. You had seven rib bone fractures..." Tony muttered, his consciousness flickering. Kagami, meanwhile, had been stunned at seeing Konata's proficiency in martial arts.

"Told you." Liu chuckled. "When the sleeves go up, stuff goes down."

"Wow." Kagami muttered. "Kona, wha... How long have you been that good?" Kagami asked.

"'Bout a year now." Konata smiled.

_It really is a good thing that Tony stopped her and Misao from fighting!_ Kagami thought.

"Konata, you just almost hospitalized this guy." Tony informed the Otaku.

"Sorry Takeru..." Konata apologized, scratching the back of her head sheepishly. "There was no other way to end the fight..."

"It's okay Izumi-sama." Takeru smiled.

"Kona, that was insane." Kagami mumbled. She was so relieved, she had been the most worried since Konata had been sick. "Did you heal him?" Kagami turned to Tony, who nodded. "No wonder, a crushed ribcage can easily be fatal and he certainly wouldn't be up and about." Kagami said. She was completely dumbfounded though. Her Kona had just caved a man's chest in. With one punch. That there was that much power packed into the cute little girl Kagami possibly loved boggled the mind and scared Kagami a bit. _Note to self: Never get Kona too angry..._ She thought. However, the thought that Konata might ever hate her enough to attack her sickened Kagami and hurt more than she imagined the punch itself would.

"Man, I'm tired now." Konata flopped onto her back. "I wanna take a nap." Konata complained.

"Well, you certainly deserve one." Kagami commented.

"Kagamin, can we go to your house and take a nap together?" Konata got into a sitting position. Kagami blushed and jumped at the sudden request.

"No! You can go home and take a nap!" Kagami shouted, face luminescent.

"But that's no fun~!" Konata whined as she flopped back onto her back.

"Kona, napping isn't supposed to be fun." Kagami pointed out.

"It's a good thing too, because then it would be failing..." Konata sighed.

"Go home and sleep." Kagami said sternly. Konata rolled onto her stomach and looked at Kagami.

"Will you come with me?" She asked, the same look from the day before staring Kagami in the face.

_Damn it! That's not fair!_ Kagami complained in her head. She had found she couldn't deny the Otaku when she looked like that. Kagami started several sentences without success before stopping and sighing. "Yeah. Sure." She smiled. Konata's face turned to joy.

"Yipee~!" She cheered as she jumped onto her feet using only the strength of her arms.

"Are you even tired?" Kagami shouted.

"Super, but I don't weigh as much as you." Konata smiled. It was at that moment that the full realization of what she had just said to Kagami dawned on her.

"I'M NOT FAT!" Kagami shouted. Konata shrank a bit.

"I didn't mean it like that Kagamin, I'm a lot smaller than you are!" Konata explained. Kagami blinked and calmed down before she exploded any more.

"Right. Of course. Sorry for getting so mad, it's just a sensitive topic, ya know?" Kagami smiled. It took Konata a beat to realize that she wasn't about to get killed. The fact that Kagami had calmed down so quickly, and into a sort of deredere state no less, surprised Konata even more.

"Kagamin..." Konata whined as she walked over to said girl.

"Hm?" The Tsundere hummed quizzically.

"My legs are tired, I can't walk another step!" Konata fell onto Kagami, who caught her.

"Hey! Don't just fall on people!" Kagami scolded.

"Kagamin, carry me!" Konata shouted. While the two went back and forth, Liu limped over to Tony.

"I've never seen Konata-lǎoshī like this. What's going on?" He asked Tony.

"Depends..." Tony muttered. Liu raised an eyebrow and looked at him.

"On?" Liu asked, a sternness in his voice. Tony started thinking. He got an idea.

_I wonder if that would work..._ "Do you promise not to tell anyone?" Tony asked, allowing energy to seep into his voice.

"On my word as a martial artist." Liu replied. Tony could feel the energy he released start to take effect. He smiled as the master was now bound to his word.

"Kon-kon is in love." Tony said.

"With her?" Liu asked, referring to Kagami.

"Yes." Tony nodded.

"Good for her. I'm glad." Liu smiled. Tony let out a sigh of relief.

"And I'm glad that you accept her." Tony smiled.

"Of course I would accept her. She's like a niece to me, I've known her since she was half her current height. Why wouldn't I accept her?" Liu asked.

"Well, you'd be surprised." Tony sighed.

"FINE!" Kagami shouted. She dropped Konata and knelt down.

"YAY~!" Konata cheered as she climbed onto Kagami's back. Kagami hoisted the girl up as Konata wrapped her arms around Kagami's neck. Kagami blushed again.

"Comfortable?" Kagami tried to ask sarcastically, but when it came out, it sounded like a legitimate question.

"Very. Thanks Kagamin." Konata rested her head on the back of Kagami's neck. Kagami's blush deepened, but she smiled.

"Hey guys, I'm gonna bring Kona home, okay? I guess you two are on your own." Kagami smiled, winking at Tsukasa on the side opposite Tony so he didn't see. Tsukasa smiled.

"Okay Onee-chan. I'll see you later." Tsukasa smiled as Kagami left. "Kan-kun, what are we going to do?" Tsukasa asked Tony, who yawned.

"Ever heal a guy who's had his ribcage broken? It's tiring. Do you mind if whatever we do involves sitting or sleeping?" Tony asked.

"Wanna go to your house?" Tsukasa asked. Tony blushed a deep scarlet at that suggestion, as did Tsukasa once she realized what she had just implied. "I-I mean... Um..." She tried to salvage the attempt.

"There's not really a whole lot at my house..." Tony mumbled.

"Well, there's something I wanna ask you, but it would be better if I did it at your house! I'll ask my favor once we get there." Tsukasa blushed as she explained herself.

"Alright. Let's go then." Tony smiled as they left.

"Kan-kun..." Tsukasa mumbled.

"Yes?" Tony asked. Tsukasa debated with herself whether it was okay to say what she was about to, but ultimately decided it was for the better.

"I think... I think Onee-chan is realizing her feelings for Kona-chan." Tsukasa said. Tony smiled. He would have cheered loudly if he hadn't been so tired.

"And how do you know this?" Tony asked, hoping for absolute confirmation.

"Onee-chan asked me last night what I would do if Kona-chan or Yuki-chan were lesbians. I said I would still love them and asked if they were in love." Tsukasa smiled.

"What did she say?" Tony asked, excited.

"They were debating on it!" Tsukasa shouted. Tony disregarded his exhaustion and cheered loudly. He backed up a step to steady himself as he almost fell down. "Kan-kun, do you want me to carry you?" Tsukasa asked with a smile.

"Tsu-chan, I think you'd find that a much more difficult task than you think and besides that, do you know which way to go? We're not going back the same way we came." Tony said.

"I-!... Um..." Tsukasa's ribbon drooped. "I don't know..." She sighed.

"It's okay, I don't need to be carried. Thank you for the offer though." Tony smiled.

"It's alright, I just wish I could help." Tsukasa smiled.

"Just by walking me home you're already helping a great deal." Tony stated.

"Thanks..." Tsukasa smiled. "I can't wait for the festival!" She squealed. Tony smiled.

"Me neither! Two more days and it'll be here!" Tony chuckled. "And Kagami and Kon-kon will be alone~. While the both of them love each other. They better get together too, 'cause once they do, Kon-kon is gonna feel a lot better." Tony smiled.

"So will Onee-chan!" Tsukasa chimed. Tony sighed as he was again reminded of Tadao.

_I hope I haven't lied to Kon-kon. I intend on changing his mind, but the road to hell is paved on good intentions._ Tony thought.

"I just want them to be happy, you know?" Tsukasa smiled.

"Being happy is simple. But it's difficult to be simple." Tony sighed. Tsukasa looked over at the boy.

"Kan-kun, sometimes you just seem so wise!" Tsukasa smiled. The compliment, while it made Tony happy, also amused him slightly.

"I just say things as I see them. If that is wisdom, you're welcome to it." Tony said.

"Thanks, I'll have to keep you to that. I'm not wise at all..." Tsukasa looked down a bit. Tony saw this and thought a moment.

"Tsu-chan, seeing wisdom requires wisdom. The music is nothing if the audience is deaf." Tony pointed out. Tsukasa looked back up at him and smiled wider.

"You just proved my point! That sounded like advice a wise old man would give!" Tsukasa shouted. Tony laughed.

"Thanks for the compliment!" Tony smiled as they arrived at his home. They entered.

"Is your brother not here?" Tsukasa asked as the house was quiet.

"Nope, when I woke up this morning, he was shaven, dressed, and said he was off to an interview. I'm really surprised he found a job already though." Tony contemplated how such a thing could happen basically over night.

"Kan-kun, can I ask my favor?" Tsukasa blushed.

"Sure, anything you want Tsu-chan." Tony smiled.

"Well... You see... I'm.. in love." Tsukasa said. Tony's heart skipped a few beats. Probably dangerous in his current condition, but who really pays attention to that?

"O-oh? With who?" Tony asked. Tsukasa opened her mouth, but no words came out.

_With you..._ She mumbled in her head. She was right, she couldn't just come out with it. She would have to go along with her plan and hope Tony could confess. "With... This... boy." Tsukasa struggled out. In that moment, Tony felt his world start to crumble. Tsukasa had just confessed... to loving another boy. "And I wanted to see if you could make me a potion that would make me more attractive to him!" Tsukasa requested. Tony was in a daze for a moment before he hid his eyes under his hair.

_So, what will I do now? Do I do what I decided with Kagami and make sure she's happy, giving her the potion she asked for? That's what I know I should do. But... That means I lose her... No. I lost my parents. I lost my mother twice. I lost my hopes of having friends, my chance at love, AND my childhood. I'm sick of it. I'm sick of always losing. I'm sorry Tsukasa, but I absolutely will NOT lose again! Not without a fight! If the gods want her and this "little mister charming" together, then I'll fail anyway..._ Tony determined in his head. "Sure Tsu-chan. But let me rest first, I can't recall all the ingredients I would need." Tony said. "I just need to sleep for an hour or so..." Tony said.

"Okay Kan-kun. I'll be here when you wake up." Tsukasa smiled as she sat in the living room. Tony sighed.

_Even after all that's happened to me, this was the most unkindest cut of all._ Tony walked to his room and laid in his bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Kagami, with Konata fast asleep on her back, was walking home through the same shortcuts Konata had led them through. As she walked, she heard Konata mumble.

"I wanna to go swimmin' with bowlegged women and swim between their legs..." She sleep mumbled. Kagami, though she knew she should be both annoyed and disgusted with Konata, couldn't help but giggle at how cute the little Otaku was. As she was enjoying the closeness with the girl on her back, she didn't look much where she was going. Not so much where she walking into as who. As she got into one of the dark alleys, she heard snickering. Kagami halted and looked around fearfully.

"Well look what we got here boys. A few days entertainment." She heard a voice from the darkness.

"Kona..." Kagami tried to jostle Konata awake. Konata mumbled something incoherent and snuggled back in.

"Sorry girls, you walked into the wrong alley today." Ten people walked out from the shadows.

"Kona!" Kagami shook Konata more violently. The one who had been speaking walked up. Kagami wanted to run, but she was frozen in place. Plus, with the added weight of Konata, she knew she would never outrun them.

"The purple haired one is mine. The rest of you can do what you want with the blue haired one." The leader reached out towards Kagami. She started to scream, but noticed nothing touched her. She stopped as she saw a hand from behind her had grabbed the man's wrist.

"You ugly," Konata started as she got off Kagami's back. "stupid, horrible, little FUCK!" She yelled, the last word signifying where she broke the man's wrist simply by squeezing. Kagami stepped back, taken by surprise by Konata's sudden use of such profanity. "Don't you EVER lay a hand on my Kagami!" She twisted the man's arm behind his back and kicked him into the gang. The amount of anger and hatred in her voice sent chills down Kagami's spine. Four guys ran forward, but it was obvious that Konata wasn't showing anywhere near the restraint she had used when she fought the previous fifteen people. One ran ahead of the others and started a haymaker, but Konata caught one hand on the inside of his elbow and the other hand on the opposite side of the man's head, redirecting him into the wall. She let loose four strong hits into his head that knocked the man out before the other three were on them. Konata unleashed a devastating power-punch that threw one of them back five feet. The other two came up and Konata spun to meet them. Suddenly, she started hitting the sides of their necks with speeds Kagami's eyes couldn't follow. She hit them both with such rapid succession, she had easy hit them over fifty times over the span of two seconds and hit them both in the chest enough to send them onto their rears. Konata looked to her left and grabbed a toilet plunger. She quickly screwed the rubber part off and held one end in each hands. She brought it over her knee and, though the stick looked sturdy enough to break bone, it broke into two pieces. The five other people than the one with the broken wrist started for her. Konata danced around, nothing but a whirl of blue hair, hitting guys in seemingly random places. Konata knew exactly where she was hitting, the places she thought where the person's center of balance would be. Between that and the fact that she was no longer holding back, the five of them were swiftly beaten and unconscious. The last one looked terrified at Konata. The Otaku looked at him with disgust and scorn. She dropped the sticks. The last guy ran towards her and swung a punch in desperation. Konata leaned to her right, chopped across the man's chest to stop the punch, and started punching him repeatedly in the chest. She eventually backed him into the wall. Twenty... Thirty... Forty... Kagami was trying to keep track of how many times Konata punched the man. She started losing count after a hundred. Kagami started getting scared. From the sound of the impacts, Konata was hitting this man hard and she didn't look like she was ready to stop any time soon. She looked at the broken man's face to see speckles of blood in ever-increasing amounts fly from his nose and mouth. Seeing this poor misguided man so beaten and broken, Kagami got over her fear and ran over.

"Stop it! Kona!" She shouted and hugged Konata, trapping her arms.

"Let me go!" Konata shouted at Kagami.

"No! You've gotta calm down! I'm okay, it's okay, he's had enough!" Kagami started to cry.

"He was gonna rape you Kagami!" Konata shouted at Kagami, tears in her own eyes. That struck a chord in Kagami.

_**He**__ was gonna rape __**you**__... She wasn't even concerned that that guy told the other nine to gang up on her... She was only concerned for me... She was angry because he was threatening me..._ Kagami's eyes widened. The feeling she had been getting when she hugged Konata and from just generally being around the girl seemed to multiply by magnitudes. This caused Kagami to start thinking about her feelings, and everything she had felt for Konata before. What happened during the sleepover, the morning after, and now her feelings during their hugs. And, as if the final piece of a puzzle, Konata's overwhelming concern for Kagami's own safety clicked something in her head. She sighed. _There's no doubt anymore. I... I'm in love with Konata... _Kagami realized. She had searched her feelings and she knew it to be true. _I can't let dad know about this. I'm scared! What's going to happen? Get a grip Kagami. Just pretend everything's okay..._ Konata's adrenaline started to subside and she realized what was going on. She let her arms drop and hugged Kagami back.

"I'm sorry Kagamin." She mumbled, starting to fall back asleep.

"Come on Kona, let's get you home." Kagami muttered. She had never seen her Otaku so angry, so hateful... She decided she hated seeing Konata like that more the anything she could think of. Kagami got Konata back on her back, where the small girl then wrapped her arms around Kagami's neck again, and pulled her phone out. After calling 119 and reporting the events that had transpired, she continued on her way and hoped the men would heal okay, then be detained. "Kona?" Kagami asked.

"Hm?" Konata hummed, half asleep.

"Please... Don't ever do that again..." Kagami pleaded.

"Why..." Konata mumbled, not really interpreting the question. Kagami sighed and took a deep breath, readying herself.

"For the people who love you... seeing you in that much pain and rage is really scary..." Kagami said. Konata hummed in response, again not thinking too much about what Kagami was saying. The adrenaline that had been coursing through her veins a moment ago left her a lot more tired then she had been after she fought the fifteen people at the school. Kagami sighed. Tsukasa was right. It was incredibly hard to say that, even when the recipient was unconscious and Kagami had known she wouldn't hear it. She traveled the rest of the way to Konata's house with only the Otaku's soft, rhythmic breathing accompanying her. Kagami opened the door quietly and closed it.

"Hey Konata, you back?" Sojiro shouted.

"Hello Mr. Izumi. Konata was tired, so I took her home for a nap." Kagami whispered loudly as she poked her head into the living room.

"Ah, okay. Thanks Kagami!" Sojiro called quietly as Kagami walked to Konata's room. She walked in and laid the Otaku into her bed. She stood for a moment and gazed at the sleeping girl in her bed.

_No wonder she likes to see sleeping faces. She's adorable..._ Kagami squealed in her head. After about half a moment after Kagami had put her in the bed, Konata got a troubled look and started tossing and turning in her sleep.

"Kagami... No..." She mumbled.

_She's having a nightmare..._ Kagami thought sorrowfully as she yawned. It had been tiring to carry Konata the entire way home and it was hitting her now. She walked over to the girl and looked down. _Well... She did say she wanted to take a nap with me..._ Kagami got into the bed with Konata. Though she was clearly asleep, Konata cuddled up to Kagami quickly. Kagami smiled and took Konata by the cheek. She kissed the girl on the forehead. Worry took her for a moment as Konata tensed up for an instant, but then relaxed with a content look on her face.

"Not short Kagamin." Konata mumbled.

Kagami's last thought before falling asleep again was, _It's criminal how cute you are Kona._

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

Tsukasa had been sitting in the living room for about ten minutes. She hadn't really been doing anything, just sitting. Suddenly, the front door opened and Masutā walked in. He walked into the living room in a suit. He did a double take when he saw Tsukasa randomly sitting in the living room.

"Well hello there Tsukasa." He said.

"Hello! Try to keep your voice down please, Kan-kun is sleeping." Tsukasa said.

"Ah, okay." Masutā sat down in the living room. "So what's happening?" He asked.

"Kan-kun saved a man's life today, but it cost him all of his energy. He could barely get home without me carrying him!" Tsukasa said.

"What happened?" Masutā asked.

"Kona-chan broke a man's ribs when she was fighting fifteen martial artists and he healed them." Tsukasa explained. Masutā's mouth fell open.

"Wait, did you just say fifteen?" He asked.

"Yeah, she's a master!" Tsukasa said. Masutā whistled.

"Damn, didn't expect that..." He ran his hand through his hair.

"Why are you all dressed up?" Tsukasa asked.

"Got a job today. Heavy manual labor that most no one can do. Since I can, I got the job basically instantly, and it's really good money." Masutā smiled. "Being able to lift a hundred kilos over your head at any given time doesn't hurt either."

"I guess it wouldn't." Tsukasa smiled.

"So Otōto used all his energy, did he?" Masutā asked.

"Yeah..." Tsukasa confirmed.

"He's gonna be hungry when he wakes up. Really hungry. That's why Saiyans eat so much, they have to replace all the energy they use during their fights and training." Masutā said.

"Saiya-whats?" Tsukasa asked, a question mark above her head.

"Er.. Never mind. It wasn't really intended for you anyway..." Masutā sweatdropped. "Maybe we can make him a nice meal."

"I can do it!" Tsukasa chimed. "Let me, please?" Tsukasa almost pleaded. Masutā lifted an eyebrow.

"Well, if you want to so much, but it's a lot of cooking." He said.

"I understand! I wanna cook something for Kan-kun though, I owe him!" Tsukasa smiled.

"If you say so." Masutā chuckled. Tsukasa hopped up and dashed into the kitchen. _I don't know if you could have picked it better for you Otōto..._ Masutā chuckled.

Tsukasa got into the kitchen and opened the pantry to see they had restocked supplies.

_That makes this so much easier!_ She smiled. She grabbed one of the several gallon containers of rice. She pulled it out, but almost got hit by it since it was a lot heavier than she thought it would be. It thumped into her chest with an "Oof" and she walked over and put it on the counter. _How much should I make?_ She wondered to herself. She got out enough for several people, remembering how much Tony had eaten after his fight with Shin and while he hadn't been disappearing lately, healing such a large wound was bound to take a lot of energy. She grabbed butter from the refrigerator and took out a scoop, putting it in a pan with the oven top set on high. She started to steam the rice after washing it through once and looked around to see what else she could find. She looked into the fridge to see a fair amount of chicken, which she quickly took out half of. She started chopping the poultry rather quickly. Not her quickest, or even near it for that matter, but still quickly. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small bottle of balsamic vinegar she carried around for just such and occasion and painted the chicken lightly with it. She put the chicken in the oven at an appropriate temperature, sliding the closed bottle of balsamic vinegar back into her pocket. She got the rice out and put it in a pot to soak. She smiled as she had already begun preparing a smorgasbord of food for the one she loved. She set the timer for half an hour and walked into the living room. She sat back down and yawned.

"What you makin'?" Masutā asked.

"Chicken and rice!" Tsukasa smiled.

"Why not take a bit of a nap? How long you think, half an hour?" Masutā asked.

"Yeah... I'm kind of tired, could you wake me up when the timer goes off?" Tsukasa asked as she sunk deeper into the chair she was sitting in. She nodded off, leaving Masutā to himself.

_Miyuki is moe, but I'll admit, Tsukasa is still extremely cute._ Masutā chuckled to himself. He got up and went to change out of the uncomfortable clothes he was in. He walked back out and looked around, hoping for something to do in the interim of the remaining twenty minutes. He went into the kitchen and looked at the chicken in the oven. _They're already cut up? Don't you usually cook them whole and then cut them?_ He wondered. He looked at the stock of food they had and was satisfied to see it was still plentiful. Ten more minutes. He walked back to the living room and sat down, contemplating everything he would need for his new job. He suddenly remembered something his best friend had taught him just before they went into the Seals together. _I'll have to ask Otōto for just a bit of money..._ Masutā thought with a smile. The memory of his friend made him smile, but also develop a sense of melancholy. He waited a moment for it to pass and breathed. _I hope I can remember all the ingredients..._ He thought to himself. He walked into the kitchen and saw the timer ticking down the last minute. He turned, figuring it would be okay to wake Tsukasa now. He saw her stirring from the chair, stretching, and yawning. "Well, it seems you didn't need me to wake you." Masutā raised an eyebrow. Tsukasa smiled sleepily and shrugged as the timer dinged.

"I don't get it either." She chimed as she got up and returned to the kitchen.

"Hey Tsukasa?" Masutā called.

"Hm?" Tsukasa hummed quizzically as she took the chicken and rice out.

"Why did you cut the chicken before you started cooking it? Don't you usually cook it, then cut it?" Masutā asked.

"Well, chicken takes about forty minutes to cook, but I was only soaking the rice for half an hour, so I cut the chicken into smaller pieces so more heat could get to the inside and cook it!" Tsukasa smiled as she finished. She made a plate. "I'mma wake Kan-kun, think it's okay?" Tsukasa asked, a worried look adorning her face.

"I think he'll be fine if it's you waking him." Masutā smiled.

"Alright, I'll be right back." Tsukasa scurried off to Tony's room and into it. She walked up to him, still asleep in his bed. She shook him. "Kan-kun~... Kan-kun~!" She chimed.

"Five more minutes..." Tony mumbled. Tsukasa bent over and got closer to Tony.

"It's time to eat." She said. Tony stirred and looked up, blinking a few times.

"You look so much like your mother..." He mumbled sleepily, running a hand on Tsukasa's cheek. The airhead's face lit up in a blush.

"Wh-what? I.. um..." Tsukasa babbled a bit, caught off guard by the random comment. Tony blinked a few more times and shook his head.

"Oh, Tsu-chan. Sorry, I thought... never mind. It isn't important." Tony sighed. _Just a dream._ He thought. "What did you say? Time to eat?" He asked.

"Yeah, I made plenty of food!" Tsukasa smiled. Tony smiled as well as his stomach growled loudly.

"Awesome, thanks. I'm really hungry..." Tony got up. _I may not have slept long, but I hopefully can think clearer then earlier. Tsukasa... What am I going to do?_ Tony got up and walked up with the person he was thinking of. He saw all of the food Tsukasa had made and lit up. "Awesome!" He ran over and picked up chopsticks. "Thank you for the food!" He shouted before starting to eat. "The chicken is delicious, but it's not like any other chicken I've tasted... What did you put on it?" Tony asked. Tsukasa took out her precious bottle of vinegar.

"Balsamic Vinegar!" She chimed. Tony stopped for an instant before continuing.

"I had never even thought that that would be good on chicken!" Tony said in between bites.

"It all depends on how much you use!" Tsukasa chimed happily that Tony liked it so much.

_This is what I would be giving up..._ Tony mumbled in his head. _This is what I would be rejecting someone else... Alright then... I'm gonna give this guy a sporting chance..._ He decided. _I'll have the potion be like a double edged sword._ Tony said, now knowing exactly what he would do. He, Tsukasa, and Masutā ate for about twenty minutes.

"Hey Otōto, can I borrow about 10,000 yen?" Masutā asked.

"Sure thing, what for?" Tony asked.

"I'm gonna make myself that energy food for my new job." Masutā said.

"You mean with the berries and...Yuck. That stuff tastes horri-. You got a job? That was quick!" Tony shouted.

"Heavy labor, stuff most no one else can do. Good money, but I'm gonna need a lot of energy for it." Masutā said.

"Understandable. That's cool, here." Tony handed his brother the money, conveniently having hidden that exact amount in the couch earlier.

"Thanks." Masutā smiled.

"No problem." Tony smiled. His brother got up.

"I'm gonna go purchase the ingredients. Maybe visit Miyuki again. Thank you very much for the meal Tsukasa, I see why Otōto compliments it so much and can't stand my cooking anymore." Masutā laughed as he left the blushing duo.

"Do you really talk about my cooking that much Kan-kun?" Tsukasa asked.

"Kinda... It's the tastiest thing I've ever tasted..." Tony mumbled.

"Thanks Kan-kun... So, think you can make me that potion?" Tsukasa asked. Tony sighed.

_I'll make her a potion for her looks, but take her voice._ Tony decided. "Yeah, let's go." He got up and went into the kitchen, followed closely by Tsukasa. He looked around.

"Do you have everything you need?" Tsukasa asked.

"Yeah..." Tony sighed, breathed deeply, and brought out a pot.  
**"I** admit that in the past I've been an asshole,  
They weren't kidding when they called me, well, a prick.  
But you'll find that nowadays,  
I've mended all my ways,  
Repented, seen the light, and cut the shtick!  
True?  
**Yes."** Tony grinned widely, though he was feeling terrible on the inside for what he was about to do.  
**"And **I fortunately know a little magic,  
it's a talent that I knew I had.  
And Tsukasa, please don't laugh,  
I use it on behalf,  
of the people who don't wish for the **bad." **_Yeah right..._ He thought, starting to hate himself.  
**"Poor **souls without cheer,  
In pain, in **need." **He said. He pointed to a picture of Kagami and Konata for the next two lines respectively.  
**"This** one longing to be thinner,  
That one wants to get the girl,  
and do I help them?  
Yes indeed.  
Those poor souls without cheer,  
So sad, so true!  
They come running to my doorstep  
crying "Help us Tony please!"  
And I help them!  
Yes I **do."** Tony grinned wickedly again. He suddenly got a downbeat face and tone.  
**"Now** it's happened a few times,  
Some folks couldn't take the grimes,  
And I'm afraid, to our arrangement, they'd adhere.  
Sure, a couple turned out bad,  
But yours is ironclad.  
You poor soul without **cheer~!"** Tony finished a verse.  
"Now. Here's the deal. I'll make you a potion that will make you absolutely, drop-dead gorgeous to that person for 2 days. Got that? 2 days, that's all I can do. Now, listen, this is the important part. By the end of the second day, sunset that is, you have to get little mister Charming to fall in love with you. That is, True Love's Kiss. And HE has to kiss YOU. No vice-versa. If you succeed, his heart will be yours. Permanently. But. If he doesn't, you'll revert back to your previous beauty and... he'll be repulsed by you." Tony explained. He felt his energy start to lower, forcing the potion he was about to start making to follow his will. "To activate it, you merely have to think about the boy while you drink the potion. Their name, what they look like, every physical detail about them. It should take effect almost immediately." Tsukasa's eyes widened as she realized she would only have a 2 day span to get Tony to fall for her or lose him forever. "Have we got a deal?"

"If this doesn't work... I'll never see him again..."

"That's right!" Tony feigned a depressed look, secretly hoping for her failure and loathing himself for it. "But, you'll still have your friends. Life's full of tough choices, idn't it?" Tony sighed. "Oh! And there is ONE more thing we haven't discussed... This potion will affect your voice. Like, erase it for the duration that it's effect holds. It will be broken by True Love's Kiss, but no other method will work. Not even a kiss from someone like your mother or friend, you must truly love them. Shouldn't be hard with how beautiful he'll see you." Tony said before adding _As beautiful as I see you..._, though his energy was already getting low.

"But... If my voice is gone... How will I-"

"You'll have those looks! A pretty face! So don't underestimate the power of body language! Ha!" Tony laughed humorlessly as he started throwing this and that into a pot.  
"**A **lot of men like a girl who's unheard,  
They think a girl who's singing is absurd!  
Yes, sometimes it's much preferred,  
For ladies not to say a word,  
And after all, all that's said can be deferred!  
Come on! He's, not all that impressed with conversation!  
For most it acts like a sort of sedation!  
But he'll dote and swoon and fawn,  
If you have everything withdrawn!  
But when you speak, it's you he'll start to **shun!"** Tony continued. He was now regretting everything he was doing and wished he could just say 'Never mind!' but he couldn't. The potion was almost done and the spell was unstoppable. He hated himself.  
"**COME **ON! You poor soul without cheer!  
Go ahead! Make your choice!  
I'm a very busy person who isn't insincere,  
You won't lose much, just your voice!  
You poor soul without cheer!  
It's sad, but **true!"** Tony shouted, taking a piece of paper out.  
If you wish for my assistance dear,  
You'll have to sign right here!  
If you want this boy to you, revere,  
You've gotta make it **clear!" **Tony shouted and handed her the finished potion before adding in his mind._**  
GOD'S**__ DAMN ME! I should burn in hell! But I can't stop it __**here~!**_  
"You poor, soul, without, any cheer~!" He finished as Tsukasa drank. The brew was horrid, but she was determined to suffer through it. As she drank, she thought of everything she knew about Tony. His voice, his muscles, his scars, everything. As she finished it, she found herself unable to speak or even whisper. Tony closed his eyes, deeply wishing he could take it back. As she finished the drink, his energy took a massive nose dive, almost rendering him unconscious. It was done now though. What cut Tony to the heart most was the look of sheer appreciation that Tsukasa gave him. He sighed.

_With this, I know I can get Kan-kun! _Tsukasa cheered in her head.

_With that, she might get who she wants. I hope whatever happens, she's happy. And here I was trying to preach myself into not abusing my powers. _Tony sighed in a tone of depression. _We'll have to see what happens..._

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya Luckies! I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami~!" Akira smiled.

"And I'm the joyful assistant, Minoru Shiraishi!" Minoru shouted.

"What are you so happy Minoru?" Akira asked.

"You're rich Akira, you don't have to worry about money any more!" Minoru smiled. Akira was stunned for a moment. "Akira?"

"Hm? Oh, right. Er.. Thanks." Akira smiled happily. Minoru's happiness for her monetary status was unexpected. "Thanks Minoru." She smiled.

"Man, Tony totally abused his powers in this one." Minoru sighed.

"I can't believe Kan-chan would do that..." Akira mumbled. "But wasn't the scene with Konata totally awesome! I wanna watch it again!" Akira shouted.

"Yeah! To take on fifteen of the best students in a martial arts class? That's crazy!" Minoru said.

*Music Tone*

"Well, it looks like that's all the time we have for today! I'll see you all next chapter, bye nii~!" Akira shouted waved, the smile never leaving her face.

"..."

"So you hear the news about this chapter?" Minoru asked.

"No, what?" Akira asked.

"It's pretty cool, it's-"

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

Mehaha. This chapter is officially the longest chapter of the story. What did you guys think? Yes, I made a "Beyond Friendship" reference this chapter. I've been "reading" it for the past few months and taking my sweet time. Truth is, I'm not reading, I'm savoring. Someone looked at my favorites list and recommended it and several more to me some months ago. I think I've only gotten to chapter 11, but it's still one of my favorites so far. I'll admit, I can see why everyone loves the story so much, it's incredible some of the ideas Doublebox came up with so far. If you haven't read it yet, I recommend it highly, I'll have to update my profile soon. I hope you didn't think I ignored your recommendations! Thanks to Flygon Master! You know who you are. So, I think I'll only need two more chapters until I hit the most words in the Lucky Star section. When I started this story, I never imagined it would get so big, my ideas are still quite numerable. I'm glad to see people still like it, I hope I can get through all my ideas in a similar manner! I know I keep saying things like this, but do you guys realize that this story isn't even a year old as of this chapter? I wonder how long it will take to write out the whole thing... Fun fact, that last song was the fourth written, I think after chapter 12 or 13... Still one of the ones before it has yet to implemented! I'm rambling, thank you to everyone who reads and please, please, please review! I love them more then you can know!


	31. Chapter 31: Prepare for the Festival!

Chapter 31: In Preparation of the Festival

Oi. It deleted my work. Again. 4000 words. Again. *Sigh* In any case, one thing I want to change. I know, consistence is a bit of a big thing, but this has stuck in my mind for a few chapters now. Something about Tony. "Tsu-chan!" one moment and "Bro" the next. I liked it before, but for some reason Aniki has been calling to me as of late. I think from here on, I'll start using that, if you all don't mind. Now I very well may make the decision to change it again, but for now, I'd like to start with Aniki. Thank you. Hehe, sorry for breaking so many laws Sqweebs! I'm glad you all are liking the story still! Enjoy!

* * *

**Last Time on Luckier Star**

"Kagamin, I'm pregnant! And you're the mother!" Konata said to Kagami.

"No, I'll never join you!" Tony shouted at the masked man who had so wronged him.

"Onee-chan, I'm pregnant! And you're the mother!" Tsukasa said to Kagami.

"Hey, she's mine!" Konata shouted. Suddenly the building collapsed as Galbatorix cackled maniacally.

"Woo! I'm Queen of the world!" Molly shouted.

"Hiiragin, I'm pregnant! And you're the mother!" Misao shouted to Kagami.

"It's mine! THE ULTIMATE POWER!" Raven shouted.

"Come on Kage! Let's fight his music with our music!" Jables insisted.

"What am I doing here? This isn't my story!" Mikeru said.

"Kagami, I'm pregnant! And you're the mother!" Tony started.

"Wait, something was wrong with that one..." Kagami's face melted into blue lines.

"And then there's Kyon!"

* * *

**Wait, did any of that actually happen? No? Okay... Um... POV... Tsukasa!**

Tsukasa smiled at Tony, currently quite happy with the situation. If she could just get Tony to kiss her... How could she do that though? _What can I do Kan-kun?_ She wondered. Tony seemed in a daze.

_I sabotaged Tsukasa... I'm a horrible person... How can I say I love her?_ Tony questioned his own ethics. Because at the moment, his ethics seemed highly questionable. Tsukasa tried to hum to get Tony's attention, but she found even that silenced. _How can I say I want what's best for her?_ Tony yelled in his head. Tsukasa looked Tony in the eyes and could see something was off about him. As if some battle were being raged in his head._ HOW CAN I-_ Tony was cut off as he felt arms wrap around him. His daze broke as he looked to see Tsukasa was hugging him, her head against his chest and her eyes closed. She opened her eyes and looked up into Tony's eyes with such emotion, Tony could feel his mind muddle. The amount of appreciation that seemed to be in her gaze was so intense, Tony was forced to look away and close his eyes. Tsukasa noticed this action and cocked her head to side quizzically.

_What's wrong? Did it not work? Did he use a wrong ingredient? Am I ugly..._ Tsukasa feared. _He must just still be tired. That has to be it..._ She reasoned.

"Tsu-chan, I need to go lay down. Please excuse me." Tony mumbled. Tsukasa paused a beat and reluctantly let go. Tony walked back to his room and entered.

_I hope he's okay..._ Tsukasa worried. He may have said he just wanted to rest, but she saw something hurting in his eyes. The thought brought a downcast to her own mood that Tony hadn't told her. She silently sighed and walked to the front door. With a glance back at Tony's room, she walked out. _I __thought when I drank it, he would notice me become prettier and realize I meant him. Did he just not notice, or maybe he was too tired?_ Tsukasa wondered.

Tony collapsed onto his bed. The grief of what he had done seemed to be tearing at his soul. He was still for what seemed hours, but was snapped out by the closing of his front door. He sat back up and looked at his room door, knowing that it had been Tsukasa. He took a deep breath, summoning the last of his energy reserves for a final spell before he slept.

"Happiness upon you." He said as he let his consciousness fade.

* * *

**POV Konata**

Konata approached her locker. She opened it to see a red note with a heart on it, which she promptly took out. She opened it to find it read,

"Dear Kona,

Please come to the top of the building as soon as you get this letter. I need to tell you something.

From,

A Certain Girl"

Konata's hands were trembling. If she was correct, this was a...

_Love letter..._ Konata stared at the letter, read it several more times, and shot up the stairs. She was at the roof in a matter of moments. She put her hands on the door knob, but was hesitated for an instant. _I wonder who it is..._ She thought. She opened the door to see only blackness. _Wh-wha..._ She wondered. She could hear a sort of rhythmic breathing from the void, one that seemed oddly familiar. Perhaps it was the ancient rumbling of a creature that had been slumbering since the beginning of time! Perhaps it was a fire-breathing monster of such indescribable beauty that she wouldn't be able to resist? She crossed into the abyss to open her eyes. She was currently hugging Kagami, who was asleep in Konata's bed. Right beside her. In her bed. Konata's face flushed auburn at the closeness to the girl. After spending a few moments not only waiting for her blush and heart to settle, but also to enjoy the company of the younger, better endowed girl that she loved so. Konata opened her mouth, almost reluctant to wake the sleeping Tsundere. Suddenly, Konata remembered the very end of her dream. _Hey! I came pretty damn close! It IS a fire-breathing monster of indescribable beauty!_ Konata snickered. Suddenly, the subject of her thoughts stirred and opened her eyes, blinking away sleep from her eyes.

"Hey Kona~..." Kagami yawned the last word so it was elongated in one of the cutest displays Konata had ever seen Kagami make.

"Kaga...min?" Konata was barely able to mutter. Though she had waited, her blush was still fierce.

"Hm~? What's up Kona?" Kagami asked, a cute smile on her face.

"We-we're in the same bed..." Konata pointed out.

"Mm? Oh, we are." Kagami smiled the same smile. "Didn't you want to take a nap together?" Kagami asked. That quieted Konata rather quickly. It was a second before Konata could answer her.

"Well, yeah..." Konata blushed. "I just didn't expect you to take the initiative Kagamin~." She catgrinned. Kagami took her turn to blush.

"I was tired... You may be small, but you're still pretty heavy for someone like me..." Kagami averted her gaze. It was around then that Konata realized that not only was she hugging Kagami, Kagami was hugging her. And she wasn't moving. Unfortunately, Kagami was still fully clothed, but that might be for the better. After all, Konata wouldn't want to have blood on her pillow. She knew though that she wouldn't be able to hold up long. She was about to lose control of herself, though she was enjoying these few moments more than most anything she could imagine doing right now, and most of those that she could imagine still involved Kagami.

"Kagamin, what time is it?" Konata asked. Kagami seemed almost reluctant as she let go of Konata and sat up to look at a clock.

"About 6:00." She said.

"How long did we sleep?" Konata asked.

"A couple hours." Kagami got out of the bed.

"Want me to make some dinner?" Konata sat up.

"That sounds fantastic!" Kagami rubbed her belly as it growled.

"On it!" Konata jumped from the bed. "Just let me get changed, I don't want anything to happen to my cheongsam." Konata shooed Kagami out of her room. She quickly put on regular clothes and walked with to the living room to find her father.

"Have a good nap Konata?" Sojiro asked.

"Yeah! Where's Kagami?" Konata asked.

"I didn't see her, I assumed she left after she dropped you off!" Sojiro commented. Konata hummed.

"Musta gone to the bathroom." Konata figured. "I'll get dinner started while I wait!" Konata determined, pumping a fist in the air. She walked into the kitchen to see Kagami, sleeves rolled up and an apron on.

"I figured maybe I could help!" Kagami smiled sweetly. Konata mulled the thought over.

_She looks so cute! If I'm here, I should be able to keep watch over her! But I can't exactly stop pots and pans from exploding..._ She thought. Konata coughed.

"Bless you." Kagami said without thinking. She suddenly realized exactly what she had just did and prepared for the inevitable teasing.

"You're welcome!" Konata said. An awkward silence followed.

"...Kona, what the hell just happened?"

"I have no clue..." The upper part of Konata's face melted into blue. "Anyway, sure! You can help!" Konata smiled, recovering.

"Yay!" Kagami cheered. "What can I do?" She asked.

"Well you can start with..." Konata started instructing Kagami.

* * *

**POV Sojiro**

Sojiro sat in the living room, watching T.V., but mainly listening to his daughter and Kagami in the kitchen.

"DAMN IT! Ouch!" He heard the Tsundere shout for the forth time. "Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!" She shouted. "It burned~!" She whined. Suddenly, she walked into the living room with her head hung.

"Sorry Kagamin, no boys in the kitchen!" Konata poked her head out through the kitchen door.

"What the hell does that mean?" Kagami shouted.

"Dad, could you help Kagami bandage her hands please? I should have known it was a mistake to let her try and cut the vegetables." Konata giggled.

"Sure thing Konata!" Sojiro shouted. "Come on Kagami, let's get you fixed up..." Sojiro smiled as he pulled Kagami to where they kept the first aid gear.

"The vegetables were harder then I thought they would be..." Kagami muttered. "It made the knife veer off..." She mumbled, attempting to explain herself and how she got cut. Sojiro chuckled, opting not to make a perfect "That's what she said." comment. After Sojiro bandaged up Kagami, he brought her back to the living room.

_That took a little while..._ Sojiro commented to himself as Konata could be heard from the kitchen.

"Dinner's ready you two!" The object of the two's affections called.

"Coming!" Kagami shouted, running into the kitchen with enough fervor to surprise Sojiro.

_I thought she was a Tsundere! Must be a type B, but I couldn't sworn she was a type A last time I saw her..._ Sojiro thought.

"Well someone's excited!" Konata chimed.

"Yeah, I'm hungry!" Kagami smiled as she sat down.

_Weird, Kagami's been deredere since we started home from the school... Not that I'm complaining._ Konata smiled. _She's so cute like this!_ Konata squealed in her head. Sojiro had sat down in the interim and Konata finished laying out the food. Kagami looked around at all the food that Konata had made and grabbed chopsticks. She broke the sticks and looked hungrily at the yakitori and reached out with her chopsticks. As soon as she grabbed hold, Konata giggled.

"Hm? What is it?" Kagami asked.

"So formal... Kagamin, you can eat off the skewer, that's why there's six of them!" Konata smiled. Kagami blushed a bit.

"We-well... Where's Yutaka?" Kagami looked around.

"Minami's. I think there's something there." Konata giggled. Kagami's smile widened.

"You think?" Kagami asked, seemingly more excited. Again, Konata was super surprised. Kagami was interested!

"I'd bet! Why else would she spend so much time over there?" Konata asked.

"Very true!" Kagami smiled. By this time, Kagami was currently on her last skewer and about to bite into her last piece. She bit, but found nothing in her mouth. Konata giggled again.

"Kagamin, you already ate the last of it." She grinned.

"Oh." Kagami sighed at the loss of one of her favorite foods. Konata saw her start to reach for another food, looked at her own skewers and put it over the table.

"Kagami, take mine!" Konata smiled. Kagami looked up, genuinely surprised, and smiled.

"Thanks, but no thanks Kona. That wouldn't be fair, you made two for each of us and I ate mine." Kagami put a hand up in rejection of the food.

"Don't worry about it Kagamin, I don't really care for yakitori myself and it's one of your favorite foods. Take it." Konata put it on Kagami's plate.

"Really Kona? If you don't really like it, why did you make them for you too?" Kagami asked. Konata thought for a moment.

"Because I knew you would insist on giving me yours if I didn't in the name of fairness. Please Kagami, take mine! I don't want it." Konata reiterated. Kagami smiled warmly again.

"Thanks." She started eating. Sojiro had held his tongue the entire time, confused as he was.

_Konata loves yakitori. I even give her mine whenever we have it._ Sojiro noticed. He also noticed that he hadn't had a word in the conversations since they had started eating. He then realized he was currently eating dinner with high school girls and didn't really care about any of the issues he had thought of.

"Kona... Would you mind... if I had a sleep over?" Kagami asked. "I know it's real sudden, but-"

"Sure, I'd love it." Konata smiled. "If that's okay dad?" Konata asked.

"Sure Konata. High school girls are always welcome here!" Sojiro said.

"Thanks dad!" Konata cheered.

"Thank Mr. Izumi!" Kagami smiled. "I just need to call Tsukasa to tell her what's going on." Kagami pulled out her phone. She dialed "2" on her speed dial, Tsukasa. The phone rang a few times before it went to voice mail. "Huh..." A pit formed in Kagami's stomach.

"What?" Konata asked.

"She didn't pick up... Could you call Tony? Those two were together when we left, so I assume they're together." Kagami said.

"Sure thing Kagami." Konata pulled out her phone and clicked "2" on the speed dial. It rang for a second before Tony picked up.

"Hey." He said lethargically. Konata noted his tone.

"Hey Kan-kan, what's up?" Konata asked. Kagami leaned over.

"Is Tsukasa with you?" Kagami asked.

"No. She went home a little while ago..." Tony muttered. Kagami instantly recognized the tone of his voice. It was the same tone as he had after their failed date. That made Kagami a bit scared.

"She didn't answer her phone." Konata shooed Kagami away a little bit to have some air of privacy with her brother.

"She can't. She wanted a potion that would make her more attractive. That potion also caused her to lose her voice for the next two days or until her love kisses her." Tony explained.

"Tony, are you okay? Your words are a bit slurred. And I think I hear music in the background." Konata asked, concern easily prominent in her voice, one not unlike what could be heard from Konata talking to Yutaka or Kagami to Tsukasa. It was slightly different because Tony wasn't a girl who was prone to be so cute, they caused widespread diabetes where ever they went.

"Never mind that. Was there anything else?" Tony asked, sounding very detached from the conversation.

"I guess not. Are you sure you're okay? Did something happen?" Konata asked.

"Never mind. By the way, did you hear the festival was tomorrow?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, I thought you knew!" Konata said cheerfully, hoping the attitude would carry over.

"Oh, okay. I'll talk to you later." Tony muttered.

*Sigh* "Talk to you later Kan-kan." Konata sighed as she hung up.

"So, so?" Kagami asked.

"Tsukasa can't talk for two days or until Tony kisses her. It was the effects of some potion?" Konata asked.

"Ah yeah, she was talking about asking Tony for one of them. I guess for every give, there has to be an equal amount of take. Anyway, I have another idea." Kagami dialed a number in. After a moment, a voice came over the phone. "Hey Matsuri, did Tsukasa make it home?"

"Yeah, but she won't talk! You know why?" Matsuri asked, clearly annoyed with her youngest sister.

"Yeah..." Kagami explained the situation.

"Ah. So little mister charming has something to do with it, does he? Well I'm about to push him onto Imoto, he's taking too long!" Matsuri shouted. Kagami opened her mouth to respond, but Matsuri started giggling.

"What's so funny?" Kagami asked.

"Tsukasa's face is lit up in a blush. I have to admit, mister Tony sure picked a cute girl." Matsuri giggled.

"Is that even a good thing to say about your sister..." Kagami commented.

"You kiddin' Imoto? If we weren't related and I were a lesbian, I'd hit it." Matsuri commented. She started giggling again. "She's carmine." Matsuri giggled again.

*Sigh* "Well, you answered my question, thanks." Kagami sighed.

"No problem Imoto! When ya coming home?" The older sister asked.

"Could you ask mom if I can stay over for the night?" Kagami asked.

"Sure thing!" Matsuri shouted as she got up and ran off. She returned after a moment. "She said it was A-okay!" Matsuri said.

"Thanks a lot Matsuri." Kagami smiled.

"No problem Imoto!" Matsuri hung up. Kagami put her phone away.

"Alright, so Tsukasa made it home okay. That's a big relief off my mind..." Kagami sighed.

"I'm glad Kagami." Konata smiled warmly. Kagami saw it and smiled wider, thinking of how cute Konata was. "Wanna go to my room?" Konata asked.

"Sure thing!" Kagami smiled as the two got up.

"Bye dad, I'll see ya later!" Konata called from the hall. She and Kagami entered the Otaku's room. Kagami found a manga and sat down on a chair, flipping open the book and beginning to read it. "Kagamin, you don't have to sit on that uncomfortable chair you know. Come here, lay down!" Konata patted the bed next to her. Kagami blushed a bit.

"Alright..." She mumbled as she got up, much to the surprise of Konata. Kagami walked over and laid down next to Konata.

"Hey Kona..." Kagami mumbled, bringing Konata from her manga and looking up at the Tsundere.

"Yes Kagamin~?" Konata asked. Kagami thought of a way to phrase her question.

"Well... You seem so free, you know? I just wanted to know... How do you do it?" Kagami asked.

"Do what?" Konata cocked her head.

"You just seem so worry free... To tell you the truth, I'm envious... You don't seem to have a care in the world..." Kagami clarified. Konata sighed, closing her manga. Kagami realized that, by this action, Konata had just rolled up the verbal sleeves.

"Kagami, I have plenty of cares and fears." Konata said, staring at the cover of her manga.

"Really? Like what? And don't you say anime..." Kagami warned.

"Well..." Konata paused. "I care about you." Konata looked up into Kagami's eyes. Kagami's heart skipped a beat, a deep blush coming across her face.

_*LOVE*_ "I... I care about you too Kona..." Kagami tried to bury her face into the manga in her hands, her face growing redder as a feeling of love shot through her body. Konata was a tad confused, she was sure Kagami had been deredere, but to openly admit she truly cared? It was obvious that she cared greatly for her friends, but she never really flat out said it. Kagami peaked over at Konata to see the Otaku studying her intently. She noticed Konata's hands were quaking and her face was adorned with a cute little blush. "Kona, are you okay?" Konata jumped.

"Yeah, yeah, hey Kagami, wanna see one of my favorite things to do?" Konata tried to change the subject quickly.

"Sure, what's that?" Kagami asked.

"Trolling." Konata got up from the bed and sat down at the computer. She moved the mouse to awaken the computer and clicked on her internet browser. Kagami walked over and put her head on Konata's shoulder, making the older girl jump and blush. _What's with her today? She's been nothing but cute ever since we got here!_ Konata panicked a bit in her head. _And what's with all the deredere? She has to stop, or I might not be able to control myself..._ Konata shakily typed in the url for a Mormon chat room.

"Hm? What are you doing here?" Kagami asked.

"Trolling." Konata muttered, barely able to talk under the circumstances.

"What's that?" Kagami asked.

"Ha-hang on..." Konata got up and walked to her door. "I'll get you a chair..." Konata walked out.

_I liked how we were..._ Kagami sighed as she waited a moment until Konata came in with her father's computer chair. Kagami walked over to the chair to sit, but Konata held a hand out.

"Hang on." She said flatly. She started looking around.

"Kona?" Kagami asked as Konata went and grabbed a small blanket, which she promptly covered the chair with, seat, back, arms, all of it.

"There ya go." Konata gestured. Confused, Kagami sat on the cloth.

"What's with this?" She picked the cloth up between two fingers. Konata put a finger to her mouth for a moment, thinking of how to phrase her response.

"Let's put it this way. You don't want to sit in that chair without some form of cover on it. It's my dad's." Konata averted her gaze. The top of Kagami's face melted into solid blue.

"E-enough said... Thanks..." She muttered. Konata walked back and sat down in her chair, Kagami rolling up to the small space next to her. There was hardly any room, so the two had to sort of squeeze together, but neither complained. Nor did either dislike the contact, in fact, at one point Kagami could have sworn that Konata was pressing against her unnecessarily. The thought made her a bit happy. In any case, once Konata had sat down, she clicked enter and entered a chat room. A woman named Maria immediately opened a window.

-Hello Konakona, how are you doing today?- Marissa asked. Kagami looked between the screen and Konata.

"Who's Marissa?" Kagami asked.

"My first victim." Konata catgrinned.

-I'm doing well, I was interested in joining the Mormon religion.- Konata typed back.

-I'm glad to hear that, how did you hear about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?- Marissa asked. Kagami looked over at Konata. Impressively, she was typing with her eyes closed.

"Kona, are you converting?" Kagami asked. Konata opened her eyes until she was half-lidded and glanced mischievously over at Kagami, a cute catgrin on her face. She closed her eyes again and hummed in thought for a moment. She started typing again.

-Marissa, may I be honest with you?- Konata typed.

-Of course Konakona, just please tell me how you heard about us- Marissa typed back.

-Ah, you see, when I was a child, my mother told me that happiness was the key to life.- Konata typed.

-Admirable, please continue.- Marissa typed.

-Goodness, this is difficult to say, I'm sorry. When I was a child, my mother told me that happiness was the key to life.- Konata typed again.

-You said that.- Marissa typed.

-Now now, I'm getting to my story, may I continue?- Konata asked.

-Please do.- Marissa said.

-Eventually, after I grew up a little bit, I realized something.- Konata typed.

-What was that?- Marissa asked.

-To tell you the truth, there was one thing I never understood.- Konata's grin widened.

-What's that?- Marissa asked.

-Sadly, the first letter of every line I typed after you asked me about converting.- Konata put in. Kagami looked up, but didn't understand why what she typed held relevance.

-... sigh- Marissa typed in.

*Your chat session has ended.*

"What was that Kona?" Kagami asked.

"Asking Mormons about magnets is a time honored tradition of trolling Kagami!" Konata said happily. She refreshed the page. Chris opened a page swiftly.

-Thank you for trolling through. I'm here to help those who sincerely want to learn about out church. Do you feel you have a genuine question to ask me?- He typed. Konata laughed.

-Oh, the irony.- Konata put back.

*Your chat session has ended.*

Kagami knew she should be a bit angry with Konata for wasting these people's time, but she was actually finding this funny. Kagami giggled as Konata trolled more and more people. Suddenly...

_-_Some kinds of metals (like steel that the needles are made of) are made up of billions and billions of individual atoms that each have the properties of a microscopic magnet. The atoms in steel naturally tend to get together in tiny little groups called domains, and within each domain the atoms tend to point in the same direction, which makes the domains behave like a tiny little bar magnets just like the kind you have probably played with at school. The needle of a compass is also a bar magnet, and we know what this does: it points north because it likes to line itself up with the magnetic field of the earth.- Marissa typed. Konata laughed loudly.

-You, ma'am, rock.- Konata typed back.

-I know.- Marissa typed back before she ended the chat session.

"She gotcha back Kona..." Kagami mumbled sleepily. Konata had been so wrapped up in trolling, she had forgotten the girl was right there. Now that she remembered Kagami, she realized that there was a weight on her shoulder. She looked over and saw Kagami leaning on her shoulder, mostly asleep. Konata blushed deep. "I'm tired Kona... Can we go to sleep?" Kagami reluctantly picked her head up and look at Konata. Konata quickly scooted up to the computer in an attempt to hide her blush by getting in front of Kagami. She looked at the time to realize it was a little past midnight already.

"Yeah, sure thing Kagami, it's pretty late for you, isn't it?" Konata muttered. She got up and, keeping her face away from Kagami as much as possible, she walked over to her bed. She got out the futon she had put under her bed from the last sleepover they had several weeks ago and backed up a bit, smiling. "Alright Kagamin, you can take the bed on one condition." Konata said, entirely unsure about what she was about to say. She was wondering if she could handle this. She had every intention of letting Kagami take the bed, whatever her answer was.

"Oh? And what's that?" Kagami asked as she turned to the girl with a smile on her face.

_*Cute!*_ Shot through Konata's head. "You can't sleep in those clothes." Konata said, eying Kagami up and down. Kagami blushed.

"What!" She shouted.

"Kagamin, my bed is clean, your clothes are dirty! Just sleep in your underwear." Konata said as if it were nothing. Kagami blushed even more.

"How can you just say that without feeling awkward?" Kagami shouted.

"We're both girls, aren't we?" Konata asked. Kagami seemed to shrink a bit.

"Yeah... I guess so." She felt a bit hurt. It wasn't something Konata had done intentionally, but that simple statement of a fact was misunderstood by Kagami. _We're both girls... She just sees me as a friend..._ She felt a pain in her chest, one more vicious then she would have thought from something like this. She stripped her underside. _Of course, she's never serious. It's all a big joke to her..._ Kagami took her shirt halfway off, making sure the clothing looked like it got stuck over her head. She knew Konata was going to tease her for it, but she could feel tears welling up in her eyes, and she had no interest in letting Konata see her cry.

"Need help Kagami?" Konata asked. The sentence seemed a legitimate question in the interest of her concern rather then a teasing comment, which surprised Kagami.

"I've got it." Kagami barely kept her voice from cracking. "Could you just go ahead and turn the light off? I'll get it in the dark and I don't want you staring at me."

"Alright, if you want." Konata surprised her again by turning the light off. Konata would have loved to just stay there, examining the beauty that stood before her, but what she wanted took second seat to what Kagami wanted now. That's how love worked, right?

"Thanks..." Kagami mumbled as she finished taking off her shirt. "And thanks for the bed Kona." She sighed as she plopped into Konata's bed. Suddenly, she heard a collapsing noise and was buried in paper. "What the hell!" She shouted, squirming. The light was turned on and Kagami was soon free from the piles of manga that occupied Konata's bed at all times. "Konata! Why are all of these things in bed with me?" She shouted.

"'Cause I read in bed, I forgot about them!" Konata sounded almost scared. Kagami saw this and backed off a bit. "I'm sorry Kagami." She apologized. Kagami calmed all the way down.

"No, it's my fault. I over-reacted." Kagami sighed. She was working hard not to get too angry with Konata anymore. After all, if she wanted to ever have a chance at Konata being serious, she would have to be nicer. The thought of her maybe eventually getting Konata to stop with the perverted comments seemed odd to Kagami. She should love the idea, it meant that Kagami would finally know where she stood with Konata, but it also meant Konata would change from the girl Kagami fell in love with in the first place. She didn't want that. But she wanted so desperately to know Konata's feelings and how to gain the Otaku's affections. Of course, even if she somehow did that and she and Konata could be together, how would it work? Konata wasn't serious. Even if she was, there was still the biggest issue. Dad. Her father tended a shrine. She knew he would have objections to any sort of lesbian relationship, no matter how much Kagami loved Konata. _It still feels so weird to say that..._ Kagami thought. Kagami loved Konata, there was no doubt, but it still was odd to recognize it with such clarity. Kagami sighed. _Life was so much less confusing when I was confused._ Kagami decided. She noticed the light was off again. _Kona much have seen that I was lost in thought again._ Kagami thought. Still, the subject of Konata's attitude raised questions in her mind. "Hey... Kona? You still awake?" Kagami asked softly. There was a moment of silence in which Kagami was a tad disappointed because Konata hadn't answered and she considered the possibility that she had been lost in thought for longer then she thought.

"I'm awake." Konata replied after a moment. Kagami smiled. "What's up Kagamin?"

"Well... I just wanted to know... You've kinda changed recently, ya know?" Kagami asked, already knowing her wording had been extremely awkward. Still, Konata made no comment on that element of her statement.

"What do you mean?" Konata asked, a bit timid. This could either turn out to be a great compliment or a terrible insult.

"Even though you've mostly gone back to the way you were, which don't get me wrong, I really like." Kagami started. Konata felt lucky the light was off and Kagami was above her. "You've started apologizing more when you do really stupid things." Kagami said. Konata had mixed feelings about what Kagami had just said. REALLY stupid seemed a bit harsh. MODERATELY stupid seemed more her key.

"Is that bad?" Konata asked.

"No. It's actually really refreshing..." Kagami smiled. "I just wanted to know if there was any specific reason for the change." Kagami said. Konata thought for a moment. There was a reason, but she couldn't really tell Kagami. She was genuinely sorry, and she had decided to show it more in hopes that Kagami would like it. Konata smiled to herself for a moment as she was right.

"Don't worry about it Kagamin." Konata smiled.

"Well, just do me a favor." Kagami said.

"What's that?" Konata asked.

"I like that you apologize more, but don't change anymore. I like you the way you are." Kagami said, putting as much affection in her voice as she could. Konata blushed deepest she had all night.

"Thanks... I like you too." Konata barely mumbled. Kagami blushed and smiled.  
_**There's**__ something sweet, that makes me swoon  
but she was mean and kinda rude and so Tsuntsun...  
But now she's cute, her face maroon,  
Could she possibly start loving me so __**soon? **_Konata wondered before she nodded off. Kagami smiled and looked over the edge of the bed to see Konata asleep with as cute a sleeping face as she had during her nap. Kagami squealed in her head, though she could have sworn she saw a blush on Konata's face.

_**She **__had a blush, I thought I saw,  
'bove the kitten's grin adorning her cute jaw,  
Could she love me? With all my flaw?  
I don't know, for now, I think I will __**withdraw...**_and with that, Kagami laid back down in the bed and looked over at the stand next to Konata's bed. _Is that my notebook? I'll have to get that back from her..._ Kagami thought as she let sleep take her, happy.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony woke up, the memory of his horrible deed ripping at his heart. The pain he felt from sabotaging his love hurt a thousand fold more than anything he had felt in recent memory. He was still exhausted from all the spells he worked that day, the only thing that could get him out of the bed was the hope that his last one would help Tsukasa. He pushed himself up on shaky legs and left his room to see Masutā in the kitchen, making something.

"Hey Otōto, wh- whoa, you okay?" He asked.

"I've done a horrible thing." Tony muttered.

"Wanna talk about it?" Masutā asked.

"Thanks, but no. What are you making?" Tony asked.

"Dengen." Masutā said. Tony made a face.

"Disgusting. Let me have a bite." Tony requested.

"That meal didn't do much for you, did it?" Masutā asked.

"Nope. I need some energy." Tony said. Masutā reached into the pot he had been stirring and got out a small, bean sized glob. He handed to Tony who, after making a face, popped it in his mouth and ate it. He felt his energy returning the instant he managed to swallow it. He got a decent amount back. "Thanks." He said appreciatively.

"No problem, luckily you came out about when it was done. So what are you doing now?" Masutā asked.

"Not much. I had an idea, but what did you have in mind?" Tony asked.

"Well, I say we go get that necklace appraised." Masutā said.

"Good idea. Let's go." Tony got up and fished the amulet out of his pocket.

"You just carry that around?" His brother asked.

"Yeah, for if the right moment presents itself." Tony said. As he looked at the necklace, the pain previously pounding on his heart restarted. "I don't really see the point of this anymore though. She loves someone else." Tony muttered.

"What? What do you mean?" Masutā asked.

"I'll tell you on the way." Tony said. And so they left and, while on the way to Masutā's friend, Tony explained everything that had happened. From the battle with Shifen, to the fight at the martial arts school, then to Tsukasa's request and Tony's decision. And finally, of his potion's effects and Tony's rending hatred of his actions henceforth. Through all of this, Masutā stayed silent as stone and listened carefully. "Aniki, what should I do?" Tony asked.

"Simple. KISS. HER!" Masutā shouted. "Then her voice will come back and all will be well."

"That doesn't make any sense." Tony said.

"And why not?" Masutā asked. "She obviously likes you."

"Why on Earth would she ask ME for a love potion for ME?" Tony asked.

"I dunno, maybe she wanted to be clever? Look, it doesn't matter, she likes you almost as obviously as you like her, if not more so. Kiss her and have your happily ever after Otōto." Masutā said as they arrived.

"Whatever you say." Tony still sounded depressed as they entered.

"Masutā!" A man behind the counter shouted with a hand raised.

" Hōsekishō! What's up man?" Masutā walked up as he asked.

"Not much, the wife and kids are in bed with a cold, but that's about it. I hope whatever it is you brought is interesting, I need something rare if you have it about now." Hōsekishō scratched his head.

"I dunno if it's rare, the merchant said it was Alexandrite, but my friend said it didn't have the right hue." Tony said. Hōsekishō raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? Where is this necklace you would like me to take a look at anyway?" He asked. Tony got the necklace out and showed it to the man. He took it and started examining it through a jeweler's glass. His hands started to shake.

"What's up bud?" Masutā asked.

"This... How much did you pay for this?" Hōsekishō asked.

"300,000 yen, why? Is it fake?" Tony asked, hoping he wasn't conned.

"By the gods! 300,000? Well, it certainly isn't Alexandrite. If that merchant had any clue what this was, he wouldn't have let it go for nearly what he did. This is what's known as Blue Garnet. I never thought I would see something like this..." Hōsekishō mumbled in astonishment.

"Is that... good?" Tony asked.

"Let's put it this way. One carat of Blue Garnet would easily sell for more than 125 million yen. I wish I could buy this from you, but I don't have near the money. You could make an incredible return on your investment on auction though. You have to be the luckiest man alive." Hōsekishō said.

"Hehe, maybe I just have a Luckier Star than most. Thank you very much sir." Tony bowed as Hōsekishō handed the necklace back.

"No problem, it was my treat entirely! It's only unfortunate that I don't think I'll ever see it again..." Hōsekishō chuckled. "Take care!" He waved.

"You too!" Tony and Masutā waved back as they left.

"That's a lot of money Otōto..." Masutā said.

"Yeah. I don't think I'd sell it, even if I could." Tony said.

"Why can't you? I mean, I understand that you don't want to, but why couldn't you?" Masutā asked.

"I spent a lot of time putting an enchant on that thing. I'm still giving it to Tsukasa, even if she and this guy get together." Tony said.

"Otōto, I'll cut you a deal. I'll bet you anything you want that if you give her that necklace tomorrow at the festival-"

"Hang on, tomorrow? I thought it was in a couple of days!" Tony shouted. Masutā looked confused.

"No, it's definitely tomorrow." Masutā said. "Anyway, if you give that to her tomorrow, kiss her, she'll kiss back." Masutā finished.

"Wow, it's really tomorrow?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, 'cause Miyuki's dentist appointment is tomorrow." Masutā said. Of course, she didn't have an appointment, he was spending the time with her during the festival for the day before he went off to work.

*Sigh* "Well, that might change things..." Tony mumbled. "Alright."

"Alright you'll do it? Or alright you acknowledge the festival is tomorrow?" Masutā asked as they arrived home since the way he said it implied either. Tony made no reply. "Otōto?"

"I'm gonna go... visit a friend." Tony sighed as he turned.

"What are you gonna do about tomorrow?" Masutā asked. "I bet anything."

"I'll think it over." Tony started walking.

"Geez Otōto, come on. Every time it's plain to see, you ignore the signs." Masutā sighed as he entered the house.

Tony walked all the way to Akira's bar. His brother had deposited the money from the tournament, so he could now give Akira the money he had decided to give to help her out. He looked up as he realized he never looked at the bar's name. He laughed out loud as the he read the sign.

"South Side of Chicago"

He walked in.

"Kan-chan!" Akira shouted exuberantly. "Welcome back!" Tony walked up and sat at the bar.

"Hey Akira." Tony said.

"Kan-chan, what's wrong?" She asked.

"Um..." Tony contemplated. He knew what he was depressed about, but what his brother had said... "Never mind. Hey Akira, I'd like to give you somethin'." Tony took out a check book and started writing in it. "100,000 yen." He tore the check out and handed it to Akira, who gingerly took it in trembling hands.

"What?" She asked.

"You said you were having trouble with your money, I wanted to help out." Tony said. Akira smiled warmly.

"Thanks Kan-chan, but..." She handed the check back to him. "It isn't needed anymore. Someone gave me enough money to live off of for a long time." She smiled.

"Really? That's cool, I'm so glad for you Akira." Tony smiled. "In that case, I might take that drink now." Tony chuckled.

"Wait, Kan-chan?" He heard a masculine voice from his right. He looked over to see a man with a familiar woman. "You're Kan-chan?" He asked.

"Yeah, how are you Doris?" Tony asked.

"I'm great, thanks." She smiled.

"You're the guy who took out Leroy, huh?" He asked.

"Yeah, you her real husband?" Tony chuckled.

"Yeah man, I owe you a thanks. My name's Dansei, drink's on me." Dansei smiled.

"Thank you for your generosity, however I have money for it." Tony smiled as he held up a hand.

"Nonsense! I insist that I repay you friend." Dansei put money on the counter. Akira smiled.

"Actually, I owe him a bottle too!" Akira smiled.

"Well, take the money as a prepay for more drinks for him." Dansei smiled as he refused to retake the money. He turned to Tony. "Whether you like it or not, you've made a friend." He smiled. Tony smiled too.

"Thanks. I needed to hear that." Tony smiled. "Akira, do you have any Sake?" Tony asked.

"Absolutely, coming right up!" Akira put a bottle and a small shot glass on the counter.

"Thanks." Tony poured some of the Sake and drank it. About half way through the bottle, his phone started to ring. He got it out to see it was Konata. One phone call later, he had returned to his melancholic mood at the reminder of Tsukasa. He took another drink.

"Why don't you talk about it Kan-chan?" Akira asked while she tended others.

"It's really personal." He sighed.

"If you can't tell your friends, who can you tell?" Dansei asked.

*Sigh* "I think the girl I love might be in love with someone else." Tony sighed. Akira gasped.

"Who is she?" Akira asked. Tony looked up sadly at her.

"You remember that girl you and I sang with on my first visit here?" Tony asked.

"Oh, the cute purple-haired one! Her?" Akira asked excitedly.

"Yeah. Her." Tony sighed.

"Who do you think she loves?" Akira asked.

"I don't know." Tony sighed. "Does it matter?"

"I guess not." Akira sighed. "Well, maybe you can invite her to the festival tomorrow! If you spend enough time with her, she's bound to fall in love with you!" Akira said.

"You think?" Tony asked.

"Of course, you just tried to give me a hundred thousand yen. How can she not?" Akira smiled.

"Yeah... I think I'll see if she wants to go with me... Thanks Akira." Tony smiled. _How will I ask her..._ Tony wondered. He didn't know the number for the Hiiragi's house. He started wracking his brains. He took out his phone and, knowing the address of his love, looked up the phone number for her house. He called the house. Soon there was someone on the other end.

"Hiiragi house." A female voice said.

"It's Tony, is Tsu-" Tony started, walking out of the bar with a wave to Akira and his new friend.

"Oh~, Mister Kan-chan!" The girl laughed. "What can I do for you? Tsukasa can't really talk right now."

"I know, but I was wondering if you could ask her if she'd like to go to the festival with me tomorrow?" Tony said uncertainly. The female voice giggled.

"Sure thing, I'll ask her!" Tony heard the phone being set down. He waited a moment while he walked home. He walked a few moments before he heard the girl come back. "Totally said yes." She chuckled.

"Really?" Tony smiled.

"She was a little more than exuberant. I thought her head was gonna pop off!" She laughed. "She was like a bobble head!"

"Well, could you tell her I'll meet her at the festival tomorrow?" Tony smiled as he asked.

"Sure thing!" She shouted as she hung up. Tony sighed.

"It's her choice if she wants to spend the two days with me. She knows what happens when it's over." Tony arrived back at home. He entered and looked around. He sighed as Masutā must have gone to bed by now. He walked into his room and collapsed on the bed, hoping. He hoped that the next day would go nice. He hoped he could get Tsukasa to fall in love with him instead of the other boy. But more than anything else, he hoped she would be happy.

* * *

**In the morning**

Kagami woke up, sitting up and yawning. She looked over the bed to see Konata, still fast asleep. She giggled to herself as she thought of how cute the Otaku was.

_I wish I didn't have to go... But I need to get ready for the festival!_ Kagami thought. _My yukata's at home._ She got up and lightly stepped over Konata. She dressed as silently as she could in the clothes she had worn the previous day and walked out of the room, feeling a satisfaction that she had successfully gotten out of the room without waking her love. As she got out to the living room, she saw Sojiro.

"Hey Kagami, you leavin' us so soon?" Sojiro asked.

"Oh, hey, I didn't know you were still awake." Kagami muttered.

"Yeah, had to pull another all nighter..." Sojiro sighed.

_Gee, I wonder where Kona gets her habits..._ Kagami sweatdropped to herself. "Yeah, I have to get ready for the festival today!" Kagami smiled.

"Wait, what? I thought that wasn't until tomorrow!" Sojiro shouted, clearly distraught. "I can't come today, I'm too tired!" He looked to be crying. Kagami sweatdropped a bit more.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you won't miss much. There will always be more festivals." Kagami said.

"I guess so..." He sighed. Kagami smiled and walked to the door. "Wait!"

"Huh? What's up?" Kagami turned.

"Do you want a ride?" Sojiro asked. "I'll take you home if you want."

"Thanks for the offer, but I don't wanna be a burden." Kagami put her hand up.

"Nonsense, it's no trouble!" Sojiro got up and grabbed his keys.

"Thanks." Kagami smiled. She and Sojiro walked out of the house and into the car. Sojiro turned the key and drove off. "Thanks for the ride."

"It's no problem, you're mine now." Sojiro said creepily.

"Wh-what?" Kagami asked, a bit of fear in her voice.

"Now who's going to save you?" Sojiro laughed maniacally.

"What are you talking about? Let me go!" Kagami shouted as the doors locked. She tried to open them and maybe get away, but they were locked tight. Sojiro's laughter turned from maniacal to regular.

"I'm kidding." He chuckled. Kagami looked over at Sojiro, stunned.

"What?" She asked.

"I was kidding. So, how's Tadao these days?" He asked as if nothing had happened. The fact that he could switch so easily was a bit scary to Kagami.

"He's okay... Anything new with you?" Kagami asked. "Or with Kona?"

"Not that I can think of. Oh, my online story reached longest in it's section today!" Sojiro shouted excitedly.

"That's pretty cool!" Kagami smiled.

"I know, right? The best thing is that it isn't even a year old yet!" Sojiro kept smiling with excitement.

"Wow, not even a year? How long is it?" Kagami asked.

"A two and a half hundred thousand words." Sojiro said with pride.

"That's pretty impressive." Kagami smiled, having fully recovered from the shock that the man had put her through just a moment ago.

"Thanks! Alright, we're here." Sojiro stopped in front of Kagami's house and let her out. "Sorry for scaring you, I couldn't resist. I know I always look creepy." Sojiro scratched the back of his head.

"It's no problem I guess, thanks for the ride!" Kagami smiled as she closed the door. Sojiro drove off. Kagami turned to her house and walked in.

"Welcome home Kagami." Miki shouted from the kitchen. Kagami walked into the kitchen as she greeted her mother in return.

"Morning mom. It's pretty early, I'm a little surprised you're awake." Kagami smiled.

"You think THAT'S surprising?" Miki giggled. "Look at that!" She pointed over her shoulder at the table. Kagami looked over to see Tsukasa at the table, eating breakfast.

"Oh, good morning Tsukasa!" Kagami smiled. Tsukasa smiled back and waved.

"Up before me." Miki said. Kagami whipped around, a bewildered look on her face.

"What? Seriously?" She asked.

"Yep." Miki giggled. Kagami turned back to see her sister looking a bit indignant. Kagami scratched her head sheepishly.

"Sorry Tsukasa, it's just surprising, I'm still getting use to you getting up earlier than you usually do." Kagami apologized. Tsukasa got a content look and continued her meal. "Ready for the festival today?" Kagami asked. Tsukasa smiled wider and nodded, looking extremely happy. "Wow, I know you're excited, but you seem ecstatic!" Kagami giggled.

"Mister Kan-chan called last night and asked Tsukasa to go to the festival with him specifically." Miki smiled. "Even though it was assumed you all would be going together, it's probably just the action of it."

"That makes sense." Kagami smiled as she sat down. "It's like he asked you on a date." She teased. Tsukasa's face lit up in a blush as she paused for a moment. Nevertheless, she smiled again and finished her meal. "So no talking Tsukasa?" Kagami asked. Tsukasa shook her head. "Humming? Whistling? Anything?" Kagami asked. Tsukasa shook her head again. "Man, for two days? That's gonna be rough." Tsukasa nodded. "Maybe I'll push Tony into you so you two can kiss." Kagami smiled. Tsukasa's face lit up again.

"Oh~, enough teasing, let him kiss her when he wants to." Miki giggled.

"But he wants to now! He's just scared!" Kagami said. Miki laughed.

"Well, I hope it all works out. Did you have a good time at Konata's house?" Miki asked.

"Yeah, totally! I read some manga, ate amazing food, and watched her troll people!" Kagami said excitedly. Miki turned and looked at her daughter, a serious look on her face.

"She's a troll?" Miki asked.

"Someone who wastes other people's time. She was pretty good at it too." Kagami smiled. Miki sighed.

"No, it's someone who posts a deliberately provocative message to a message board or a web site with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument." Miki said, surprising Kagami.

"Oh, okay. Mom, you seem a little angry? What's up?" Kagami asked.

"I hate it when trolls come on the pod." Miki said, folding her arms.

"The pod?" Kagami asked.

"The Parenting Pod. It's an online parenting forum community." Miki said. "I hate trolls." She sighed as she turned back to the counter.

"Well, she was only trolling Mormons!" Kagami said, hoping to take the heat off her love.

"Oh, well if they were only Mormo- Come on Kagami, that's no excuse." Miki scolded. "You're lucky we're the only three people to hear that, some people could get really offended to that."

"Yeah, I guess so. Sorry..." Kagami mumbled.

"It's okay Kagami, just try not to watch that." Miki said.

"Okay. I guess we should get ready for the festival, huh?" Kagami asked Tsukasa. Tsukasa smiled sweetly and nodded.

"It's a little early, isn't it?" Miki asked.

"I wanna be ready to see Kona and Tony!" Kagami said excitedly.

"Alright then, have fun you two." Miki smiled. And so Kagami and Tsukasa walked to their respective rooms, got their yukatas, and Tsukasa walked to Kagami's room. There, they continued to get ready and tie each other's yukatas.

* * *

**POV Konata**

Konata woke up to see Kagami was gone. She felt sad for a moment. She picked up her yukata and left her room.

"Hey Konata, Kagami said she wanted to get home so she could get ready for the festival." Sojiro said.

"Ah, thanks dad." Konata smiled. "I've gotta go get Kan-kan! The festival is starting real early!" She said as she walked to the door.

"Alright, tell him I said hello!" Sojiro shouted.

"Alright!" Konata shouted and left. She walked to Tony's house and walked in, figuring it would be okay since she was his sister. She got in and saw that Masutā and Tony were still asleep. She smiled, giggled, and walked into the kitchen. She decided the two would wake up to breakfast. She set to work, skillfully preparing rice before Tony woke up. He walked out.

"Kon-kon? What's... Hm?" He squinted, obviously still tired.

"Hey Kan-kan! Makin' breakfast before we get ready for the festival!" Konata finished making breakfast. She brought it over. "Eat up." She smiled. Tony did just that. Konata brought over more and started eating herself.

"Delicious. Thank you so much Kon-kon." Tony smiled.

"No problem! Think it's time to get ready for the festival?" Konata asked.

"I think so." Tony smiled. Konata went to the guest room and Tony back to his room to change. They came back out and looked at each other.

"Ready." They smiled.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya Luckies! I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami~!"

"And I'm the assistant, Minoru Shiraishi!"

"The festival is gonna be soon Minoru! Wanna go?" Akira asked.

"Are you asking me to go with you?" Minoru asked.

"Totally, wanna go?" Akira asked.

"Sure!" Minoru smiled.

*Music Tone*

"Looks like that's all the time we have for today! Hope to see you all next chapter, bye nii~!" Akira shouted.

"..."

"Um..."

"What is it?"

"I dunno... I just-"

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

Hey everyone, who here likes K-ON! ? Who here likes BECK? Who here (And this is a long shot for you guys, I'm sure) likes Lucky Star? If you answered either "Me.", "MEEZ!", "I do." or "OMGZORZBBQWTFBOMB! ME! I DO! MEEEE~!", there's a story you simply must read! And while I don't recommend it, you can also watch it without having seen either of the previous two! 'Cause I mean really, who watches Lucky Star? In any case, this story is called "Strike up the bands", a K-ON, Lucky Star and BECK crossover! It's written by JbstormburstADV, who allowed me to beta the first chapter. Which was fantastic. In any case, I would like to recommend this story to all 34 of you who read my story! And reading my story is great practice, his chapters are almost as long as mine! Please read it! In other news, Stealthmomo, you're still reading! Yay! Glad to hear it, I was wondering. Thank you all for continuing to read my story! Now for a surprise, wait for it... Wait for it~...


	32. Chapter 32: Festival!

Chapter 32: Into The Woods, To Go To The Festival!

BOOM! SAME DAY! HA! I used the ancient spirits of the writing gods to enter into god mode and write out the next chapter in a couple hours! Usually, I reserve God Mode for times when I haven't been able to type at all for a month, but I SUPER wanted this out ASAP! I think you all know why. This chapter might mark around half of my story. Yes. Half. Give or take. You've no idea the amount of problems, fluff, ect. that I have in my head. You know how I told you that I have a good few megabytes written? That doesn't include what I've already included in my story and it's all ideas for future things. Albeit, some of it either won't happen, or it won't happen in it's originally intend context, but still, some has been subverted entirely. Still though, I have a few wizzbangers up my sleeve. Since these were posted so close together, I don't expect to have any reviews. However, I would love for you to still review on the last chapter. By the way, If you are reading this first… STOP! TURN AROUND! GO BACK! CEASE AND DESIST! I hope you all like this. I know I did.

* * *

**Where we left off**

"Let's go meet the ladies!" Tony smiled as the two walked outside of his house. Konata was wearing a multi-colored yukata.

"Yeah!" Konata cheered as they started towards the festival. They arrived shortly to see Kagami and Tsukasa, both in traditional floral print yukatas. "They look good~." Konata whispered to Tony.

"Yeah, sure, they look pretty in the yukatas, but take them off and they're wearing nothing!" Tony whispered back.

"I like the way you think." Konata catgrinned.

"Me too." Tony smirked.

"Hey Kagamin!" Konata waved

"Hey Tsu-chan!" Tony shouted.

"Hey Kona, hey Tony!" Kagami waved back. Tsukasa smiled as she waved back, hoping that the beauty she had apparently gotten from the potion would have some effect.

"You look very pretty Tsu-chan..." Tony blushed. A blush crept across her face, but she cheered in her head.

_It's working!_ She said excitedly. They started walking aimlessly, but passed a particular stand.

"Hey Kagami, how is Gyopy-chan these days?" Konata asked with a catgrin.

"He's fine... Let's just not talk about him, huh?" Kagami blushed.

"Sure thing Kagamin." Konata agreed, surprising Kagami slightly. Tsukasa suddenly doubled over in pain, clutching her stomach. She winced scarily convincingly. Tony almost panicked until he remembered the plan.

"Tsukasa, are you okay?" Kagami asked, at her sister's side the next instant. Tsukasa looked at Kagami with a hurt look, looking almost in tears. "Come on, I'll take you home. Sorry guys, bu-" Kagami was cut off.

"No, allow me Kagami. Stay and enjoy the festival." Tony said, shuffling Tsukasa off before Kagami could protest.

"Well... okay... I guess it's just the two of us then, eh Kona?" Kagami smiled to Konata.

"Ye-yeah!" Konata agreed. _Kan-kan totally did this, didn't he?_ Konata thought, wondering if he had told Tsukasa or simply asked her to play hooky. "So what do you wanna do Kagami?"

"I dunno, let's go see what's around." Kagami said. They walked around and eventually found some gaming stands. Kagami saw one that interested her and walked up to it.

"Hey young lady, throw the dart, pop a balloon and win a prize!" The man attending the stand shouted. "Only a hundred yen!"

"Alright, I so got this!" Kagami paid him and took one of the three darts she was issued. She threw one and barely missed a balloon. "Darn! I've got it this time..." Kagami picked up another dart and threw it. It nicked the balloon so slightly, it didn't pop. "Aw~! Come on!" Kagami picked up her last dart, but Konata snatched it. "Kona?"

"Let me try it..." Konata had a look of determination. She concentrated, aimed, and then threw the dart. It hit the balloon dead center. The dart bounced off harmlessly and hit the ground outside the stand.

"What the hell was that? It hit the balloon!" Kagami yelled.

"It didn't pop. I guess your little friend there ain't strong enough." The man running the stand said distractedly.

"Come on, that's not fair!" Kagami shouted.

"Hungry. Don't care. Bye." The man closed the stand and walked away. Kagami stood in disbelief.

"Come on Kagami, let's just go." Konata started to walk away.

"Not yet Kona..." Kagami stopped Konata. Kagami picked up a dart and poked her finger. The point was incredibly dull, not even breaking skin. "You couldn't pop a bubble with this..." Kagami muttered. She started looking around for something.

"What's up Kagami?" Konata asked.

"Help me look..." Kagami looked at Konata with a rare mischievous look. The man came back about half an hour later to find all of his balloons deflated. He sighed and started to blow them back up. As he got to the fifth one, he looked to see the first one had deflated again, the second one almost deflated as well. He picked the third one and looked it over to find a small hole in it. Kagami continued walking, feeling avenged. "Hey Kona, are you hungry?" She asked.

"Yeah, let's go get something to eat!" Konata cheered. They heard a loud ding that distracted them momentarily. "I wonder what that was..."

"Probably a high striker." Kagami suggested.

"Wanna go see who it was? We haven't heard one all day!" Konata asked.

"Nah, it's probably some musclebound jock." Kagami said. "Let's go get something."

"Alrighty!" Konata smiled as the two walked to a stand. They both got a hotdog and a small coke, costing more than a thousand yen each. They found a table and sat down. Kagami snickered. "What is it Kagami?"

"I just thought of something I'll have to tell Tsukasa later..." Kagami giggled.

"What, what is it?" Konata asked, a smile on her face.

"I've been thinking about what we talked about Ariel, how much Tsukasa liked that conversation. Think. Winnie the Pooh-" Kagami giggled as she whispered into Konata's ear.

"Phfahaha! I never thought of it like that!" Konata laughed. As the two laughed, a couple boys came up.

"Hey babes, you here alone?" One of them asked.

"You could say that..." Kagami said cautiously.

"You wanna stay alone?" The other boy asked suggestively. Konata and Kagami exchanged an uneasy glance. Something told Kagami that Konata would not enjoy these random boys' company.

"Yeah, kinda." Kagami said to the relief of Konata. The boys were not in the least deterred.

"Come on babes, you know you want to hang with us!" The two sat down next to each girl. Kagami got an uneasy feeling in her stomach.

"No, not really." Kagami got up.

"Take a hint guys, get lost." Konata stepped up. The guys stepped closer to the girls.

"And what if we don't? It's a free country!" The boy closest to Kagami protested, stepping within a foot of Kagami.

"We wouldn't hang out with you if you were the last people on Earth!" Kagami shouted as she took another step back. The boy leaned in closer.

"If we were the last people on Earth, who would stop us?" He said with a sneer. He suddenly hugged onto Kagami. Kagami yelled for help, but was swiftly silenced as Konata stepped over and, in a blur of blue, had the boy on his rear and Kagami free. Kagami took a step back in fear. It was about half a second later, Konata was in between Kagami and the boys. Konata assumed a fighting stance unfamiliar to Kagami.

_She... She saved me..._ Kagami's heart took a small leap.

"I would." Konata said fiercely, her stance shifting so that she could guard from the both of the boys as the one who was knocked down got back up. The boys took a step back. Konata shifted her stance to a different form from the martial art she was using. The boys started running off. Konata relaxed considerably. "I'm glad they didn't attack." Konata said. _The form I was using to begin with was an emergency only form. If they attacked, I would have hurt them badly._ Konata thought.

"Konata... You saved me... Thank you." Kagami hugged Konata. Konata was caught quite off guard, a massive blush coming onto his face. Konata hugged Kagami back with much more force than Kagami had hugged her with. As Kagami held Konata in her arms, she just felt something was... right. She was safe and happy. They stood there for a while, how long is anyone's guess. They broke and Kagami saw Konata look away with a blush on her face. As they started walking aimlessly, Kagami realized she had actually hugged Konata first. And liked it. She felt so much emptier now without Konata in her arms. She also realized that the boys had been hitting on them, something she had complained about not happening not long ago, had now given her the creeps. And she had hidden behind Konata. Kagami sighed._ I really do love Konata, don't I? _Kagami thought, trying her best to quell her rising emotions. She started trying to think of a topic of conversation. "So Kona, what form of martial arts where you using? I didn't recognize it." Kagami said, trying to sound casual. She was failing, yes, but Konata didn't pay it any mind.

"It doesn't surprise me that it's unfamiliar to you, it's not a Japanese martial art. It's the southern Chinese fighting style that Master Liu taught me called Wing Chun. That particular form is called Biu Tze." Konata said.

"Is that... good?" Kagami asked, feeling quite unlearned.

"Well, I probably shouldn't have used that stance, if they had attacked, I might have accidentally done some serious damage out of sheer reflex." Konata sighed. "It's the kind of form that's only supposed to be used when you have no other option. I just used it in a panic."

"How good are you? I mean, I know you have the title of Master, but do you have a rank? If you don't mind me asking that is! Like, what's the rank system?" Kagami added hurriedly, not wanting to upset the girl.

"Well, my rank would be Sigung." Konata said. Kagami gave a confused look.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know what that would be..." Kagami said sheepishly.

"Let's put it this way. The guy you would go to pay to train you?" Konata started.

"Yeah?"

"I'd be training him." Konata said. Kagami's jaw dropped in surprise. " Actually, now that I think of it, the word I'm looking for is Hanshi. I told ya, I've been practicing martial arts for a long time." Konata shrugged like it was nothing. "And Biu Tze is probably the most complicated form in Wing Chun. In fact-" Konata started to say, but was cut off as they came across quite a scene. Konata and Kagami's jaw dropped.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony and Tsukasa walked through the festival, Tony laughing on the outside, Tsukasa on the in. "A truly wonderful job, you should be an actress!" Tony shouted. Tsukasa gave him an appreciative look. "So what do you wanna do?" Tony asked. Tsukasa looked around, looking for games. A particular stand that had a rather large and fluffy looking dog as a prize. Tsukasa's eyes widened. She grabbed Tony by the arm and pointed. "That one?" Tony asked. Tsukasa nodded feverishly. "Alrighty, let's go!" Tony cheered. They walked up to the stand. "Hello, how much for a game?" Tony asked.

"300 yen and you get three balls to try and knock down the three cups in the middle." The man said distractedly as he continued to text. Tony looked down the stand to see three solid plexiglass cups stacked in a pyramid.

"Here ya go!" Tony handed him 300 yen. The man set down three baseballs. "Go on Tsu-chan." Tony encouraged. Tsukasa picked up a ball and took aim. She threw it, but missed. She picked up another and concentrated even harder. She threw it and barely missed again.

_I can do this..._ Tsukasa picked up her last ball and concentrated. She started concentrating with such might, it required her to lick the top of her lips as she had in her search for her cell phone number. She threw the ball and hit the cups dead center. The ball bounced off and the cups remained vertical.

"Hang on a second here... She hit them!" Tony shouted. The man looked back.

"They ain't knocked over." He said before going back to his phone. Tsukasa's ribbon drooped. Tony looked at her sad expression.

"My turn..." Tony muttered to himself, dropping 300 more yen on the table. The man put down three more balls. Tony was suddenly stopped by Tsukasa. He looked over to see her grabbing his arm. Her eyes were basically asking him for them to merely leave, as the game was obviously rigged. Tony smirked. "Not on your nelly, Tsu-chan." Tony picked up one of the balls. "I know you're not actually talking, but it helps to pretend you are." Tony smiled. Tsukasa gave him a look that almost accused him of insanity. "I'm going to pretend I didn't pretend you said that." Tony said before he started concentrating. He drew his hand back and flung the ball with what he knew was an incredibly overkilling throw. The ball made contact with the cups, shattering the hard plexiglass and spraying the back of the stand, luckily prize free, with shards of plastic. The ball kept going and broke through the wooden back wall. The noise caused the man running the stand to look back with a dropped jaw. He looked back to Tony, speechless. "So did I win?"

"Y-yeah..." He muttered. Before Tsukasa could even begin to grab her prize, Tony stopped her. Tsukasa gave him a quizzical, almost sad look.

_I thought he was playing to get a prize for me. But that's awfully boyfriendish I guess..._ Tsukasa thought sadly. Tony looked around the prizes. He suddenly grabbed the dog that had drawn Tsukasa. He then held it up to her.

"Did I choose right?" Tony asked, a smile on his face. Tsukasa lit up and smiled as she ferociously hugged her new friend. "I guess I did?" Tony smiled. Tsukasa nodded in vehement agreement. Tony sighed in relief as the two kept walking, leaving the poor man at the stand in complete awe. As they were walking, Tony heard something from behind him.

""Oo~ Look at him, he's cute!"" A girl said in English. Tony turned just enough so he could see they were, indeed, referring to him.

""Yeah, but what's he doing with HER?"" The girl's friend snickered.

""He MUST have gotten her pregnant."" The first girl laughed. Tony got angry.

"Hey Tsu-chan, do me a favor. You see that stand over there? Could you go get us some Cotton Candy?" Tony asked as he gave Tsukasa some money. Tsukasa smiled at him, took the money, and hurried over to the stand. Tony turned and started walking to the girls.

""Uh-oh, here comes mister muscle, I don't speak Japanese, what do I do?"" The first girl asked her friend.

""Well, he probably doesn't know English, so he must have been attracted by your looks. Go with that!"" Her friend said.

""Good evening good ladies."" Tony said as he walked up. The girls exchanged surprised looks.

""Hey good looking!"" The first girl shouted as he got to them. ""Leaving that ugly thing any time soon?"" She asked. Tony looked to see Tsukasa already approaching them.

""As it happens, that "ugly thing" happens to be the girl I love. As far as I can tell, she's Kishijoten compared to you."" Tony said. The girls gave a confused look.

""Who?"" They asked in unison. Tony sighed.

""She's the goddess of luck and beauty. In my eyes, you have the looks of a swine compared to her and the voice of a songbird drowning in hot tar."" Tony said scornfully.

""Ho-how could you say something so mean?"" The girl asked, looking as if she had been struck.

""If I'm right, there's a saying known as "The Pot calls the Kettle black" that is applicable in this situation. I can divine by what I've heard that you're shallow and egotistical. She is neither of these things. Now piss off before I get angry."" Tony warned. The girls ran away in fear. Tsukasa came up behind Tony, a stick of cotton candy in each hand with her arm wrapped around her dog. Tony turned to see her giving him another quizzical look, as if to ask what they were asking. "They wanted to know where the nearest bathroom was, but they didn't speak Japanese so they couldn't ask anyone. Poor girls were wandering so long trying to find someone, they had to run off quickly." Tony lied. "So what else do they have here?" Tony asked as the two walked around._ It feels almost like a date..._ Tony blushed to himself, though he didn't dislike the idea in the least. He got an idea suddenly. He grabbed hold of Tsukasa's hand. She jumped and blushed, looking up with a surprised look. Tony suddenly felt almost uncomfortable under her gaze. "S-so we don't get separated..." Tony looked slightly away, blushing himself. Tsukasa smiled as she intertwined her fingers with his, causing his heart to jump. "Hey, a high striker!" Tony pointed with the cotton candy in his free hand. "Think I should try it Tsu-chan?" Tony asked. She nodded fiercely, obviously as excited as he was. However, she showed exactly how excited she was when she pulled him over to the game and to the back of the line. One by one, guys failed to impress their girlfriends. Every now and again, someone would hit it within close proximity, but would fail to hit their target. As Tony came up, he saw the High Striker's true height. "Whoa! That's gotta be at least... 10 meters!" Tony shouted in surprise.

"Yep." The woman running the striker smiled.

"How much is it?" Tony asked, bewildered at how this thing was even staying vertical.

"As much as you can live with losing. It's a double or nothing game." The woman smirked. Tsukasa stood on the tips of her toes, holding a hand over her eyes as if to shade them.

"Hmm... I got this." Tony smiled. "Put me in for a thousand." Tony said as he gave the woman his money in exchange for a hammer. Tony raised his hammer above his head. He swung down and hit the plate, causing the the little weight inside to raise about ¾ths of the way up. "Hmph. Double or nothing?" He asked the woman. He was interrupted from seeing her answer by Tsukasa. He turned to see her pulling his sleeve, ribbon slightly drooped. She looked at the high striker, then back to him and shook her head. "I know what you're thinking Tsukasa, but if I didn't hit the bell, it means I didn't hit it hard enough. Make it triple or nothing." Tony said.

"Alright then, triple or nothing." The woman smiled. Tony grunted.

_**I can't look like a weak idiot in front of Tsukasa...**_ Tony thought, determined. He brought the mallet back and, with most of his might, hit the plate again. The weight reached the same place again._ The hell... I know I hit that thing at least twice as hard as last time..._ Tony thought. _So it is rigged..._

"Sorry young man, pay up." The woman held out a hand.

"One more time. I'll bet you 18,000 yen on top of what I have so far that the bell will ring this time." Tony said.

_Is... Kan-kun trying to impress me? No way, he has to know that he's already done that..._ Tsukasa thought.

"...You're on." The woman smiled wider. As Tony readied the mallet, he didn't look at where he was aiming, but at the bell itself. He hit the plate and, as the weight inside reached the same place, Tony muttered, well under his breath:

"Ring..." He felt the energy siphon as the bell rang out. The woman's jaw dropped, as had everyone else's that night. "Well. Pay up." Tony held his hand. "I bet triple or nothing and won nothing. Then I added 18K onto that. You, ma'am, owe me 18K." Tony said. Without a word, the woman handed him the money. Tony smirked as he pocketed the cash and the two walked away. As Tony and Tsukasa were walking through the festival, hands intertwined, Tony looked back at all that had happened that night and all together. He sighed to himself. _… It's either now or never..._ He determined. _It's time._ Tony stopped and turned to Tsukasa, who walked a step before realizing that Tony was no longer walking with her. She stopped as well and turned back to him.

"Tsukasa..." Tony bit his lip. Between the lip biting and the fact that Tony used her name, not her nickname, Tsukasa could tell he was really nervous about something. Tony reached in his pocket. "This... is a symbol of my protection." Tony brought out the box that held the necklace and opened it. Tsukasa covered her mouth with both hands, gasping inaudibly in surprise and awe of the amulet Tony held. "With this, I swear I will always protect you. Please, always keep it on." Tony requested. Tsukasa was absolutely stunned for a moment. "Will you accept it?" Tony asked, bringing Tsukasa from her trance and causing her to nod almost violently, heart fluttering. "May I?" Tony brought the jewelry from the box. After a nod of affirmation from Tsukasa, Tony put the chain around her neck from the front and clicked the clasp together. Tsukasa looked down at the beautiful necklace that hanged just above her breast for a moment before noticing something. Tony's arms were still around her neck. Tsukasa looked up to see him staring into her eyes. They stayed that way for a moment. Not that Tsukasa was complaining about the situation, but something seemed a bit off about Tony. Almost as if a fierce battle were being raged in his head. After a moment, Tony seemed to have allowed one side to win as he started leaning in, his face getting closer and closer until...

The two stayed there a moment as Tsukasa felt her voice return. It didn't matter though, the kiss was enough to completely paralyze her. After another moment, Tony broke the contact and looked into Tsukasa's eyes, where he paused yet again. "Look, Tsukasa. I may not be some popular guy with a rich uncle, or ultra powerful alien that conveniently looks like a human and has an even more powerful thing inside him, but if you'll have me, I promise to protect you with all that I am." He said. He stopped and continued looking into her eyes. _Say something... SAY SOMETHING!_ Tony shouted in his mind desperately. Tsukasa tried to say something, but found her throat full of joy to the point of silence. Tony at least liked her! The potion must have worked! Suddenly though, Tony released Tsukasa and back up a few steps. "I'm sorry..." He apologized, voice cracking in obvious, misled sorrow before jumping with enough strength to get him out of earshot, tears streaming down his cheeks. Soon, he was gone.

"Kan-kun!" Tsukasa yelled out fruitlessly.

* * *

**POV Tony**

_Damn it, damn it, damn it, DAMN IT! So it wasn't me, she doesn't like me! Otherwise she would have said something! Plus I just outed myself, she knows how I feel! FUCK!_ Tony screamed in his head. _I... I even took her first kiss..._ Tears streamed down his face. His heart felt as if it were being utterly destroyed as he scolded, hated, and otherwise berated himself. He landed in a clearing and took a few step before collapsing into a tree, falling onto his hands and knees. He hadn't the strength to continue. Tsukasa would no longer wish to see him, for she surely hated him for stealing her first kiss. This knowledge safely tucked away, he finally let go and began to sob. He laid there for what seemed forever.

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

"Kan-kun!" Tsukasa shouted as she wandered through the festival, hoping that Tony would hear her. Unfortunately, after nearly two days of not being used, her voice was still a tad weak. "Kan-kun!" She cried desperately. She started to run. "Kan-kun! Kan-kun!" She yelled out. She got into a clearing, thoroughly tired. She walked forward, but heard someone from behind her.

"Hey, doesn't that girl hang out with that Izumi kid?"

"Really?" She heard a boy laugh. She got a bit scared from the sound of this boy's laughter, it was very creepy and sent a chill down her spine. She decided it best to just keep going. However, her fears were realized as she felt a hand on her shoulder that forcibly turned her around. She was turned to see a boy, apparently the group leader, and a gang of boys behind him. The main boy laughed. "Really? You hang out with the little bitch otaku? I thought you would have better taste." The so-called leader laughed. Tsukasa shrunk in fear.

"Wh-what?" She muttered.

"Yeah, I saw that little bitch hugging a girl today like a whore! Actually..." The boy looked Tsukasa up and down. "It looked a lot like you." He leaned in closer. "Hows it feel to know your sister is a freak?" He asked, smiling wickedly as Tsukasa teared up. "Maybe I'll start "training" that bitch again." The boy grinned.

"What do you mean?" Tsukasa asked, though not sure she wanted to know the answer.

"Well the first thing I need is some collateral. The bitch can outrun us now." The boy started mock thinking. "Oh I know! Why don't we just take you?" He leaned in. Tsukasa's eyes widened as she realized she was about to kidnap her. She opened her mouth to scream, but a hand over her mouth silenced her as two of the boys from the group grabbed her from the side. "And I think this necklace will sell for a nice amount. Get her out of here, she's ours now." The boy turned around.

"Is that so?" A voice called out. What was weird was that it seemed to come from Tsukasa's chest. The boy looked around at Tsukasa in time to see her amulet suddenly float off of her chest and start to glow. Energy started to gather around Tsukasa, blowing both of the boys holding her hurtling into trees. The energy seemed to gather together, blocking Tsukasa from view until it passed. However, once it had passed, there stood a boy with his eyes closed in possibly the most badass pose ever conceived. Tony opened his eyes.

"Kan-kun!" Tsukasa cried as she hugged him from behind.

"It's alright Tsukasa, it's the least I can do." Tony said, not registering Tsukasa's speech. He turned his attention back to the leader. "And who are you?" Tony asked.

"You first, bitch." The boy said.

"I asked first." Tony said. He gave Tsukasa a glance that told her to leave. Tsukasa walked backwards.

"Fine. My name is Kurono. I'm your worst nightmare. Now you. Who are you to stand for that whore?" Kurono boasted, pointing at Tsukasa for the insult. Needless to say this angered Tony. "And why defend that Izumi slut?" Tony got even angrier, but kept his temper.

"I don't understand why you call people by such mindless names. The only thing it does is reveal your own fear and ignorance. I guess name calling is your only attack, because you're too weak to challenge me any other way." Tony said, allowing as much scorn to enter his voice as he could. Kurono got a look of anger.

"I'm weak? Who do you think you are?" He shouted. Tony looked into Kurono's gang to see they were starting to recognize him.

"I think your "men" could tell you just as well as I could." Tony smirked.

"What?" Kurono turned to his gang.

"He-he's Ryū Tora no Kami boss! T-the winner of the world martial arts tournament!" One of the scared boys muttered.

"Th-they say he's a god!" Another one muttered in fear.

"Give the men a cigar." Tony smirked wickedly.

"Didn't you watch that? It was all fake! No one can disappear!" Kurono shouted. "I'll prove it to you!" He lunged at Tony with his stick and swung. Tony dove to the side and felt something in his hand.

"Grabbin' a pipe!" He said. He readied it like a katana. "Come at me bro." He managed to say before the weapon was knocked from his hand in a flash. "Well that was highly improbable..."

"See? I told ya!" Kurono laughed. He swung the stick horizontally and caught Tony in the midrib. The stick, being hit against Tony's ribs that had been conditioned to far worse, splintered and broke.

"And what was that supposed to be, oh _Being in the dark_?" Tony asked, letting his tone become one of ridicule. "My turn then." He drew back a punch slowly. Kurono, meanwhile, was taken aback by the fact that the stick had broken on Tony.

"Be-beat him you cowards!" Kurono shouted to his "gang" before Tony finished drawing his fist back. None of them moved an inch forward.

"Fist of the Fighting Sage!" Tony yelled for dramatic effect, putting barely a hundredth of what went into his last one as he punched the kid in the stomach. Kurono seemed to lose consciousness quickly after. Tony walked over to the boy's group. He leaned forward, the lot leaning back as he did, and whispered "This is the part where you apologize and run away." After hurried apologies, the group backed away.

"MOTHER FUCKER!" Kurono screamed from behind. Tony spun around to see Kurono swinging the metal pipe Tony had earlier down in a vertical chop aimed at Tony's head. As it neared Tony's head, Tony reacted on nothing my instinct. Weaving his essence into the energy around him, he desired only to protect himself and Tsukasa. The sudden force sent the pipe flying until it was stuck into a tree, embedding itself into the trunk. Tony, realizing what had happened and noticing the drop in his energy, decided the capitalize on the situation.

"You think to injure ME with such a pitiful attack? I will show you the TRUE power of the Fighting Sage!" Tony yelled. Kurono, nearly paralyzed in fear by the fact that some invisible force had wretched the pipe from his hand, stumbled back and fell down. Tony smiled until Kurono started to look around. He spotted Tsukasa, standing about twenty meters away. Kurono got up and started sprinting towards her, drawing a knife from his waist. Tony's anger peaked. _Does he really think he's going to hurt my love? Such insolence... Such ARROGANCE! __MUST.__** BE. PUNISHED!**_ Tony thought, bringing his fury to fruition. "**Back!**" He shouted as he took hold of the energy surrounding the boy and pulled back, causing Kurono to be sent hurtling towards Tony.

"Help!" He yelled. Needless to say, no assistance came. Before Kurono was all the way to Tony, Tony stopped him by reversing the energy and, though not literally, freezing him in place. Tony snickered wickedly, deciding it was necessary to frighten Kurono to near heart attack levels. He looked into the reserve of energy the environment held and tried to think of all the hell of could cause with it's formidable resources.

_**I think I'll scare him a little bit. Unfortunately, I can't kill him or Tsukasa will get even angrier with me... She can't want to see me anyway, she must have hugged me simply because I saved her.**_ Tony thought in his head. He delved into the energy of the air, trees, and other various plants. He got the perfect idea. He started to drain the energy from the air around Kurono, but nothing that actually touched him so he didn't feel the chill that would be creeping into the air. He neared the limit of the amount of energy he could drain, there being very little left. Once he found he couldn't siphon anymore, he smiled knowing his got near his objective. "**Storm!**" Tony yelled in power. Clouds appeared around the clearing. Tony sent the energy he had garnered from the draining into the air connecting the cloud to the ground, heating the air and paving a pathway for a lightning bolt to strike the ground a meter away from Kurono. It did just that, striking the ground, terrifying the ever living crap out of the poor boy, but only singeing him since the temperature of the air around him was near absolute zero, preventing much heat from getting to him while Tony kept draining energy from it. _Mission: Accomplished._ Tony smiled as he saw Kurono get truly terrified. It goes without saying that, had Kurono been eating that night, he wouldn't have been able to hold it any longer. Kurono started babbling mindlessly. Tony walked up to him slowly, only causing further babble. Tsukasa, who had been watching from afar, got scared of what Tony was going to do. Tony put his hand to the side of Kurono's face in a similar manner to how Hachiman had to Tony. Tony started to send energy along the boy's nerve pathways leading to the brain. In fact, he sent so much as to make Kurono's nervous system start to degrade. Of course, this procedure was excruciatingly painful for the boy.

"I'm... burning! From the inside out!" Kurono screamed in pure agony. Tony broke the contact, ceasing his energy flow into Kurono. Tony sighed in a bit of exhaustion as Kurono lost consciousness. Tony relished in the fact that Kurono was now permanently weakened. He would still be able to move, but he would never have the dexterity he use to have, nor would his muscles possess as much strength as they once held.

"Did not know who he was screwing with." Tony spat on Kurono as he muttered under his breath. He looked to see Tsukasa and started walked towards her, a scared look in her eyes. As Tony reached her, he whispered to her. "Don't worry Tsukasa, I know that look in your eyes. I didn't kill him, I only weakened him." He whispered. Looking her in the eyes, he gave a sad smile, one that filled Tsukasa with sorrow herself without her knowing why. "Besides. I'm in enough hot water with you anyway." He muttered. They walked in silence, leaving Kurono's "men" to tend to him, until they were alone again. "Look Tsukasa, I'm so, so sor-" Tony started to apologize before Tsukasa interrupted him.

"Kan-kun, listen-" Tsukasa started to explain, but Tony cut her off, the fact that she was speaking still not even computing in his head.

"No Tsukasa. I'm sorry for stealing your first kiss!" Tony shouted, his voice cracking. "I know you must have meant it for the boy you love, but I-" Tony started to confess, but Tsukasa put a finger to his lips.

"Kan-kun." She said sternly.  
**"Aaaah~,** aaah~! Aaaaah~, **Aaaaaaaa~!"** She sang, demonstrating her verbal abilities. Having been silenced, Tony came to a powerful realization. One that both filled him with a mixture of shock and sheer, overwhelming joy.

_It... It hasn't been two days yet... She's... By the gods, she talking... She's singing!_ _That means..._ Tony thought, pure happiness flowing through him. _The one she thought of as her love... was me. _Tony smiled as Tsukasa continued to sing. "Tsukasa..." He muttered, his eyes wide and his smile transforming into one of pure delight. Instead of answering him, Tsukasa leaned up and kissed him. He quickly returned it, wrapping his arms around her. They broke after a moment and looked into each other's eyes for almost a full minute in silence before Tsukasa thought of a topic.

"Kan-kun, how much did this necklace cost?" Tsukasa asked. Tony smiled.

"That's classified." He responded. Tsukasa started rocking back and forth, trying to carry Tony with her.

"Kan-kun~!" She whined. "Tell me~!"

"My apologies, but I'm contractually obligated as the giver of that gift to keep that secret to my grave. But you know..." Tony trailed off.

"What is it Kan-kun?" Tsukasa smiled.

"To be completely honest, I like Tsukasa more than Tsu-chan... Do you mind if I call you by your name instead of by your nickname more often? I think it's so much prettier." Tony asked.

"If you want to Kan-kun..." Tsukasa blushed at the compliment to her name. "But..." She smiled.

"Yes?" Tony smiled back.

"Th-there's a two lip fee." Tsukasa mumbled, sounding extremely nervous.

"Consider it paid." Tony swiftly kissed her on the lips again.

"WOOHOO!" The two heard Konata and Kagami shouted. They turned, both too happy to blush more then a little at being caught. Konata and Kagami ran up and hugged their respective siblings.

"Onee-chan, how long were you watching?" Tsukasa asked. Kagami gave a look to Konata, who returned it. She took a stance, as did Konata.

"Kan-kun, listen!" Kagami said over dramatically, imitating Tsukasa's voice. She sang in a manner similar to Tsukasa earlier.

"Tsukasa!" Konata shouted just as dramatically. They both hugged and did a fake-out make-out, both wishing it could be for real, but their lips never came close to touching.

"Oh Kan-kun. Oh Kan-kun!" Kagami shouted.

"Onee-chan! That didn't happen!" Tsukasa shouted, being pushed past light blushing into full blown crimson. Kagami and Konata broke apart and erupted into hysterical laughter. Tsukasa looked to Tony for support, but found him to be blushing almost as deeply as she was. He smiled wider and put his arm around Tsukasa.

"Let them talk Tsukasa, we got to find our love before they did!" Tony shouted triumphantly. He got a teasing smile before adding: "Or did we..." Suddenly, Kagami blushed and looked incredibly surprised, eyes widened, while Konata gave a stare at Tony. He stopped, because he saw, for the first time in his life, by what sort of look one learns that someone is capable of killing. Neither reaction went unnoticed by the boy. Konata sighed to calm down a bit when she saw Tony was only teasing them, but Kagami's blush didn't fade._ I wonder if she really does... I'll have to ask what those two did..._ Tony wondered. "So when are you two being picked up?" Tony asked the two.

"Um... Konata, do you mind if I come over again? I kinda made us go to bed a little early last night, ya know?" Kagami asked. Konata seemed to light up.

"Sure Kagamin! You're just full of surprises today!" Konata hugged Kagami around the waist unsurprisingly. However, what surprised them all, was that Kagami didn't seem to put up resistance.

"O-okay, just let go..." Kagami muttered in a weak resistance. Tony smiled.

_She's definitely liking Konata now. This is so awesome! Those two have to get together soon..._ Tony cheered in his head.

"Mom should be here any-" Tsukasa was interrupted by a beep of the horn from none other than Miki Hiiragi.

"Hey girls, get in!" Miki waved.

"Hey mom, would you mind if I spent the night at Konata's tonight?" Kagami asked.

"Did Konata say it was alright?" Miki asked.

"I sure did ma'am!" Konata confirmed.

"Then it's fine by me! You staying Tsukasa?" Miki asked.

"No, I'm coming home with you!" Tsukasa shouted as they walked up to the car. Tony opened the door for Tsukasa, who hesitated for a second. She turned and gave Tony a peck on the lips, sending a wave of joy through him. She got in the car. "Bye Kan-kun!" She waved.

"Bye Tsukasa..." Tony smiled.

"Uuu~, Tsukasa!" Miki laughed from the front seat. They closed the doors and were off.

"So, shall we go home?" Tony asked, though still looking to where the car had disappeared to.

"Yeah, I have so many questions for you!" Kagami said in an excited voice.

"As I do Kagami." Tony looked back.

"So is your dad coming to pick us up Konata?" Kagami asked the girl she loved.

"Well~... No. We kinda jogged here since it isn't too far from our houses." Konata scratched the back of her head.

"Aw! But that means we have to walk all the way back!" Kagami complained.

"Hey, it's good exercise!" Tony pointed out.

"I guess so..." Kagami sighed. They started walking. "So Tony, you and Tsukasa are together now?" Kagami asked teasingly.

"... Yeah. Yeah we are." Tony smiled.

"How did it happen?" Kagami asked.

"Maybe you should know everything that happened?" Tony kinda-sorta asked.

"Naturally." Kagami started listening. She was very curious as to how the two went from oblivious to each other's feelings to being a couple.

"First of all, I gave her the necklace." Tony turned to Konata.

"You did? Awesome! So that's what did it, huh? She kissed you after that?" Konata asked.

"No. I... kissed her." Tony blushed and smiled at the happy memory.

"Woo~!" Konata cheered. "And that's when we walked in!"

"Wrong. That's where I ran away in fear and sorrow. You see, she didn't say anything after I kissed her, so I assumed she still couldn't." Tony said. "Which means she didn't love me back. But that ends up leading to a question, do either of you know a boy by the name of Kurono?" Tony asked. The answer to his question was revealed when the both of them cringed visibly.

"Yeah. He's an asshole who use to pick on me all the time and ran over Kagami's bike for no reason. I was actually hoping you could do something about him, why do you ask?" Konata asked.

"Ah. Because I met him. He tried to kidnap Tsukasa to "train that Otaku bitch"." Tony said. Konata and Kagami's jaw dropped.

"What happened?" Kagami asked, furious.

"Let's just say that he isn't going to be hurting you or anyone ever again." Tony said.

"You kill him?" Konata asked, the tone in her voice basically telling Tony that she wouldn't mind if he had.

"No, first I showed him who he was messing with, then I sent enough energy down his nervous system to begin to degrade the sensory and motor neurons and axons. He will never have the same strength, dexterity, or coordination." Tony said.

"Holy crap... Wouldn't that take an extreme amount of energy? I mean, the nervous system is made to last a lifetime of energy traveling along it..." Kagami marveled.

"Yes it did. It took almost all of the energy from the environment around us and from the air between him and the lightning I called down." Tony chuckled as he beheld the looks he got for the 'calling down lightning' bit.

"Whoa. So you showed up, just about killed him, walked away with Tsukasa, and one thing led to another?" Kagami asked.

"Basically. All in all, I think it was very successful. If Kurono hadn't attacked Tsukasa, I might not have come back to her. So in a way, I owe him." Tony smiled. "Enough of me though! What have you two been doing?"

"Well, first we played a rigged game, and then Kagamin pulled a prank on the guy who ran it!" Konata threw he arms up to emphasize her words.

"Really? What did you do?" Tony asked the Tsundere. She smiled.

"I poked holes in his balloons. It was a dart throwing game with darts that couldn't hurt a fly." Kagami giggled.

"And then?" Tony asked.

"Then we were going through the festival discussing different things we noticed in Disney like Ariel's hoarding. Then we sat down to eat and some guys came over to hit on us..." Kagami recalled.

"Oh really? How did you handle that situation?" Tony asked.

"When we rejected them, they took it.. less then well. One of them grabbed onto me." Kagami muttered. Konata looked over and decided it wise for her to tell the rest of the story.

"He grabbed onto Kagami but I got him off and took a fighting stance! There was nothing they could do! If they had attacked, I would have broken their arms, and made them run around the festival grounds 10 times! NAKED! And they would have had to yell "Green Martians are chasing me!" for the whole ten laps!" Konata pumped her fist into the air. "And then Kagamin hugged me for saving her..." Konata smiled warmly. Tony could see a great deal of happiness behind the emerald orbs that were her eyes.

"Now THAT'S interesting." Tony smiled. Kagami blushed a little more and looked up. She noticed they were now standing outside Konata's house. "Now was that so bad Kagami?" Tony asked.

"No, I guess not. It seemed like a long way on paper though." Kagami said.

"Time flies when you've got good company." Tony said.

"I guess so..." Kagami smiled.

"Good night girls." Tony smiled.

"Night brothah!" Konata waved.

"Good night Tony! Congratulations on finally getting the nerve to date Tsukasa!" Kagami waved.

"Thanks!" Tony entered his house. **"How** lucky can one guy be?  
I kissed her and she kissed me!  
Like a fella once said,  
Ain't that a kick in the **head~?"** Tony sang to himself before being interrupted by his older brother.

"Singing some Dean Martin Otōto?" Masutā asked.

"Who?" Tony asked genuinely.

"You know, you're a little odd about that Otōto. You'll sing songs word for word that you've never heard before. And they're usually Big Band songs." Masutā scratched the back of his head. "But anyway, what are you talking about?" He asked.

"I kissed Tsukasa." Tony smiled widely. Masutā lit up.

"You did? And she kissed you back? That's awesome Otōto, I'm so happy for you!" Masutā shouted, taking a moment before continuing. "I TOLD YOU!" He laughed.

"I guess you did!" Tony laughed in glee.

"So what are you gonna do now?" Masutā asked.

"Now? I don't know about at the moment... I have a really queezy feeling in my stomach. I might have to go to bed." Tony muttered.

"You've had a big day, the girl you love loves you back. Go on, the sooner you go to bed, the sooner you see her again." Masutā said.

"I think I'll take heed of your advice, it's been a super special awesome day. Night Aniki." Tony waved.

"Night Otōto!" Masutā waved back. Tony walked into his room and looked at his bed.

"... YES!" He collapsed in it before sighing with happiness. "For the first time in my life, things are starting to go right..." Tony said before dozing off.

* * *

**POV Konata**

"Hey Konata! Oh, hey Kagami, are you spending the night with us again?" Sojiro asked.

"If I can?" Kagami asked.

"Absolutely, high school girls are welcome in my home any time!" Sojiro shouted, making Kagami a bit cautious about exactly what she slept in that night.

"Well thanks." Kagami bowed.

"What do you wanna do Kagamin?" Konata asked, having had no preparations.

"Maybe we can go see what manga you have? I'm a little in the mood to read something actiony!" Kagami said.

"Sure thing! I have just the manga!" Konata gave a thumbs up.

"I knew you would." Kagami smiled. Truth be told she didn't really care what she was reading, she just wanted to be close to Konata. So far, she was just plain happy to be around the Otaku. Konata led them to her room and gestured to her bookcase-o-manga. "Whoa... do you have every manga ever written or something?" Kagami asked.

"Kagami, you've been here before..." Konata deadpanned.

"I know that! It's still impressive though..." Kagami said defensively.

"Well... It took a little while to collect it all!" Konata said, putting a fist to her chest in pride. Kagami looked through the collection and picked out the first thing that looked remotely interesting.

"Thanks for letting me come over again Kona." Kagami said appreciatively, standing in the middle of the room. She looked around.

"Kagamin?" Konata asked. Kagami looked over at the Otaku, who was flopped on her bed. "Come on! I didn't think I had to tell you again!" Konata patted the bed next to her. Kagami didn't blush as much this time. She smiled as she went over and laid next to Konata. She flipped the manga open and began half-staring at the pages, not really computing what she was reading, flipping the page every twenty or thirty seconds. After a moment or two, she heard Konata giggling. "Kona?"

"I didn't know you meant THAT action Kagamin..." Konata giggled.

"Wha..." Kagami looked at the manga she held. It was a rather... graphic Yaoi manga. She suddenly erupted into a massive blush, her head the approximate hue of a ruby. "I.. didn't mean to pick this up..." Kagami muttered.

"You've been reading it for five minutes." Konata giggled more. Konata felt closer to Kagami than she had in recent memory. She looked at Kagami. _I think I know what Tony was talking about..._ Konata thought. _Time._ She got up.

"Kona?" Kagami asked.

"Hey Kagamin, I got something for ya!" Konata shouted, trying to play it off as no big thing. Kagami smiled and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? And what's that?" Kagami asked. _Knowing her, it's probably gonna be some stupid anime figurine of Miku Hatsune or something. But... If it's from her, I'll still love it._ She decided, smiling. Konata suddenly blushed quite a bit and walked to somewhere seemingly random. She picked out a box. She turned to face Kagami and walked up to her.

"Er... Here..." Konata handed Kagami the box. Kagami, meanwhile, was staring at the box in disbelief.

"K-Kona.. did you..." She muttered as she accepted the box. She opened it to reveal the ruby ring she had been looking at during the tournament. Her hands were trembling. She looked back up to see Konata was the same color as the gem and looking away.

"I hope you like it." She mumbled. "Please accept it." She looked into Kagami's eyes. Kagami was still in a bit of shock. Konata had just given her a ring! This was... unheard of! She would have never expected anything like this for her birthday, let alone for no reason!

"Thank you Kona. I love it." Kagami smiled, allowing as much affection as she could muster to enter her voice. Konata reached down and took out the ring. She put it on Kagami's hand, much like one would their bride. This made Kagami blush extremely deeply. She held up her hand to admire the ring. She stayed that way for a moment and looked back at Konata. She hugged Konata with all her might. "Thank you so much Konata." She whispered into Konata's ear. "This is the best gift I've ever gotten."

"I'm so glad you like it Kagami." Konata smiled as she hugged Kagami back. They stayed that way for what seemed hours, neither one willing to break the hug. Konata finally backed up a bit and looked Kagami in the eyes. She looked closer at Kagami's face, but it had become one of discomfort. "Kagami, are you okay?"

"Yeah... I just have a sick feeling in my stomach..." Kagami said as a feeling built up in her stomach. Konata was instantly alarmed.

"Kagamin, you should go to sleep. That'll help, you'll be better by morning." Konata said.

"Well... I think I'll call Tsukasa first." Kagami said, pulling out her cellphone.

"Why?" Konata asked.

"I dunno, I would just feel better." Kagami muttered as she dialed her sister's cellphone. After a few rings, a voice came over the phone.

"What's up Imoto?" Matsuri asked.

"Hey Matsuri, did Tsukasa leave her phone home?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah, aren't you with her?" Matsuri asked.

"No, I went to Konata's house." Kagami informed.

"Ah. Yes she did, she should be home soon though." Matsuri said.

"Matsuri, are you okay? You sound a bit lethargic..." Kagami asked, a little concerned. Maybe a bug was going around?

"I'm alright, I've just gotten a bit of an odd feeling in my stomach." Matsuri complained.

"That's... weird. I do too." Kagami said.

"That is weird..." Matsuri said. "I'm gonna go to bed Imoto, but I'll let you know if Tsukasa comes home before I fall asleep."

"Thanks, but I'm going to sleep too. I'll see you tomorrow." Kagami said.

"See you tomorrow Imoto." Matsuri said before hanging up.

"..." Kagami sat there for a moment.

"Kagamin, you're gonna take this bed tonight. No debating." Konata said adamantly.

"No, I-" Kagami started.

"What did I say? You're sick, you need to be comfortable." Konata said. She snatched the manga from the bed where Kagami and Konata had put the manga down. She walked over and pulled the covers over Kagami before walking to the door. "I'll be right back." She said before leaving.

"..." Kagami looked at the door, even after Konata had left. She felt extremely happy that Konata was caring so much about something as small as a little stomach ache, but sad that she had left. _I really do love her..._ Kagami determined in her head. _If this isn't love, I'm not sure I could handle love. This feeling is just so strong._ Kagami sighed as she looked at her new ring. Konata returned after a moment with a small tray. She put it down in front of Kagami. The contents of the tray were a bowl of steaming chicken soup and a thermometer. First, Konata put the thermometer into Kagami's mouth. "Kona, it's not tha-" Kagami tried to say, but Konata swiftly silenced her.

"Quiet or it won't be an accurate reading." Konata hushed. Kagami was stunned for a second, but smiled and followed her Otaku's instructions. The thermometer beeped. Konata took it from her mouth and read it. "Hmm..." She hummed.

"What?" Kagami asked.

"It shows you're temperature is completely normal. Still, eat your soup and go to sleep. You might still be coming down with something." Konata said. She pulled out a futon from under her bed, already with pillow and blanket, and laid down on it.

"Kona, thanks for taking care of me..." Kagami smiled as she ate her soup.

"It's my pleasure Kagami, just get better, okay?" Konata asked. _She doesn't even know that I mixed in some night-time medicine into her soup..._ Konata smiled on the inside.

"Sure thing..." Kagami felt her heart warm. After a few minutes, she was done. _That was delicious..._ Kagami thought.

"Are you ready for sleep Kagamin?" Konata asked.

"Yeah, I think so." Kagami yawned.

"Your stomach feeling any better?" Konata asked.

"Um... Yeah, thanks!" Kagami lied. Her stomach hadn't gotten better, but she certainly didn't want to make Konata feel as if she had failed. "Kona, you're being so caring." Kagami smiled as Konata put the thermometer in her mouth again.

"Because I care about you Kagami." Konata said. After a moment, the thermometer beeped and Konata took it back out.

"Thank you so much Kona..." Kagami yawned. _There is more to her than Anime..._

"It's my pleasure." Konata smiled. "Go to sleep Kagami, I'll see you in the morning." Konata turned off the lights.

"Sounds like plan. Good night Kona." Kagami yawned as she snuggled into the bed.

"Good night Kagami." Konata did the same with her futon.

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

"So, am I going to have a new son-in-law soon?" Miki asked.

"Mom~!" Tsukasa whined, erupting in a deep blush. There was a moment of silence. "... Only if he wants to be..." Tsukasa added. Miki laughed.

"Well, he seems like a nice boy! I approve of your dating him." Miki reconfirmed. She had said it before indirectly, but Tsukasa smiled anyway.

"Thanks mom..." She leaned back in her seat.

"So I noticed that pretty new necklace you have. Did he buy it for you?" Miki asked.

"Yeah! He wouldn't tell me how much it was worth, but it's so pretty!" Tsukasa put a hand over it. "Wanna see it?" She asked.

"Sure!" Miki chimed. Tsukasa took the necklace off and started handing it to her mother when the chain slipped from her hand.

"Oh!" She bent down to look for it. She accidentally bumped it out of reach. "Aw..." Her ribbon drooped as she came back up.

"That's alright Tsukasa, I can see it when we get home." Miki smiled. "So when's the first date?"

"I dunno, we didn't discuss that! I hope it's soon, I-" Tsukasa started to say, but she was cut off by the growing horn of a car. She looked out her window to see a car barreling straight towards her door. Tsukasa screamed for a second until the car impacted, sending the Hiiragi car into a spin until it hit a pole of the side of the road. Miki, who had hit her head and easily gotten a bad concussion, looked over wearily to see her daughter unconscious, though her vision was too blurry to discern what damage the girl had taken.

"Tsu...kasa..." Miki forced to sit up on her will alone and took out her cellphone. She dialed 119.

"Please state the nature of the emergency." A female voice requested from the other side of the phone.

"Car...accident..." Miki slowly said and proceeded to tell the woman where it had taken place.

"An ambulance is on the way ma'am." The woman said in a hurried voice.

"Thank-..." Miki let herself lose consciousness.

* * *

**Aftersection**

Due to the festival still going on, Akira and Minoru are still at the festival. When I said I liked this chapter, I meant I liked the festival, not the immediate afterward for Tsukasa. Didn't much care for that part. Poor girl, but to keep the story going the way I wanted to, I had to do it. Anyway, REVIEW! It's official! I have the longest Lucky Star story on the site! Boo. Freaking. Yeah!


	33. Chapter 33: Hospitalization

Chapter 33: Hospitalization

*Snicker. Snicker Snicker* Had this chapter written in full two days after I released the last chapter. Just felt I had to make you guys wait at least for some length of time. In any case, I have two chapters of reviews to reply to! Sqweebs LOL, your character wasn't IN anything perverted! Did you go crazy? I was crazy once! Had my own room and everything! Then the worms came... I hate worms, they drive me crazy! Crazy? I was crazy once! Had my own room and everything... I 'm getting off subject... Holy Riot, I laughed so much at your comment about whether you call it lord or sage! And Sebzz…. 160. At the current rate of my reviews, and including what I already have, it will take about 160 chapters to top the Lucky Trilogy in reviews. *Sigh*... *Dart's Theme from Legend of Dragoon starts playing* Challenge Accepted! My new goal is to have the most reviews in the Lucky Star Section! ROAR! I can win, I feel great, I CAN DO THIS! YEAH~! ...If nothing else, I have a couple people who I think have promised to review every chapter, so it would take 394 chapters to get to my new goal... Mother of God. If I keep my rate of chapter length up for that duration, I would be writing more then three million more words. Three. Fucking. Million. What the hell am I going to write about for THAT long? Oh boy, I'm not sure if even I can come up with that much, I really WOULD be going into great-grandchildren... Not only that, but that's factoring in the beginning chapters where they were only like 3-4K words, at the current length, it will fall around four million. Four million words. Whew. This is crazy. Of course, that means that only two would be reviewing the entire time. So, every one person who reviews will bring me closer to my goal. Please help me everyone! Now, ON WITH THE SHOW!

* * *

**POV Kagami**

The pit in Kagami's stomach was no better. That was the first thing that went through Kagami's head. Now, Kagami realized she was at a shrine. She looked around to see her father, mother, and sisters, along with Miyuki, Tony, Sojiro, and Yutaka watching her attentively. She blushed at being in front of the crowd of people, but looked down to see she was in a very traditional kimono. She looked around to see a Shinto priest near her. It was then that Kagami realized exactly what was going on. She was at a wedding. Her wedding. She could hear ringing, what she guessed were bells, which were not usual for a Shinto wedding, but must have been the interjection of her betrothed. Speaking of which, exactly who was she marrying? She looked at where she knew her partner would be to see a small figure with short cobalt hair and emerald eyes. Kagami was confused. If she hadn't known better, she would have said this was Konata. The way this person walked, the lazy look in their excited eyes, the smile that was on their lips, the cute mole under her eye, all of it pointed to Konata except two things. First, same-sex marriage was illegal in Japan, and second, this person's hair was short. The person looked at Kagami reassuringly in a way that only Konata had ever been able to do. She and this person exchanged exchanged Sake, along with those members of the audience. As the priest read the vows, the person Kagami was betrothed to repeated them.

"This woman, I marry  
No matter what the health situation is  
I will love this person  
Respect this person  
Console this person  
Help this person  
Until death  
Protecting fidelity  
I swear." They said. Kagami blushed deeply. The priest turned to her and started her vows.

"This... man, I marry..." Kagami repeated what the person had said.

"Groom, Konako, you this woman marry and become her partner.  
Will you in peaceful times, during sickness, this person love, this person respect, this person comfort, this person help, until death, do you promise to fulfill?" The priest asked. The groom flashed a cat grin to Kagami.

"Yes, I promise." They said.

"Bride, Kagami, you this man marry and become his partner.  
Will you in peaceful times, during sickness, this person love, this person respect, this person comfort, this person help, until death, do you promise to fulfill?" The priest asked. Kagami looked the person she was to marry in the eyes. She could only feel that this had to be Konata. This is mind, she continued.

"Yes, I promise." She said. The two offered Sakaki twigs to their Kami. As they completed the ceremony, the two welcomed guests to the reception. Once they were no longer the center of attention, the groom turned to their wife.

"Sure fooled 'em, didn't we Kagami?" They catgrinned. "It's official. All those times I called you my wife, now I can legally do it."

"Konata?" Kagami asked.

"Who did you think it was?" Konata catgrinned.

"I wasn't sure, your hair is so short... You've never cut your hair, not even to keep it at a certain length! I thought your hair was really really important to you..." Kagami commented. Konata smiled warmly.

"It was the only way I could pass as a boy. Besides, that will grow back, and you're so much more important than some hair." Konata smiled. Kagami smiled.

"Thank you." She smiled.

"My pleasure." Konata smiled back. And all was bliss. Until...

Kagami woke up and sat up. Her stomach wasn't much better, it was like a nagging feeling in the pit of her abdomen. Something was wrong. She didn't know what, but something was very, very wrong. She looked around to see if it was something in the room, but other than the soft breathing of the small Otaku over the side of her bed, she couldn't find anything. Normally, Kagami would giggle at Konata's cuteness, but today she needed to find out what was going on. She sat up.

"Kona?" Kagami reluctantly woke her love. The way she figured it, Konata would know better than anyone if something were wrong with the room. Kagami had to call the Otaku a few more times before she stirred to consciousness, but she woke all the same.

"Hey Kagamin, are you okay?" Konata asked the instant she sat up. Kagami, despite her stomach, felt herself smiling.

"Kona, is there anything wrong around here?" Kagami asked. Konata looked around the room.

"Not that I can see. Why?" Konata asked.

"Well, that feeling in my stomach isn't any better, it feels like it's telling me that something's wrong." Kagami said. Konata hummed.

"Any hints?" Konata asked.

"This isn't a joke, something's going on and I want to know what!" Kagami whipped the blanket off of her and jumped out of bed. She remembered that she had ended up sleeping in her yukata as she almost tripped. She would have if Konata hadn't appeared in front of Kagami and caught her.

"Whoa, easy there girl, you're not gonna find out anything if you hit your head and get sent to the hospital." Konata scolded, surprising Kagami for the umpteenth time that day. Konata was usually the one on the receiving end of the scolding, not the giving end.

"You're right Kona, sorry." Kagami righted herself. "I'm gonna call the house and see if anything's wrong there." She pulled out her cellphone. She went to the dialing pad, missing the call she had missed while she slept. She dialed her house, but it rang out. She sighed and ended the call. She noticed the missed call and looked at it.

"Hospital." It read. All color faded from her, alarming Konata.

"Kagami, what's wrong?" She asked.

"I got a call from the hospital." Kagami muttered, started the voicemail they had left.

"This is Dr. Zimmerman calling to inform you that two of your family members have been in an accident. One is conscious, we would like if you come to her and comfort her." The message said. Kagami was surprised at how different the message was from how she would have expected it. It then dawned on her exactly what he had said. "Please come to Umehara Hospital at your earliest convenience." The message ended. Kagami was trembling.

"Kagami, maybe you need to lay down..." Konata suggested, seeing the shaking Tsundere. Kagami was snapped out of the trance she was in, already knowing who had been in an accident. She ran out of the room, Konata at her heels.

"I need a ride to the hospital!" She shouted. She looked over at the computer to see Sojiro, asleep in his chair. "Didn't you hear me?" She shouted, running up and shaking him, but not getting any response.

"Kagami! He's exhausted, he was up for a couple days! You're not gonna be able to wake him!" Konata shouted, pulling Kagami away. "Calm down and tell me what happened!" Konata said sternly.

"Tsukasa and Mom got in an accident!" Kagami said, tears in her eyes. Konata looked as if she'd been struck. Still, she kept her head.

_I have to get Kagami there quickly! Um..._ Konata wracked her brain. _And Tony has to kno... That's it!_ She thought. "Kagami just keep calm, I know how to get us there." Konata said.

"How?" Kagami asked, clearly failing her request.

"Just a minute." Konata pulled out her cellphone and clicked the "2" button.

"Kon-kon?" Tony asked as he picked up. He was quite apparently happy. Konata hated to crush him like this, but he had to know.

"Tony, I need you over at my house ASAP." She said and hung up. She didn't do it to be rude, but the action would punctuate the importance of what she said. They waited a moment and Tony suddenly spun into sight in the hallway, a bag in his hand.

"What's going on Konata?" Tony asked, noticing the grave and distraught face Kagami had. "What's wrong?"

"Tsukasa and Mom had an accident on the way home." Kagami said, knowing Konata might not be able to tell Tony. She could see why as Tony's expression changed. In his mind, everything was suddenly dark. Words failed to describe the feeling of horror he felt.

"Hospital..." He muttered.

"Umehara." Kagami said. Tony suddenly shot towards them, and grabbed hold of them. Kagami and Konata grabbed him, thinking he was in need of comfort, but suddenly, they felt Tony twist away from them, causing them to re-doubled their grip. The next thing they knew, everything went black; they were pressed very hard from all directions; they couldn't breathe, it was like there were iron bands tightening around their chests; their eyeballs were being forced back into their head; their ear-drums were being pushed deeper into their skull. Suddenly, as quickly as the sensations had overtaken their senses, it was gone. They looked around, both feeling sick to their stomach, and realized people were looking at them. Tony was white as a ghost while he ate some red substance that had the texture of a mix between a jelly bean and melted gummy bears. Konata realized what happened then.

"We just apparated, didn't we?" She asked Tony.

"Yes, and quite successfully too, I might add. I threw up the first time." Tony pushed himself up. "Come on, we have to go see Tsukasa." He said.

"I'm surprised you aren't more tired." Konata said. Tony held up the bag he had.

"Dengen. Amazing stuff, it is. I'll explain later." He said, attaching the bag to a belt Konata and Kagami hadn't noticed he was wearing. "We HAVE to go see Tsukasa!" He shouted.

"Hiiragi?" He heard a familiar voice behind him. He turned to see his doctor.

"Yeah! Where is she?" Tony shouted. Zimmerman didn't flinch.

"Volume, we don't want you disturbing the other patients." He said. "This way." He turned and started walking. Tony, Konata, and Kagami all followed impatiently. Tony and Kagami wanted to shout for him to hurry up, but they both knew that the action would only cause him to stop to scold them and make it take longer to get there, so they held their tongue. They eventually stopped. "She's in here." He said. Tony burst into the room to see Tsukasa with an oxygen mask on. His knees almost gave out, even with the energy food he was eating. He walked over with large tears akin to Kagami and Konata's in his eyes, completely ignoring Inori sitting next to her sister.

"Tsukasa..." He muttered. She looked so vulnerable.

"She's been in a coma since the accident, the car hit her side." Zimmerman explained. "There's always the possibility that she'll wake up soon however, as the damage wasn't too extensive. The main part of the brain that's damaged is the part that retains consciousness. She's extremely fortunate that she didn't take more damage to the brain, the only other bit that sustained any substantial damage was the part that told her cells how to duplicate themselves. That's a bit more serious, as her injuries won't heal properly until that part of her brain heals. If those parts can repair themselves, she should regain consciousness and be fine with rest." Zimmerman explained.

"Is there nothing you can do to help more?" Kagami asked.

"We're doing all medical science can, however, the brain is still a mysterious organ that we can't fully understand. I was surprised we could diagnose as much as we did." Zimmerman sighed. Meanwhile, Tony checked his energy reserves to see he was back at full energy. He breathed deep and touched her arm, thinking of something he had read in a story once. He used his mind to survey the damage to Tsukasa's body. He searched the air around them for energy he would need. Despair took him. Even with his energy reserves and the energy in the air around them, he still didn't have the energy to heal Tsukasa. If he took anywhere near enough energy from the air, even if it were around the entire hospital, the whole place might as well be cryogenically frozen from the amount of energy it would take. In desperation, he thought of the possible energy he could take from the other living beings in the vicinity. He had a feeling this would be enough if he took everything he could, but would so many people make such a sacrifice for an uncertain result? He tried to think of the problem. Whenever he used energy, some of the power was lost when he extended the energy through his arms from the well, for lack of a better word, that seemed to be inside him. It was that little bit that made it so that he couldn't heal her. If only he could find a way to eliminate that issue, Tsukasa might once again awaken! But how... Right now though, he had to know if what the doctor said about her condition was true. He looked over at Zimmerman and shrouded his thoughts. He crept into the doctors mind, not caring if it was ethical or not, and gleaned what he could. All he could feel from the doctor was hopelessness and Tony understood in full what was happening. There was no way, no words that Tony could use or think of to describe the feeling as he could piece together what the doctor was thinking. All hope for this girl was gone. Inori got up and crept over to her sister.

"Hey, what's he doing?" She asked.

"Probably trying to see if he can heal her. I hope he can..." Kagami mumbled.

"Tony?" Konata asked. Tony was brought from his daze and shook his head.

"I don't have the energy..." He sighed. "There's nothing that can be done here. I understand if you two want to go see Kagami's mother. But I want to stay with Tsukasa." He said.

"I understand. She's in good hands." Kagami said. "Where's my mom?" She asked Zimmerman. He looked at a clipboard.

"I'd rather not leave Tsukasa alone..." Inori said.

"I can look after her." Tony said.

"I know you can and will, but if it's okay, I wanna be here. Hopefully she'll wake up." Inori said. Tony nodded without looking up.

"As you wish."

"Miki Hiiragi?" He asked.

"Yeah." Kagami nodded.

"This way." He walked off. Kagami and Konata followed. Tony looked after them, then looked at Tsukasa. Finally, despite his company, he let his tears fall.

_Why? Why did this have to happen now?_ He cried. He collapsed in the chair next to the bed and put his head in his hands and wept. He stayed that way for a time, whatever time passed was passed without change or recognition. Eventually, after what seemed innumerable eternities had passed, Tony looked up to see that a mere five minutes had passed. Amazingly enough, he saw Inori with her hand on his shoulder.

"She's gonna be okay. Don't worry." Inori smiled comfortingly. Tony felt an amount better, but not a large amount.

"Thanks. Yeah, I've just gotta stay positive..." Tony said. He got up from the chair and gave it to Inori and sat on the couch that had been placed in the room.

"You really do love her, don't you?" Inori asked, a smile on her face. She was a bit sad at the fact that the youngest Hiiragi had found love first, but much happier for the same reason. Tony sighed and smiled.

"More than anything. If I could trade places with her, I would in a heartbeat." Tony said truthfully. Inori's smile widened.

"I'm glad." She said. Tony smiled.

"Please, would you mind if I remained silent for a time?" Tony asked.

"What for?" Inori asked.

"I have to find a way to get Tsukasa back. I don't have near the energy to heal her, so I need to start thinking of what the problem is and how to solve it." Tony said.

"Ah. Isn't the problem that Tsukasa's in a coma?" Inori asked. Tony sighed.

"Yes, that is one problem, but I meant a different problem altogether." Tony said. _I have to think of something..._ He thought.

"Can I help?" Inori asked.

"I don't think so. Thank you for offering, I'll let you know if you can do anything. For now, however, all I need is silence." Tony said. He waited a moment, but Inori smiled, nodded, and looked to Tsukasa. Tony started wracking his brain until an idea struck him. _I don't have the energy, but he does._ He put his hands together. "Hachi Style: God Seal Release." He muttered. Hachiman entered his mind.

_Kid? What's wrong?_ He asked.

_Tsukasa's in the hospital. I need your help! I don't have the energy to heal her!_ Tony said. He got the impression of a sigh from the god.

_Kid, I'm sorry, but I can't be the solution to every problem. I can answer questions, but I can't make your life perfect._ Hachiman said. Tony was appalled at the response and made no attempt to hide it.

_How can you turn your back on her?_ He shouted in frustration. Suddenly, an odd sensation of understanding anger came from Hachiman.

_Listen, I can't just fix every problem! This may sound heartless to you, but what makes Tsukasa more important than cancer patients, or people who are guaranteed to die? I know this is hard for you, but if I solve everything for you, I should have to do it for everyone, and even I don't have the energy to do that, nor would I solve everything if I did._ Hachiman said. Tony, while angry, tried to think of some form of argument. He had to admit, the god made sense.

_Why wouldn't you?_ He asked. The feeling of anger flared a bit as Tony heard wind pick up outside the building. Hachiman's voice boomed in his head in such a voice, Tony knew that thunder itself would seem tame by measure of volume.

_I will answer YOUR question once you have answered MINE! Were you there when the foundation of Earth was laid? Tell me if you were! WHO determined it's measurements, I'm sure you know! Who stretched the line upon it? Where were you when all of this was decided?_ Hachiman asked. Tony was completely speechless. It was an instant before Hachiman continued. _Who are you to question the decisions made when you don't truly understand the question in the first place?_ Hachiman growled. There was a solid minute where not only did neither say anything to the other, but Tony realized he couldn't. The only thing he could feel was an overwhelming sense of humility. He regained his functions after a moment and closed his eyes, bowing his head as a sign of submission.

_My apologies. Your decisions are not mine to question._ Tony sighed. Tony got a sensation of satisfaction and a small amount of guilt.

_I feel I must apologize as well. I let anger get the better of me. I have to go, but I will offer this. Think of Recoome._ Hachiman said before his presence disappeared. Tony felt empty.

_Recoome? What does he have to do with it?_ He sighed. He looked to Tsukasa and felt a new sense of determination. _Recoome. Okay, it's time to figure this out._ Tony thought with passion. He got into a meditative pose and began thinking the hardest he had in the entirety of his life. He would figure this puzzle out if it was the last action he preformed.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Kagami and Konata followed Dr. Zimmerman. They got to a room not far from Tsukasa's, where Zimmerman stopped again.

"Here she is." He said. Kagami and Konata walked into the room to see Miki sitting up in the bed with Tadao and Matsuri by her bedside. The lot of them turned to the couple.

"Imoto, you're late! You shoulda been here hours ago!" Matsuri shouted. Miki reached out and put her hand on Matsuri's shoulder.

"She was asleep." Miki said. "It's okay Kagami, I understand."

"Mom... Are you okay?" Kagami asked, tears yet again forming in her eyes.

"Yeah, don't worry Kagami." Miki smiled, though Kagami could tell the action pained her.

"Are you gonna be alright?" Konata asked. Kagami heard a sorrow in Konata's voice that seemed almost if not as deep as her own. She hadn't realized how close Konata apparently was to Miki.

_I guess I can understand..._ Kagami thought, thinking of Konata's unfortunate history with her mother, or lack thereof.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. It's Tsukasa I'm worried about." Miki said. "I wish it had been me." She sighed.

"I wish it hadn't been either of you!" Kagami shouted.

"I know baby, I know." Miki smiled to her child. She seemed to be studying Kagami now that Konata was close.

"Mom, why did this have to happen..." Kagami's tears, though she was trying to hold them back, were now flowing down her cheeks. Suddenly, Konata put her hand on Kagami's shoulder. Kagami instantly turned and started crying on Konata's shoulder. Konata was surprised for an instant, but hugged Kagami and rubbed her back soothingly.

"Get it out Imoto..." Matsuri smiled. Tadao looked between the two for an instant and seemed to start thinking. Kagami was crying for a moment, then did her best to regain control of her body, and smiled appreciatively at the Otaku. She broke the hug and looked in her family's direction. It was Miki she was concentrating on.

"Hey guys, I wanna talk to Mom." Kagami said. "Ya know, alone." She said. Matsuri, Tadao, and Konata all exchanged looks.

"Honey?" Tadao looked at his wife. Miki nodded.

"It's alright." She said. Tadao looked around and got up, as did Matsuri. The three left the room, leaving Kagami and Miki alone.

"Mom... I wanna talk with you about something..." Kagami blushed. Miki smiled comfortingly.

"I thought you might. Come sit down." She gestured to a chair next to her bed. Kagami complied and sat down.

"Mom, I... I think I..." Kagami's throat caught up. She wasn't sure how her mother would react to what she was about to say. But she felt that if anyone would understand her feelings, it would be her mother. Suddenly, there was a thump at the door.

"No eavesdropping!" She heard Konata shout. Kagami giggled and felt truly appreciative for Konata looking out for her.

"Go on." Miki said.

"Mom, I'm in love." Kagami blurted out before she had time to think about it, but quietly enough that no one outside the room would hear. Miki smiled and sighed.

"With Konata." Miki finished. Kagami gasped and blushed in fear.

"You know?" Kagami asked. "How could you..." Kagami mumbled. Miki smiled.

"Your eyes are the eyes of a woman in love. Oh, how they give you away. Why try to deny you're a woman in love, when I know very well what I say." Miki said. Kagami was a bit stunned.

"And...?" Kagami asked.

"I accept you Kagami. I love you." Miki said. A great pressure lifted off of Kagami's chest. She hugged her mother in her joy.

"Thank you so much Mom, I was so afraid." She mumbled in unfathomable appreciation from her mother.

"It's okay Kagami, it's okay." Miki patted her daughter's back and smiled through the pain she was in from her injuries. "But that isn't the end of it." Miki said. Kagami broke the hug and sighed.

"I know. There's still Dad." Kagami sighed. "Do you think you could help with that?" She asked her mother. Miki sighed.

"I don't know that I can." She mumbled. She looked to her daughter in sorrow.  
**"Velvet **I can wish you,  
For the collar of your coat  
And fortune smiling all along your way~  
But more, I can not wish you  
Than to wish you find your love  
Your own true love this **day~."** Miki softly sang to Kagami in a soothing voice despite her words. She knew her singing could usually calm Kagami as it always had when she was young.  
**"Mansions **I can wish you  
Seven footmen all in red  
And calling cards upon a silver tray.  
But more, I can not wish you  
Than to wish you find your love  
Your own true love this **day~."** She reached up and rubbed Kagami's cheek soothingly, making Kagami lean into it and yawn slightly.  
**"Here **you are,  
Sitting right here,  
Full of the bloom~ of youth,  
Standing there  
Gazing at you  
With a cat's grin  
And though a bit **uncouth." **Miki sang, Kagami giggling sleepily at the accurate description of Konata her mother provided.  
**"Music **I can wish you  
Merry music while you're young  
And wisdom when your hair has turned to gray~.  
But more, I can not wish you  
Than to wish you find your love  
Your own true love this day  
With a cat's~ grin~  
And though a bit uncouth,  
And strong arms  
To carry you~... **away~."** She finished as Kagami fell completely asleep. She leaned Kagami onto the side of her bed and kissed her on the forehead. "You can come back in." Miki called only loud enough so that the three outside could hear. They walked back in and the first thing Miki noticed was the lump on Matsuri's head. Seeing the mother looking at it, Konata chuckled.

"She tried to listen in." Konata said as she walked over to see Kagami. The look of peaceful content on Kagami's face brought a smile to Konata's. "You have to tell me how you did that." Konata smiled to Miki.

"It's a mother's secret." She winked. "I'm tired now though, I think I'll take a nap too." Miki yawned.

"Okay dear, I'll be here when you wake up." Tadao said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Konata cringed slightly at the man she thought she had known.

"I'm gonna go see Kan-kan and see how he's holding up." Konata said as she turned.

"Ah, mister Kan-chan is here? Let's go see how he's doing." Matsuri smirked. The two of them left the room. "So, anything new?" Matsuri asked.

"Kan-kan confessed to Tsukasa. Long story short, they're together now." Konata said. Matsuri smiled.

"I'm glad, I was about to tie him up and let her kiss him." Matsuri giggled. "It's only too bad this had to happen NOW of all times..." She sighed. Konata's phone started to ring.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Konata? Do you know where Otōto is?" Masutā asked. She could hear machinery in the back.

"Yeah. Tsukasa got in an accident, he's here visiting her." Konata said.

"She okay?" Masutā asked.

"She's in a coma." Konata said gravely. There was a moment in which Konata could hear Masutā shouting something.

"Damn, my boss isn't letting me off since it's my first day. Tell him where I am if he wants to talk." Masutā said and told Konata of where he now worked.

"Will do." Konata said. "Wait, how did you get my number?" Konata asked.

"I have a friend. He has all the numbers." Masutā said nonchalantly.

"Oh... Well... Thanks." She said before they said their goodbyes and hung up. They arrived back at the room and opened the door to see Tony meditating.

"Hey lover boy, how you holdin' up?" Matsuri asked, bringing Tony from his trance.

"Thinking of any way I can help Tsukasa." Tony said, only opening one eye to address the Hiiragi. "I haven't the energy to heal her." Tony said.

"Hey, maybe Hachiman can help." Konata chuckled, remembering how the god had healed Tony with such ease. Tony shook his head.

"He's already denied it of me." He said spitefully. He got up. "I'm sorry, but I need to take a walk." Tony said.

"Your brother's at-" And Konata told him.

"Thanks." Tony walked out. He walked and started quickening his pace. It just seemed so unfair! Finally, FINALLY he had been happy! The happiest he had EVER been! Why? Why? He realized he had long since broken into a run. He was nearing the place his brother was, feeling a morbid luck that he had gotten there without paying attention to where he had been going. He got there and walked up to the construction zone to see Masutā with a massive iron beam on his shoulder and walking slowly. _Damn..._ Tony thought. The beam looked at least a hundred kilos. And by the looks of it, the only reason Masutā was walking so slow was to make sure he didn't hit anyone or anything. Tony sighed as he walked up. Masutā looked over and dropped the beam with a large thud.

"Otōto, I'm so sorry." He ran over and brought Tony into a rough hug. "Cry kid, there's no shame." This was an extreme rarity and Tony couldn't help it any longer. He broke.

"Aniki, I don't get it! I had it! I had happiness! Why did this have to happen? Why does it have to hurt so much? I've seen people die before. Mom. Dad. Sarnia. They **died** and I didn't hurt this badly... Why? I've never felt this much pain." He mumbled. Masutā patted his back and broke the hug, looking Tony in the face.

"It's because you truly love her." Masutā said. Tony tore away and walked a few steps.

"The hell does that mean... The hell does that matter?" He spun around and looked at Masutā for answers. When he provided none, Tony continued. "What good does it do if every time I fall in love, she dies? What's the point? **WHAT'S THE DAMN POINT?**" He shouted at such a volume, the sheer intensity of the yell and energy put into it started shaking the building that was being constructed. He had to suppress the urge to punch the ground, for the minuscule amount of reason still in his mind told him that the ground would yield before he would and end up hindering his brother's work. Masutā, however, never flinched, even when Tony yelled loud enough to cause every worker in the area to double over.

"Look Tony, all I know is what I've learned in my time on this earth. There are certain rules about life. And rule number one is loved ones die. And rule number two is... no one can change rule number one." Masutā said. Tony turned back to him in fury.

"**But someone can change it! Hachiman could! He refused though! How could he not help her?**" Tony shouted trembling in the might of his fury.

"Otōto... The gods allow us to experience the low points of life in order to teach us lessons we could not learn in any other way. The way we learn those lessons is not to deny the feelings but to find the meanings underlying them." Masutā said. Tony blinked a few times. He sighed and let himself ease.

"You're right..." Tony sighed. "I'm an idiot. I need to go see her again." He said, hoping against hope he could somehow help his love. "Thank you Aniki." He smiled to his brother. "Tsukasa once said I was wise. Obviously she hasn't spent enough time with you if she still thinks that." Tony smiled. Masutā smiled.

"You can be wise sometimes Otōto, but you're a complete idiot when it comes to love. You just need more experience in that department." Masutā smiled. Tony sighed.

"Thank you for your advice." Tony bowed. "I have a question I need you to help me think on though." Tony said.

"Go for it." Masutā said.

"When I asked Hachiman for help, he did give me a small bit of information." Tony said.

"What was it?" Masutā asked.

"Think of Recoome." Tony repeated. Masutā got a confused look.

"Think of Recoome?" He asked.

"Yeah. Could you maybe try and think of what he meant?" Tony asked.

"No problem Otōto, I'll try and figure it out as long as you do the same." Masutā said.

"Thank you again Aniki." Tony bowed.

"I'm glad I could help." Masutā smiled again. Suddenly, the vision of Tony spun in on itself and he was gone. Masutā blinked a time or two before he realized what had just happened. "Damn Otōto, that was pretty beast..." He commented as he picked up the beam again and returned to work.

Tony spun out into sight in the very room that housed Tsukasa, scaring the three girls that were waiting by Tsukasa's bed. He looked at Tsukasa and walked up to her.

"I'm sorry I left you Tsu-" He was cut off as a hand came across his face.

"I thought you loved her!" Matsuri shouted. Tony spun to her and glared.

"Of course I do! How can you doubt that, I'm here, aren't I?" Tony shouted back.

"You left! What would we have done if Tsukasa had waken up and asked for you? "Sorry, he had to walk"? If you love her, you've got to stay with her, talk her out of this!" Matsuri shouted. Tony, while he was angry that she was apparently insulting his love, something he said he wouldn't tolerate, he also knew she was right.

"Matsuri, calm down!" Inori came over and grabbed her sister by the shoulders. Tony heard an edge of nervousness in her voice that told him she wasn't just scolding her sister for being hotheaded. He looked past them to see Konata had shifted in her seat. Apparently, Kagami had told them of Konata's prowess, when is anyone's guess. Matsuri looked at Tony sighed.

"Look. You say you love her. And I KNOW she loves you. If she's gonna wake up for anyone, it's gonna be you. Please... just stay with her? Please?" Matsuri asked meekly. Tony was glad he had held his tongue. Matsuri was only looking out for her sister. He could definitely respect that. And he would definitely appreciate it if anyone else tried to insult Tsukasa while he wasn't around.

"..." Tony thought hard about what he was about to say. He blushed slightly. "Gimai-san, I apologize for my ignorance. From now on, I promise to think only of Tsukasa." He bowed. The three other girls had to take a step back to steady themselves as Tony just called Matsuri his sister-in-law, and that was not something done lightly. Konata burst into laughter, but quieted herself as soon as she could.

"That was a big step you just took Kan-kan!" Konata giggled. Matsuri, however, looked like she was thinking.

"Tony, I honestly hope you can actually call me that someday." She smiled. Her voice took a turn for the stern. "Just not today."

"Understood." Tony bowed again. "My brother was correct in saying I'm an idiot when it comes to these types of things." He sighed.

"S'alright. Just don't leave again unless you need to. I want Tsukasa to wake up as soon as possible, and that's gonna happen by you being here with her." Matsuri smiled. She sat down again, as did Inori. Tony remembered his dilemma.

"Hey, you all saw the fight with Recoome, right?" Tony asked.

"Of course." Konata answered. Matsuri and Inori also spoke to the affirmative.

"I want you think help me figure something out." Tony said. "A sort of riddle I was given that may help Tsukasa." Tony said.

"What is it? What is it?" Inori asked as the three girls leaned forward.

"I was told "Think of Recoome". That's all I was given, I've been trying to figure out what they meant by it." Tony said.

"I'll think about it..." Konata said.

"So will I, if it'll help Tsukasa." Matsuri said.

"Same same." Inori said. Tony smiled.

"Thanks." Tony said.

"No problem. In the mean time, why not try talking to Tsukasa?" Matsuri suggested.

"About what?" Tony asked.

"Doesn't matter! It's your voice that does the trick mostly. If the two of you have something sentimental between you, something romantic you two normally say to each other, that would have more of an effect than telling her the weather though." Matsuri explained.

"Alright." Tony walked over and sat next to Tsukasa. He took her hand in his hand, noting how cold her hands felt. It brought a sorrow to his mood. "Hey Tsu-chan. It's me, Kan-kun." He said a bit awkwardly. "Um..." He mumbled. For what did you say to someone in a coma? He decided he would get to the point. "Tsu-chan. Please come back to me." His voice cracked. "I've only been half a day without hearing your voice, and it's tearing at me! I miss you already, I can't even begin to tell you. Please Tsu-chan. I love you." He said. Tsukasa's sisters gasped in surprise, even if they had known his feelings, what Tony had just said was also not something said lightly. Tony thought he saw her stir for a moment, but dismissed it as his eyes playing a cruel trick on him after she made no more movement for a full five minutes. Tony sighed and sat back in the chair, but never let go of Tsukasa's hand. He started thinking of what Hachiman had told him.

* * *

**POV Konata**

Konata looked at Tony as he sat back. His breathing slowed, Tsukasa's hand still in his, and she knew he had fallen asleep.

"I'm gonna go check on Mom, would you mind watching Tsukasa for a while Matsuri?" Inori asked.

"Sure thing." Matsuri smiled.

"Can I come?" Konata asked.

"If you want." Inori smiled to Konata.

"Thanks. Let's go." Konata got up with Inori and walked out of the room. Matsuri looked over at Tsukasa and Tony, still holding hands.

_Imoto, you picked one hell of a guy. _She smiled as she yawned. She had been up for most of the previous night; the hospital had called late at night. If she hadn't gone to sleep early because of her stomach, she wouldn't have gotten any sleep at all. She laid down on the couch and fell asleep soon.

Konata was face to face with probably the person she least wanted to see.

"Misakichi." Konata said challengingly.

"Chibi, I'm not here to pick a fight. I just want to see Imoto." Misao put both hand up by her head as a sign of submission. Konata eased a little.

"Oh, I didn't know you cared much for Tsukasa." Konata said.

"'Course I do, I just called her Imoto, didn't I?" Misao asked. Konata huffed a humorless laugh.

"That's cool. I'm glad." Konata smiled.

"Besides, how could anyone NOT like her?" Misao laughed. Konata followed suit.

"I know right, she's so damn cute!" Konata said. Misao laughed a bit harder.

"I know, it's hardly fair for me! I've got nothin'!" Misao said. "I'm surprised to hear ya say that Cheebs, I thought I was the only one who could say a girl was cute!" She said.

"Come on now, anyone can call anyone cute! And speaking of which, you've got moe features!" Konata pointed out.

"Oh? Like what?" Misao challenged playfully.

"Like that fang." Konata pointed out. Misao looked down as if she would be able to see what Konata was pointing at. "I have nothing!"

"Not true!" Misao protested. Konata raised an eyebrow.

"Whatchu talkin' bout Misao?" Konata asked, using Misao's name for the sake of the reference.

"Well, being small isn't necessarily a BAD thing, there are plenty of people who like that! Besides that, you've already got your choice of any Otaku guy on earth basically!" Misao said. Konata smiled.

"Misakichi, you really aren't like your brother, are you?" Konata asked. Misao raised an eyebrow, looking confused.

"You've met him?" Misao asked.

"Yeah, he use to pick on my all the time." Konata scowled. Misao gasped a bit.

"My god, I'm sorry Chibi!" She said. "No wonder you took such an instant dislike to me! No way Chibi, I hate that asshole. I wanna crack his head in with a six pound lead pipe..." Misao commented. Konata chuckled.

"I'd take a four pounder and switchblade if you would." Konata smiled.

"Actually, that's not necessary anymore! I dunno what happened, but he's here. They say he'll never be able to move as much as he use to be able to. Great, since he isn't going to be doing anything too bad anymore." Misao smiled. "It makes a good excuse to be here so I can visit Imoto and her mother."

"Yeah, that was my brother! The guy who stopped our fight last time." Konata said.

"Oh yeah, him! Thank him for me, he didn't do anything I didn't wish I could do myself. By the way, that reminds me..." Misao trailed off.

"What's up Misakichi?" Konata asked. She, however, was no longer using the nickname as a derogatory one, but with a kind of affection.

"Hiiragin guilted me into promising me this, but now I legitimately want to. Can we bury the hatchet and try being friends?" Misao put her hand out. Konata looked at the hand and smiled. She shook it.

"My pleasure." She smiled at Misao. Misao smiled.

"Kinda sucks a little bit, I had a couple shots I still had to get atcha Cheebs." Misao giggled. Konata smiled.

"Hey, I poke fun at everyone already, there's no reason you can't! Just one thing." Konata said.

"Yes?" Misao asked.

"Don't take offense to anything I say, I don't mean anything real by it." Konata smiled.

"Same same Chibi. I'll still have to get ya a couple times." Misao smiled.

"Hey, we should put one over on Kagamin and pretend to hate each other." Konata giggled.

"Yeah! Only around Hiiragin though, right?" Misao asked.

"You catch on fast." Konata smiled.

"Well, I'm not just another pretty face." Misao posed a bit.

"You're definitely not just another pretty face." Konata commented. Misao looked at her, but the Otaku winked. Misao giggled.

"That's the kind of stuff I'm talkin' about. Sure thing, I'm in Chibi!" Misao smiled.

"Alrighty. I'm actually on my way to see Kagamin and her Mom, wanna come with?" Konata offered. Misao shook her head.

"Nah, I saw them already, I wanted to see Imoto. But thanks anyway!" Misao waved as she opened the door.

"Well then, I hope to see ya later Misakichi!" Konata waved as she and Inori started walking off.

"Ditto Chibi!" Misao walked into the room. Konata and Inori kept walking. Konata chuckled to herself.

"That was cool." Konata smiled.

"I didn't get to say much there." Inori chuckled. "That took, like, twenty minutes. I was a little worried we'd never go!" Inori laughed.

"Well I never really go along with Misakichi, but we have a lot in common!" Konata smiled widely at having a new friend. She sighed in happiness before turning the subject away from the current topic. "I'm surprised you guys aren't freaking out more. I know I would be if Dad and Yu-chan got in an accident..." Konata commented.

"We tried to get out most of freaking out over with last night. Now we're just trying to keep a strong front for you, Kagami, and Tony. I know this is hard on you three." Inori commented.

"Yeah..." She sighed. They got to the room housing Miki and walked in to see Kagami yawning and stretching.

"Have a good nap Kagami?" Miki asked, having woken up just a moment earlier.

"Yeah. Thanks Mom." Kagami said. Miki knew her daughter wasn't talking about the question of her nap. She smiled and nodded.

"You're welcome Kagami." Miki smiled. Kagami looked over to see Konata and Inori entering the room.

"Hey Kona, any change with Tsukasa?" Kagami asked. Konata shook her head.

"No, no change." Konata sighed. "I think Matsuri almost got herself killed though." She said.

"Really? How's that?" She asked.

"She insulted Kan-kan's love. I can tell you, that's a big berserk button for him. I saw it in his eyes." Konata said. "I got ready to try and defend her, but if he really wanted to hurt her, there wouldn't be anything I could do." Konata said. Kagami sighed, but smiled.

"Yeah, I can see her doing something like that. She's just looking out for Tsukasa is all." Kagami excused.

"Well, I know, but I was worried that Kan-kan might not have seen it that way." Konata said. Inori, meanwhile, was looking at Konata.

"Oh~, I thought you were getting ready to attack us 'cause she insulted your brother!" Inori laughed.

"Nah, I was a little angry with her, sure, but I was more nervous that Kan-kan was gonna do something! Like I said, if he wants you to die, you die." Konata chuckled humorlessly. A silence seemed to come over the group. Kagami was next to speak.

"Ya know... That kind of isn't fair..." She said, almost under her breath. Konata perked up and looked over at her.

"Hm? What isn't?" Konata asked. Kagami looked up and looked at Konata.

"I just mean that one person has THAT kind of power, you know? His conscience is the only thing keeping him from abusing his powers. Like you said, he says die, you literally _die_." Kagami said.

"Only if he has the energy to kill you!" Konata tried to defend Tony.

"And what does that amount to? One pinched artery! An unraveled nerve bunch, the implications are frightening." Kagami said. Konata sighed.

"Kagami, I wish I could say that I knew Kan-kan was never gonna abuse his powers, but I can't say that. I couldn't say I wouldn't, and I couldn't say you wouldn't, nor can I say that about anyone. We can only trust that he won't." Konata said. "I for one trust him." Konata crossed her arms. "Even if he did abuse his powers, I know he would make it right afterwards."

"..." Kagami was silent a moment. "I guess you're right. It just seems a bit unfair." Kagami said. They realized that the whole room was looking at them, having been left out of their heated discussion. Konata walked over and sat next to Kagami. Miki smiled as she started another conversation to take the attention off of the two girls. Who knew what the future held, if Tadao would accept his daughter, if they would be happy? These things worried her, but they would wait. For now, the family had come together to support her and her daughter. For now, there was peace. They all kept talking, though Konata and Kagami were content to talk little and simply enjoy the pleasant company of the other. And so the family continued talking. Talking of Tony and Tsukasa's recent relationship, which they talked about in length, talking about the recent news, and then to the morose topic of how the hell they were going to pay for the car. Luckily, having four drivers in the house, the family had bought another car to drive, so they weren't completely without transportation. They talked with each other until it was dark out, for they rarely could all gather together and simply talk without the distraction of the television, though it was true they were down two daughters. Eventually, they had to stop and sit down in chairs. Their mouths and jaws ached from overuse. All but Konata and Kagami's, that is. They didn't talk much. Tadao was sitting in a chair next to his wife while Inori was asleep in another. Konata and Kagami were still sitting next to each other and talking with each other every now and again about random topics. Miki was smiling to herself that her two youngest daughters, twins no less, had found love at the same time. Now, only time could tell if it was true. She deeply hoped it was.

"Kagami, you staying?" Konata asked after a time. Kagami didn't take long before she gave an answer.

"Yeah, of course. Mom and Tsukasa are both here, I wanna be here when Mom can leave, and when Tsukasa wakes up." Kagami said. Konata smiled.

"I figured as much. Mind if I stay too?" Konata asked. Kagami raised an eyebrow in surprise. Then again, Konata had been surprising her quite a bit lately...

"Really Kona? You wanna stay?" Kagami smiled with happiness. Konata smiled back.

"Yeah! I wanna be here for all that too." Konata said. "Besides, Kan-kan's an emotional wreck, I can't very well leave him here in good conscience, now could I?" Konata asked with a smile on her face.

"No, I guess you couldn't." Kagami smiled. Konata yawned, conditioned as she was to all nighters, the stress of the day must have gotten to her. She fell asleep in the chair. Kagami almost giggled at how cute Konata looked. Kagami looked around to see Miki and Tadao drifting off, Tadao in his chair, Miki in her bed. Kagami smiled to herself and looked at the couch that was set up in the room. She was about to go lay down on it and let sleep take her when suddenly, she felt a small thud on her side. She looked over to see Konata leaning her head against her shoulder, fast asleep and with a silly little grin. Kagami couldn't help but giggle, seeing no reason she shouldn't now that she was basically alone. She decided the chair wasn't THAT uncomfortable, and leaned against Konata.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony woke up and looked around. Not much seemed different other than the lighting outside and Miyuki was sitting on the other side of Tsukasa, holding her hand and stroking it.

"Miyuki." Tony smiled. Miyuki started and looked up at him.

"Good morning Kanpeki-san." She eyesmiled.

"To be honest, I was a bit surprised you weren't here yesterday." Tony smiled. Miyuki seemed shift a bit and blush.

"It's a little embarrassing, but when I went to see Masutā yesterday, I forgot my cell phone at home. I wasn't aware of the accident until Masutā called yesterday." Miyuki said.

"Oh, you were there?" Tony asked, a bit embarrassed.

"Don't worry, I wasn't near when you arrived." Miyuki smiled, knowing the source of his discomfort. "I was indisposed." She said. With that, she looked back to Tsukasa. "Now, where were we?" She asked the unconscious girl. "Ah, yes, the part about the monkeys." Miyuki giggled warmly. As she continued a story which made little sense to Tony, the boy sat in awe. When he had spoken with Tsukasa, he had been able to do little more than mumble and plead. Miyuki, however, seemed completely in control, painting a story to life in front of his eyes. He wanted to ask her where she got such a story as full of oddities and magic as this, but he hadn't the heart to stop her. From what he could tell, it seemed to incorporate every element that Tsukasa liked into it. There were princesses, magic, prince charmings, sword fights, cute and fluffy things galore, everything. He was sure it had something to do with vanity, but he could have sworn he was a character himself in the story. He sat there dumbfounded as Miyuki told her tale. After what Tony would have sworn was only five minutes, Miyuki reached the conclusion of her story and smiled at Tsukasa. Tony brought his eyes from the two to see Matsuri was awake, aware, and listening. He looked at the clock to see it had been well over an hour since he had started listening. Tony smiled and looked back to Miyuki.

"Miyuki, you have to tell me where you learned that story. It seems like the kind of thing that has everything Tsukasa would like!" Tony smiled. Miyuki smiled and blushed.

"I'm afraid I can't do that Kanpeki-san." She said. Tony, though knowing it wouldn't be cute when he did it, pouted.

"Come on Miyuki! Why not?" Tony asked. "It seems a tale I'd like to memorize! It was almost magical itself." Tony said. Miyuki blushed a bit deeper.

"I made it up." She said, looking to Tony. It was a moment before what she had said sank in.

"You-You made that up?" His mouth dropped. "How could you make such an enchanting story as that up on the spot?" He asked, awed at Miyuki's story telling skills. _She really IS super smart!_ He thought.

"Yes... It's a little embarrassing, but when I was a little girl, I would always read the stories that my mother would read to me, but never finish. Once those books were read, however, I had to imagine what I would think the characters would do after that. And then I would reread them to make sure I would have gotten it right, and I would continue this until I had the fairy tales almost memorized. Between how much I used my imagination, the amount of fairy tales I read, and how well I memorized them, it's a simple matter to take elements of each type of story and make it into a fairy tale." Miyuki smiled. "I know what Tsukasa likes, so I put them all together." Miyuki said simply. That gave Tony an idea.

"Um.. Just a little question here, I know it's a little vain to ask, but was I a character in the story?" Tony asked. Miyuki smiled and giggled.

"I said I know what Tsukasa likes, and that definitely includes you." She smiled. Tony blushed a bit. He looked down at Tsukasa and couldn't help but feel helpless.

_Man, she's in such better company with Miyuki! There's nothing I can really do to help here..._ He sighed. _But there is someone I can help. IDIOT! Why didn't I think of that before?_ He sighed. "Miyuki would you mind watching over Tsukasa for a few minutes?" Tony asked Miyuki. She smiled.

"Sure Kanpeki-san. Leave her to me." She said. Matsuri looked at Tony.

"And where are you going?" She asked.

"Matsuri, would you mind showing me to your mother's room? I'm an idiot, all this time I could have at least seen if I could heal your mother." Tony said.

"Oh~..." Matsuri nodded. "Yeah, sure! Let's go." She got up and walked to the door. Tony walked to it as well, but turned around.

"Miyuki, would you mind thinking on something for me?" Tony asked.

"Think of Recoome." Miyuki said. Tony nodded, though he was behind her and she wouldn't be able to see.

"Yes, that." He said. Miyuki nodded.

"Sure." She said simply. With that, Tony and Matsuri left. The second she heard the door click closed, Miyuki let the tears she had been holding back fall unabated. "Tsukasa..." She muttered, anguish in her voice as she held her friend's hand.

Tony and Matsuri walked down the hall.

"Well, it looks like you might have some competition for Tsukasa." Matsuri giggled. "That Miyuki seems like she's pretty interested." The girl teased. Tony smiled in spite of himself.

"To be honest, Miyuki said she looked on it more as a platonic, sister-sister relationship. She would make an excellent sister and mother though." Tony chuckled.

"Well, can't say I'm not a bit disappointed, but I'm glad that means you're not going anywhere." Matsuri smiled over at Tony.

"Thanks, but what did I do to deserve such praise? Just last night you slapped me." He said. Matsuri laughed.

"I wasn't really angry you left, I just wanted to see if you were gonna defend yourself when I said you didn't love her." Matsuri said. "Besides, you're coming to heal Mom. You don't get much nicer than that." She said.

"Either way, I'm glad to help however I can." Tony said as he ate more of the slightly more solid substance out of the bag. He looked into it to see he had enough for one more energy refill.

"What the hell is in that thing anyway?" Matsuri asked. Tony smiled.

"Dengen. The stuff will make you wish you had never had taste buds, but a couple bites will keep a man on his feet through hard labor for a full day easily. Doesn't heal wounds, unfortunately. Kinda sucks, we could give some to your mother and try to give some to Tsukasa." Tony said.

"Ah, 'cause it smells rancid." Matsuri commented.

"It tastes rancid. It's a set." Tony said.

"Can I try a taste? I'm a little sluggish." Matsuri requested, wanting to see what this substance tasted like. Tony raised an eyebrow, but took out about half as much as the bit he had at first and gave it to her. "That's a small piece..." She commented as she popped it into her mouth. She instantly gagged. "What the hell is in that crap? It tastes like I just drank from a septic tank!" She shouted.

"An assortment of berries, honey-" Tony started.

"There's no way there's honey in there." Matsuri wanted to pat her tongue to try and get the offending taste from her mouth.

"Let me finish. Berries, honey, lard, powdered beef liver, and..." He stopped for a moment. Matsuri looked over. "I'm not sure you want to hear the last ingredient."

"What? What the hell did I just put in my mouth?" She asked.

"Lamb's heart." Tony heard Matsuri gag again.

"I ATE A LAMB'S HEART?" She yelled.

"Please, don't yell, you're gonna get us in trouble..." Tony looked around for hospital staff. Luckily, the hall seemed vacant enough. Matsuri suddenly hummed.

"Wow. I feel completely rejuvenated!" She looked at her hands as if she were about to use an energy blast. She hopped a few times. "Past the taste, that stuff is amazing! But..." She looked confusedly at Tony.

"Yes?" He asked as they got to the room. They stopped outside so as to finish their conversation.

"How on Earth did you think of THAT combination of ingredients?" Matsuri asked. Tony smiled.

"I didn't, my brother's best friend taught it to him while they were in the forces together." He explained.

"Forces?" Matsuri asked.

"Later." He raised a hand to dismiss the subject.

_A little rude..._ Matsuri huffed in her head as she opened the door. Tadao was the only one awake and was stroking his wife's hair lovingly. That this man could be capable of evil seemed completely ridiculous in this light. He looked up and smiled at Matsuri and Tony.

"Come in, sit down." He gestured to a couple of empty chairs. Tony walked up, but didn't sit.

"Tadao, I hate to ask this, but would you mind waking your wife?" Tony asked. Tadao raised an eyebrow.

"Why?" He asked. Tony smiled.

"Healing is EXTREMELY uncomfortable, even with the smallest wound. If she wakes up to such a sensation, she's going to panic. I only ask you to wake her before I start so that you can comfort her through it." Tony said. Seeing the worried look on Tadao's face, he decided to add. "It isn't painful, just uncomfortable." Tony said. Tadao looked at his sleeping wife's face and nodded.

"Yeah, alright." He agreed. He lightly shook her. "Honey? Honey?" Matsuri almost cringed a bit at the reminder. Miki stirred.

"Hm?" She woke and looked about. "Oh, hello mister Kan-chan." She giggled to herself. "You've made my daughter very happy I hope you know." She smiled warmly to Tony, who blushed and smiled back.

"I'm glad to hear that. Would you like to go see her?" Tony asked. Miki raised an eyebrow.

"How's that?" She asked.

"Magic, remember?" Tony smirked. Kagami stirred awake.

"What's goi..." She mumbled sleepily. Tony looked over at her and smiled at seeing she had been resting on Konata, who had been resting on her. She saw everyone around. "Hey, who's watching Tsukasa?" Kagami asked.

"Miyuki." Tony said. "Would you like me to heal you?" He turned back to Miki.

"I would love that, thank you." Miki smiled.

"Don't thank me yet." Tony scratched the back of his head as Tadao grabbed his wife's hand with one hand and started stroking her hair. She gulped. "This isn't gonna be comfortable..." He walked over. He put his hand on her arm and took a deep breath to ready himself. "Heal painlessly." He muttered as his energy started to drain into the woman. He shuddered as a chill ran down his spine. Soon as the sensation ended, Tony stepped back and collapsed into a chair.

Miki, meanwhile, squirmed, wriggled, and groaned as the bones shifted to repair themselves, capillaries mended, tissue cleaned itself of blood, and her body otherwise rebuilt itself. The word uncomfortable would be to this as moderately painful would be to being impaled. There wasn't quite a word to explain the sensation of things traveling beneath your skin. The feeling sustained itself for another moment, and vanished. Miki shuddered. "You were right. That wasn't comfortable at all." She chuckled humorlessly. She moved her neck, then her arms, then her legs. All moved without resistance, other than the ones that were in casts. Tony was in the chair, doing his best to eat from the bag. His hands were trembling under the usually negligible weight of the gummy "food".

_That took way too much energy..._ He panted. _I need to find a way to get my energy back quickly._ He determined. He sighed, dismissed the notion for the time being. _Tsukasa. I have to focus on how to get her back._ He thought as he ate the last of the energy food from his bag. _Recoome._ He thought to himself. Meanwhile, he siphoned a little bit of the energy from the air to refill what the dengen had not. Konata stirred as a nip entered the air. She leaned back up and yawned, stretching. Tony smiled to her as she blinked the sleep from her eyes.

"Hey Kan-kan, think of anything?" Konata asked. Tony shook his head.

"Not yet. Maybe I can write it out, hopefully something will come to me." Tony grabbed a napkin. "Anyone have a pencil?" He asked. Konata reached into her pocket and brought out a pencil with the end broken off of it so that the point was all that was left in it. She handed it to Tony. "Thanks." He brought his chair to a table and began writing on the napkin. Dr. Zimmerman came in.

"Okay Mrs. Hiiragi, let's see how you'r-..." He froze on seeing her move around easily. He looked over to see Tony scribbling away. He sighed. "Hello Mr. Otokonoko. Nice to see you again." He said. Tony looked up at the doctor.

"Hello Dr. Zimmerman. Nice day." Tony smiled.

"Is Mrs. Hiiragi healed?" Dr. Zimmerman asked. Tony nodded.

"Yep." He turned back to the napkin he was writing on.

"Alright, let me remove your cast then." The doctor walked over and began removing her cast. Tony scowled as he made a mistake in one of his theories. He went to erase it and realized why he couldn't.

_Damn, no eraser! There's-... Eraser..._ Tony thought. He smiled as euphoria washed over him. He smiled widely. _Got it._

* * *

**Luckier Star**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya Luckies! I'm Akira Kogami, your navigator!"

"And I'm Minoru Shiraishi, the assistant!"

"Minoru, did you see? I think Kan-chan has an idea!"

"I saw, what do you think it is?" Minoru asked.

"I have absolutely no idea!" Akira said. "Anything new?"

"Well..."

*Music Tone*

"Aw, looks like that's all the time we have for today! I'll see ya all next chapter! Bye nii~!"

"..."

"So what were you gonna say?"

"About what happened last night... at the festival?"

"Oh. That. Well..."

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

Is it sacrilegious to have a god from the Shinto religion quote the bible? Anyway, I'm on a freaking roll lately. I had the first seven and a half thousand words of this chapter typed the day after I released last chapter. And the next fifteen hundred the day after that! *Smile* I have two new readers! Herbcurb7 and Riverdan4! Herb, I hope you end up reading this, that means you liked the story enough to read up to this point and I hope you will continue to read! Riverdan, I loved your review, if I may ask one more favor, let me know if you have any more nitpicks! And a huge thank you to Flygon Master! I already have the next, maybe three thousand words written down and I'm still going on. So hopefully the next one shouldn't take long! Of course, that's barring any unforeseen circumstances. That would suck if the next chapter were delayed for, oh say, several months. Wouldn't it? What could do this you ask? *Shrug* Anyway, nothing's probably going to happen! I'll see ya all next chapter! Glad to have my new readers! Bye!


	34. Chapter 34: Mind Palaces and Cake Buffet

Chapter 34: Mind Palaces and Cake Buffets

BAHAHA! Sqweebs, did ya ever figure it out? If not, don't read this! You're close! I think... Holyriot, I would, but I gave her and Shiraishi the day off! Paid of course. I have no idea how I take up so much text though... Edge, who's to say he didn't notice? Oh, you said it. Mmkay... DevonS... You reviewed! I remember you added the story to your story alert list back in... March of last year, right? Something like that. Thank you very much! Hope I can get this chapter out before my one year anniversary! Herb, I do my best to reply to all my reviews! Ulti, glad to see you're liking the story. At the current amount of reviews I have, I'll need 773 more reviews. And I could cut the chapters in half. By the general standard, I could cut them in thirds and still have a decent length of chapters. But I'm not sure I will. Long chapters have kinda been my thing for a while, so I think I'll stick with 'em. Anyway, on with the show!

* * *

**Miki's Hospital Room**

_Eraser. Eraser has to do something..._ He thought to himself obsessively. _What though? What?_ He shouted to himself. Everyone was talking excitedly about Miki's recovery, he couldn't concentrate. "Everyone, be quiet, please!" He shouted.

"Kan-kan?" Konata asked.

"I need to go to my Mind Palace." He said. Everyone exchanged confused looks except for Kagami. She motioned for all to gather near her at the end of the room opposite Tony.

"I've read about this, but I didn't know Tony had taught himself how to use a memory palace. A mind palace is a method of loci that allows someone to mentally "store" information. By using this technique, one can theoretically remember everything that's ever happened to them. In basic terms, it is a method of memory enhancement which uses visualization to organize and recall information." Kagami explained in a whisper as they saw Tony with his eyes closed. Occasionally, he would raise a hand as if to bat away a fly.

"I heard about that before. Usually it's called something like a memory walk, or a memory room. That's usually enough to store everything. But he said palace!" Konata whispered loudly.

"He did say palace." She nodded as he batted away something again.

_Eraser. Joseph Priestley. Rubber. Vegetable gum. Vegetable oil._ He interrupted the train and batted the thoughts away._ Eraser. Pencil. Pen._ Tony swung his arm to dismiss the thoughts. _Eraser.__ Blackboard. Chalkboard. Board. Two by four. Four by Four. Floor. Wooden floor. Stone floor. Tournament arena. Recoome._ Tony swung the ideas away. He decided to think only of his clues._ Recoome, eraser, mouth, energ-... _He paused. He opened his eyes after ten minutes of searching through his mind palace. _That's it!_ Tony shouted in his head. He looked over to see Miki's cast was off. "Come on everyone!" Tony shouted as he headed for the door quickly.

"Why?" Konata asked.

"I know how to get Tsukasa back!" Tony smiled broadly and he was out the door.

"How?" Kagami shouted as Miki got out of the bed and wobbled a bit, having not left the bed in a day.

"Eraser!" Tony shouted, halfway down the hall already. Everyone in the room exchanged a confused look and shrugged. Konata ran ahead and caught up with Tony.

"What do you mean eraser?" She asked.

"Don't you see it Kon-kon? Recoome, Eraser, energy, mouth, it's a puzzle! Damn that god is clever!" Tony said quickly. Konata was still confused as the rest of the group started to catch up.

"No, I don't see!" Konata said. "Slow down, you're talkin' a mile a second!" Tony sighed.

"Konata, think! In just about every anime you've ever seen, where do people fire energy from?" Tony asked, barely slowing his pace.

"Normally their hands." Konata said.

"Correct! It provides the best accuracy and more versatility with your energy! But you lose power when you have to concentrate on manifesting it outside your body!" Tony smiled.

"What's that mean? What are you gonna do?" Kagami asked.

"Do you trust me?" Tony turned his head to her, not slowing still. Kagami thought a moment.

"With my life." She decided. Konata smiled at hearing that, as did Tony.

"Not with your life. With Tsukasa's." Tony said. Kagami was silenced another moment.

_'Course I do. He loves her, there's no doubt._ Kagami opened her mouth, but the next phrase was not spoken by her.

"Yes." Miki said. Tony's smile widened.

"Glad to hear. Record this." Tony handed his phone off to who ever grabbed it, which was Kagami.

"Why?" She asked.

"Tsukasa's gonna flip her lid when she sees this." Tony smiled wider still as they got to the room. Kagami smiled wider at this, Tony had just basically guaranteed Tsukasa would be okay. Here, he paused at the door. "You guys ready to see some real Disney shit?" Tony turned and smirked to the crowd. They jumped a bit at the sudden use of profanity, but now they were intrigued. They entered the room. Miyuki looked up at them with puffed cheeks.

"Kanpeki-san, I didn't expect you back so soon..." She said.

"Miyuki, were you up all night?" Tony asked. Miyuki blushed a bit.

"Well... I wanted to be awake in case she woke up." She looked back at Tsukasa. Tony smiled.

"It's alright Miyuki, there's no need to cry anymore. Tsukasa's going to be alright." Tony smiled and looked into her eyes. She knew he was certain. "Kagami, you recording?" Tony turned, clicking the button for the doctor.

"And~... Go!" Kagami clicked the button. Tony took a deep breath, filling his lungs to the brink with air. He removed Tsukasa's oxygen mask and kissed her open mouthed. He breathed into her, not only air, but pure energy as well.

_Energy passed through the mouth directly takes much less energy since I don't have to concentrate on maintaining the energy outside my body. Plus, since it's going into her mouth, there's not as much energy deflected by the skin._ Tony recalled his earlier realization. As he kissed her, he chanted a spell of healing in his head. He sang his spell to include every injury Tsukasa had as he started to feel his energy decrease. He was immensely satisfied that he didn't lose near the amount of energy at one time that he had when he had healed Miki. Even then, however, his energy started to run out. Tony began weaving the spell through the energy from the air around him. The spell fed off of the energy, slowing the air down and chilling the room to almost sub-zero temperatures. Seeing that this spell was taking still more, he released his grip on the environment's energy and returned the strain to his own energy. It wasn't long before that ran out entirely. His vision flickered as the spell weakened, having taken all of his energy over the course of fifteen seconds.

_Damn it... damn it..._ He cursed in his head. He grabbed the side of the bed to steady himself. A sudden moment of clarity gave him vision for a split second. He saw Tsukasa, battered and unconscious. _No... NO! There's no turning back! No failing! If I don't do this now, Tsukasa will die!_ He shouted truthfully in his head. The thought woke him back up and he continued the spell out of sheer willpower alone. Tremors wracked his body almost enough to break contact with his love, but he held on for a full minute. Finally, his will broke from the massive exertion the spell had taken. He felt his grip on reality slip as he slumped on the floor. _No... I..._ He fell unconscious. Konata supported his weight until she sat him in a chair as the room turned their attention on Tsukasa. Her eyes opened extremely slowly, as one would expect from one who had been unresponsive for a full day. She turned her head to look at her family.

"O..Onee-chan? My head hurts..." She mumbled. Kagami blinked a few times, tears in her eyes as well as everyone else's.

"M-Morning Sleeping Beauty..." She wiped away her tears as she stopped recording and joined her family in a massive group hug that about crushed the airhead. They stayed that way for who knows how long before they finally broke, all having tears freely flowing down their cheeks.

"Onee-chan, why is everyone so sad?" Tsukasa asked. Kagami wiped her tears away again, though knowing the effort was futile.

"Yo-you had an accident, Tsukasa. You slipped into a coma and went to sleep for a while." Kagami smiled to her sister. Zimmerman pushed his way through the family and took out a flashlight immediately.

"When he said he was coming to wake you, I should have just come along, not waited behind to be paged like some hologram at people's beck and call." The doctor sounded annoyed as he flashed the flashlight in both of Tsukasa's eyes. "Normal. Tell me, what's the last thing you remember?" He asked. Tsukasa thought a moment. She suddenly got a worried look.

"My necklace! Where is it? I can't lose it!" Tsukasa started moving in a panicked way with weak movements since she hadn't any energy.

"My guess is it's still in the car." Miki scratched her head.

"No! Kan-kun will hate me if I lose that necklace!" Tsukasa teared up. Zimmerman turned to Miki while Kagami went to contradict Tsukasa's thoughts.

"How long ago was this?" He asked.

"It happened right before the accident." Miki said. Zimmerman looked at Tsukasa with a bewildered look.

"This is remarkable! No memory loss? Why, she'd have to have been kissed by a god to make it out of that without any permanent damage!" Zimmerman said. Konata started giggling, causing the doctor to turn to her. "What's so funny? What did he do?" He asked.

"He kissed her." Konata giggled. Zimmerman seemed completely speechless.

"Where's Kan-kun?" Tsukasa asked. Instead of a verbal response, everyone blocking Tony from view moved to the side so she could see him. She looked at him and smiled. "There he is..." She smiled and seemed noticeably more relaxed. "Is he okay?" She asked, tensing up a bit again as she realized he was knocked out.

"Yeah, he'll be fine. He's just tired is all." Kagami said reassuringly. Tsukasa relaxed again. She seemed tired as well.

"I had a dream Onee-chan." Tsukasa mumbled, reaching into her pocket to feel something.

"What was it?" Kagami asked softly, matching the tone of her twin. No response came though as Tsukasa fell into a peaceful sleep. Zimmerman came over and inspected her.

"It's just regular sleep." He diagnosed. "She'll need a few days, but she'll be okay now. Call the nurse when she wakes up, she'll be very hungry." He sighed. "Well then. I suppose I'll never really be needed for your family again, Mr. Otokonoko needs only to kiss you and you're healed apparently." Zimmerman rolled his eyes as he walked to the door. He turned to the sleeping boy. "You're a strange boy." He mumbled before leaving. Those remaining all simply stood there for a moment, happy to have everyone back in such short time. Tension seemed to flow out of their limbs in such a way that, had they not woken up just moments ago, they could have fallen asleep themselves. They all went to sit to wait for the two to awaken again. Meanwhile, they talked again. They subconsciously separated into two groups, of those in college and those not, one group talking politics and the other talking stenches. Oddly, most of their conversations seemed to overlap with term usage. It was a short while before the college girls got off the subject of stinks and on to a small silence.

"Hey guys, you know we have to do something big for Tsukasa." Kagami smiled. "She needs something, you know?"

"I agree, I think we should take her to the movies maybe, or out to dinner." Miyuki suggested. Konata smiled and giggled.

"I have an idea~." She looked at the two girls through half-lidded eyes.

"What's that?" Kagami asked.

"A headache with pictures, but that's not important. What I was thinking was maybe we all chip in and give Kan-kan and Tsukasa an amazing first date!" Konata smiled. Kagami and Miyuki smiled.

"Yeah! Konata, that was a fantastic idea!" Kagami exclaimed. "But..." She sighed. "I don't have much money..." She sighed. Miyuki shared her melancholy.

"Nor do I..." She said sadly. Konata hummed.

"Well, thing is..." She scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "I don't either." She hung her head.

"10,000 yen." Tadao said.

"2,000." Inori said.

"3,000." Matsuri flashed a triumphant grin to her older sister.

"5,000." Miki leaned forward from her place at the end of the couch.

"Huh?" Konata asked.

"Sorry we eavesdropped." Matsuri smiled.

"That was a good idea, we like it." Inori smiled.

"So we're all pitching in to get them a great first date!" Miki said.

"I hope it's enough." Tadao said. The three of the girls felt their hearts warm.

"20,000 is easily enough... Thank you so much guys." Konata smiled.

"It's our pleasure, one of the Hiira-kids finally found someone to love!" Inori smiled. Kagami bit the inside of her lip, nervous about the fact that she had found such a one as well, but rather a different one as well.

"It is gonna be a little awkward if they get married though..." Konata said. Everyone looked to her.

"Why's that Kona?" Kagami asked.

"Well, Kan-kan's last name is Otokonoko. She'd be Tsukasa Otokonoko." Konata pointed out. The rest of the room understood very clearly what she meant then.

"Yeah, I guess I can understand that." Kagami giggled. "Good catch Kona." Zimmerman walked back in.

"Okay, I'd like for her to stay for another day to see if she's truly better. You understand, it's extremely unusual for a patient with the damage she sustained to wake after one day." He said.

"That's understandable." Miki said. She looked to her daughter. As if by some unspoken cue, Tsukasa stirred awake.

"Hi guys." She sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Good morning Tsukasa." Kagami smiled.

"What's going on? How long was I asleep?" She asked.

"Not long, a couple ho- A couple hours! Whoa!" Kagami did a double take when she saw they had been talking for so long.

"Mm... Is Kan-kun awake?" Tsukasa asked. She looked over and saw that he wasn't. She laid back. "Oh..." She sighed. Konata suddenly got an idea. She got up and jumped over to Tsukasa.

"Tsukasa, wanna play a prank on Kan-kan?" She asked. Tsukasa sunk into the bed a bit as Konata threw herself at the younger twin.

"Wh-what?" She asked. Konata put her head near Tsukasa's and started whispering. "Kona-chan, that's horrible!" She said. Konata thought a moment.

"Come on~, you have to! We'll hopefully never get this chance again!" She insisted. Tsukasa paused a moment and sighed.

"Okay Kona-chan. I'll do it." She said.

"Hey, wait a minute, what are you planning Kona?" Kagami asked. Konata turned with a catgrin and began explaining her plan. "Wow. That's _evil_!" She said in disbelief of Konata's sheer cruelty.

"You all in?" Konata asked. After a minute of conferring, they all agreed a bit hesitantly. Now that the activity was waiting, the lot of them save Konata walked to get something to read.

* * *

**Not long later**

Tony opened his eyes slowly. He felt absolutely drained. He looked around to see Tsukasa. He sighed in a bit of relief that she still have her oxygen mask off.

_Even if I didn't completely heal her, at least I got her a little bit better._ Tony sighed. He struggled to get up and eventually got to his feet. Konata suddenly appeared at his side, supporting his weight.

"Hey Kan-kan, what's up?" She asked.

"Not much, no energy, is Tsukasa awake yet?" Tony asked.

"No, but she should be coming to any minute now." Konata said. Tsukasa hummed a little bit. She opened her eyes.

"TSUKASA!" Tony found new strength and hugged Tsukasa with all his might. Luckily, that wasn't much. Tsukasa looked a bit afraid.

"Who...who are you?" She asked Tony. Tony stopped cold.

"What?" Tony asked, looking Tsukasa in the eyes.

"Mom, who is he?" Tsukasa looked panicked. Tony dropped Tsukasa back onto her bed and stepped back a few times before falling onto his rear.

"No... No you can't... Tsu-..." He could barely speak. What could he say? Konata seemed uneasy.

"Um... Tony..." She mumbled. Tony looked up at her, desperate for some form of comfort or confirmation that this was a nightmare. "Prank?" She said uncertainly. Tony blinked a few times.

"Wh-what?" He asked.

"It was a prank." She said. Tony stared at her in disbelief.

"What?" He asked again.

"Kan-kun~." Tsukasa chimed. Tony looked from her to Konata. The Otaku was relieved that Tsukasa had interjected. However, Tony's expression didn't change to joy. It turned to anger.

"That wasn't funny." He growled.

"Sorry Tony, I didn't think it woul-"

"Quiet! You don't fuckin' joke about that, okay?" Tony shouted. "If I weren't flat on my back, you'd be flat on yours." He growled again. Konata felt a pang of fear run through her.

"Kan-kun!" Tsukasa sprang up to try and reason with Tony, but felt a wave of dizziness that forced her to lay back in the bed. Tony sighed. He pushed himself back onto his feet.

"I'm getting you back Konata. Mark my words, I'm getting you back good." He warned. "So you do remember me?" He asked Tsukasa.

"Of course I do Kan-kun." Tsukasa smiled. She sat up more slowly this time.

"I'm so glad..." He sighed.

"Not to break up this reunion mister charming, but how much money do you have?" Matsuri asked.

"Why?" Tony asked.

"There's another tournament tomorrow!" She said.

"Oh? Where?" Tony asked.

"A town called Lohan." Matsuri read.

"That's a little ways away." Tony said.

"Yeah, and you can use weapons!" She said excitedly. Tony looked to Tsukasa.

"I'm think I might pass. I wanna stay with Tsukasa." Tony smiled. Tsukasa smiled as well and motioned him closer. He walked closer. "Hm?"

"Closer." She said. Tony came closer until Tsukasa kissed him. Another wave of joy went through him. Once she broke the kiss, he noticed she had put two fingers on his forehead. "Thanks Kan-kun, but you love to fight. I know you do. So you can stay with me another time." She smiled. Tony smiled too.

"But Tsukasa-"

"It's alright Kan-kun, just go win!" Tsukasa cheered.

"Are you-" Tony tried to protest once more.

"Kan-kun, I'm not talking to you until you agree to go!" Tsukasa said as fiercely as she could, though that wasn't much given her present condition. Tony sighed and smiled.

"Thanks. I think I might go see if I can't dominate." He smiled.

"I'm glad." Tsukasa smiled.

"I might need a bit of luck though." Tony smiled. Tsukasa pecked him on the lips again. "NOW I can win!" He straightened up.

_So, it wasn't Itsuwari who she was gonna be Sickingly Sweethearts with..._ Kagami giggled in her head.

"So, how am I going to get there..." Tony wondered.

"Could you apparate?" Konata asked.

"That wouldn't be a good idea, getting from my house to here woulda knocked me out if I hadn't had my dengen. That's towns apart." Tony said.

"I'll drive you." Miki said.

"Normally I'd refuse, but I really have no other choice if I'm to get there before the tournament starts. Thank you very much." Tony bowed. He looked around. "How much is the prize money?" Tony asked.

"Hmmm..." Matsuri showed Tony. Tony smiled.

_That's a nice amount. It should be enough to replace the Hiiragi car._ He smiled. "Awesome. So how long does it take to get to Lohan?" Tony asked.

"Probably a couple hours. When does it start tomorrow?" Miki asked Matsuri.

"It starts... wow, really early. Nine in the morning!" She read.

"Why so early?" Tony asked.

"It's an all day thing, but the entire tournament takes place in one day." Matsuri said.

"Ah, that's cool." Tony smiled. "I've gotta get my sword... Some more dengen... My, that stuff is terribly convenient." Tony commented. His stomach rumbled, not in hunger, but in protest to very idea of accepting any more of the horrendous concoction. He realized that he wouldn't be able to stomach any more of the noxious mixture. _Damn..._ He felt another rumble in his stomach as it almost forced the substance back up his throat. _I haven't got near the stomach for this stuff I use to have._ He sighed in his head. _Man, Tsukasa and her amazing food._ He chuckled in his head. _Well, I'll just have to get energy back the old fashion way. Rest and food._ He thought. That reminded him. "Tsukasa, are you hungry? I would think you would be after not eating for so long." Tony said. Tsukasa blinked a time or two, as if remembering something, then put her hand to her stomach and grimacing.

"I'm starving!" She whined. Kagami walked over and clicked the button.

"Hello? My sister is awake, could you bring in some food please?" Kagami asked politely.

"It's on it's way." The nurse said. Kagami smiled.

"So Tsukasa, what was your dream about?" Kagami asked.

"Which one?" Tsukasa replied. "I had lots!"

"The one you were talking about before you went back to sleep." Kagami said. Tsukasa smiled and nodded. She reached into her pocket and fished out the object from before. Everyone beheld as she pulled out a solid white marble.

"When did you get that Tsukasa?" Miki asked. Tsukasa shrugged.

"I dunno." She said. "My dream was this..."

* * *

**The Theater of Tsukasa's Mind**

Tsukasa was standing in front of a fireplace, facing it. She felt an odd chill in her bones as she tried to warm herself. Suddenly she heard an odd laugh from behind her. It was definitely female. She turned around and looked to see a tall attractive woman with long auburn hair and red eyes.

"Oh you poor child, what HAVE you gotten yourself into?" The woman asked.

"What do you mean? Who are you?" Tsukasa asked. The woman laughed again.

"Known to you, I am Amaterasu." Amaterasu bowed. "Honestly, I do not know why Hachiman is so interested in you mortals." She raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, um..." Tsukasa shrank a little bit.

"Not even going to defend yourself?" Amaterasu asked.

"I'm sorry! It's just... Well... You're a goddess, you know? You control the sun!" Tsukasa said.

"Ah. Understandable." Amaterasu said. "In any case, he feels he handled something completely wrong recently." Amaterasu sighed. It was a moment before Tsukasa realized she was talking about Hachiman. "He wanted my opinion on how to proceed, so here I am. He gifted your, oh, what is he now? Your boyfriend?" She asked.

"Kan-kun?" Tsukasa asked. Amaterasu nodded.

"Yes, him. He gifted your friend with several things, a few of which I'm not entirely sure he should have. What is done is done though." The goddess sighed. "In any case, I would not want to be outdone, right?" She asked, though her tone suggested jest. "So, two things. No, you are not going to get what he got, first of all." She said. "First is a particular item. This." She held out her hand to reveal what looked like a white marble. "This may or may not help in times to come. Only time will tell." Amaterasu said. Tsukasa took the gift with great reverence.

"It's so pretty... Thank you so much..." She said.

"Oh, please. It is not that much." Amaterasu sighed with fervent impatience. "Apologies. After several eons, the whole "worship" things gets a little old."

"Oh, I'm sorry..." Tsukasa mumbled, shrinking as if in front of an inferno.

"And stop that too! Apologizing for every little thing is almost as irritating as the worship itself!" Amaterasu sighed again. Tsukasa was about to apologize again, but she caught herself. She had no wish to irritate a goddess. "The next gift is for when your h-...boyfriend... Is in trouble. I am going to teach you an ancient song." Amaterasu said.

"Wait. What were you about to say?" Tsukasa asked.

"Nothing! Do not ask again!" Amaterasu warned quickly, a fire in her voice. "This song is a particularly powerful one. It will do nothing for a time, but when you feel the need is great, sing this song and it should take effect." Amaterasu said. Tsukasa blinked.

"Okay..." She said. The goddess clapped her hands together in delight that the ordeal was almost over.

"Great! Then let us begin!" She shouted. For the next few hours, the two went over all the eccentricities and specific parts of the song. It took several times and a few pauses for Amaterasu to cool down before Tsukasa would memorize a bit. It went on for a long time, until suddenly, Tsukasa started feeling a little light-headed and her lips started to tingle. Amaterasu looked a little angry, and a little panicked. "Already? My, he is persistent. Here." She walked over and put a hand to Tsukasa's temple. Memories that weren't her own started to flood into Tsukasa's mind, the memories of a song. Tsukasa could feel the lyrics burn into her memory. "Now. I suppose this is goodbye. I do wonder if we shall see each other again." Amaterasu said.

"You don't know?" Tsukasa asked as the room she was in grew hazy.

"Well of course **I** do, but you hardly do." Amaterasu laughed. Suddenly, the tingling in Tsukasa's lips faded as she regained consciousness.

"And that's what happened in my last dream. The others were really funny." Tsukasa giggled.

"I'll hear about them later, you were visited by a goddess?" Kagami almost shouted. The others in the room gasped in surprise as well.

"Wait, what? Go over that again!" Tadao shouted.

"She was visited by Amaterasu." Miki said. She looked at the stone in Tsukasa's hand. "And there's the proof."

"Well Tsu-chan, it just seems we're blessed!" Tony grinned widely. "Hachiman blessed me and now Amaterasu has blessed you." He almost laughed. This seemed insane. What made him so special? Tsukasa no doubt deserved everything and anything positive the divine might give her, but what had HE done? _I must have done something good. Somewhere in my youth or childhood, I __**must **__have done something good._ Tony sighed with a smile.

"Kan-kun, what's wrong? You have a glazed look in your eye." Tsukasa smiled, taking Tony from his daze. Tony shook his head to clear it and looked at Tsukasa.

"Nothing Tsukasa. Don't worry about it." He smiled, allowing as much affection as possible to slip into his voice and expression. "The tournament isn't until tomorrow and the day is still young. If you're up to it, I'd like to stick around and spend some time with you." Tony asked.

"Of course, I'd love that! How much time do you wanna spend here?" Tsukasa asked, a cute, teasing smile on her face.

"As much time as you will allow me to spend. I realize how valuable your time is." Tony smiled back. Tsukasa giggled.

"Only if it's spent with you." She said. Tony opened his mouth to come back with a romantic quip, but his throat failed him. A blush came across his face and he found himself unable to speak for a moment. In fact, all he could find himself doing was smiling like an idiot.

"Wow Tsukasa, you managed to do the impossible! You shut up Tony!" Kagami laughed. Tony blushed even more as the room started laughing with her.

"Even I've never been able to heck that!" Konata laughed.

"Oh hush!" Tony crossed his arms. He thought for a moment. "You'll understand someday, when you get someone." He smirked at the group, quieting the entire lot. Miki smiled and nodded.

"He's right." She came to his defense. "I remember when me and Ta-kun were dating, sometimes we would just sit and enjoy each other's company for hours at a time." Miki reminisced. "We never had to say anything."

"That sounds nice." Tony smiled. "And you're right. Just being around Tsukasa is really enough for me." He looked back down at Tsukasa.

"And look at where WE ended up." Miki said slightly louder to pull attention to her and her husband. Tony and Tsukasa both blushed deeply.

_I hope we do get that far._ Tony smiled. _Some day, I'd like to tell the story of how me and Tsukasa got together. Of course, I'd have to include Konata and Kagami's tale along with it. And if I do get to tell it, I hope the listener will stay till the end of my story, cause it's gonna be one hell of a long and wild tale._ Tony chuckled in his head. He saw Tsukasa look back up at him and smile sweetly. _No. My story is at an end. This..._ Tony grabbed Tsukasa's hand and intertwined their fingers. _This is our story now._ He thought, never breaking eye contact.

"Well, we best leave the love birds alone~." Konata chimed with a giggle.

"Yeah, just don't take advantage of her already being in bed Kan-chan~!" Matsuri chimed.

"Tsukasa, just call if you need anything." Miki smiled. Normally, none of the Hiiragis would leave Tsukasa so early after she had awaken from something as big as a coma, but they knew that she would also want to have some time alone to maybe talk with Tony. Yeah. Talk...

"Okay Mom, thanks!" Tsukasa turned from Tony finally and smiled to her mother. The last three to leave were Konata, Kagami, and Miyuki. All three walked up to Tony.

"Tony, I know I don't have to tell you this, but treat her right. Or..." Kagami whispered, pointing to the area his abdomen was in, then to his neck. He gulped.

"Message received." He mumbled.

"Kanpeki-san, make sure Tsukasa is happy. If Kagami-san gets your intestines first, you don't **want** to know what I'll pull off." Miyuki said with an eyesmile, but a certain psychotic tone of voice. Konata looked at them both and walked up to Tony.

"I dunno what they said to ya, but..." Konata started. She gave a glance to Tsukasa, who was trying to listen in on what the other girls had been saying, though without success. Konata gave a thumbs up to Tony. "Good job." She winked at him. And with that, the three left the room, leaving Tsukasa and Tony to enjoy each other's company. Suddenly, the nurse came in with a large plate of food.

_Pay back._ Tony smirked. Tsukasa's stomach growled loudly as she eyed the food.

"Thank you so much..." She reached out to take the food, but it disappeared. She panicked for a moment as she looked around for it. The nurse was giggling for some reason...

"Say ah~." Tony smiled as he poked Tsukasa in cheek with chopsticks. She looked over at him and blushed.

"Kan-kun, I can feed myself..." She mumbled. Tony's smile widened.

"I know you can. Say ah~." He chuckled in his head. She opened her mouth. "Uh-uh." Tony shook his head. "Say ah~." Tony insisted. Tsukasa, despite the hunger, giggled.

"Ah~." She smiled and opened her mouth. Tony happily proceeded to feed her.

* * *

**POV Konata**

The group walked out to see Misao walking down the hall with a bouquet of bellflowers in her hand. Konata smiled to see her new friend, but remembered the plan as soon as she saw Misao scowl.

"Chibi." Misao said curtly.

"Ferret Face." Konata said just a brusquely. She saw Misao shift and almost lose the act. Konata herself was suppressing giggles. Kagami looked between the two.

"Hey, Misao did you come to visit Tsukasa again?" Kagami asked, hoping to disperse the imaginary tension. Misao turned to Kagami and smiled.

"Yep! I even got her these, I hope they last until she wakes up!" Misao looked down at the flowers she had bought.

"That's really nice!" Kagami smiled brightly. "She's awake though." She smiled as Misao lit up considerably.

"Imoto's awake?" Misao's eyes sparkled.

"Yeah!" Kagami smiled. Misao dashed past them to the door, but paused.

"Oh yeah, you know who I saw at the flower shop?" She asked.

"Who?" Kagami asked.

"Iwasaki! I think she was buying gentians for Kobayakawa!" Misao said. Konata grinned with Kagami.

"That's cool, thanks! I've actually been meaning to watch them more carefully." Kagami smiled.

"I'mma go see Imoto now!" Misao opened the door and dashed in. It was a moment of walking before anyone thought about what Misao might have just interrupted, but no use crying over it now, right? So, they all started pursuing their own conversations.

"Kona, you should try and make friends with Misao! I think you two would have a lot in common. That right there MUST have demonstrated how much Misao differs from her brother!" Kagami protested her Otaku's nonexistent hatred for the brunette. Konata made a gagging noise.

"No way am I gonna be friends with Hop-Along Ferret Face." She crossed her arms. Kagami sighed.

"Geez, you're so stubborn sometimes. And Ferret Face, what is that, what even IS that? How on earth did you come up with THAT?" Kagami asked. Konata shrugged.

"Iunno, she just gives off this sort of "ferret" vibe." Konata said. Kagami sighed.

"Let's just get off the subject." She said, annoyed.

"As you wish Kagamin." Konata chimed as they got out of the hospital. They looked at the Hiiragi car.

"We're not all gonna fit in there..." Matsuri deadpanned.

"No problem, Kona, wanna go hang out somewhere?" Kagami asked her love.

"You know it!" Konata cheered.

"Alright, that's two people down." Kagami smiled to her family.

"Come home tonight though, you've spent a few days over there and we never get to see you anymore." Tadao said.

"Aw... Okay Dad." Kagami sighed. Konata raised her eyebrow a fraction of an inch.

_Aw? She wanted to spend another night? What's going on with her? I'm not complaining, but I am a bit worried..._ Konata started to feel genuinely worried for her love. After all, when was the last time they had spent so much time alone, and yet Kagami still wanted more! It was probably for the better, however, as another night with Kagami might drive Konata over the edge. _But if what Tony said is true, that she'll fall for me eventually, would I be speeding up the process or halting it?_ Konata wondered. Above all, however, she was really happy that Kagami wanted to spend so much time with her. After all, the longer they spent together, the more of a chance Kagami would fall in love with her, right? Suddenly, Konata felt something touch her on her almost nonexistent left breast. She blushed and started paying attention to her surroundings again to find that she and Kagami were alone, Kagami having a large smirk.

"You were spacing out. Miyuki went home to get some sleep and the rest of the family went home." She explained. Konata nodded, though her blush didn't go down. "Hey, gotta get SOME payback, don't I?" Kagami giggled as she walked past the Otaku. Konata stood there, still stunned for a moment, before she turned and followed Kagami.

"Hey, you get back here!" She started jogging and laughing. Kagami looked behind her and started jogging away from Konata, laughing as well. As they neared a corner, a girl walked around it. Kagami, however, was going too fast for her to stop before she collided and they both hit the ground.

"Ouch... I'm sor-" Kagami started before she was cut off.

"Why don't you watch where you're going? Geez, go to hell!" The girl got up and walked off with her nose in the air. Kagami growled at the rude girl, but Konata started giggling for a moment.

"What's so funny Kona?" Kagami asked.

"Number one, she left her phone." Konata pointed at the ground. "Two, if you DID go to hell, I would feel sorry for the devil..." She giggled a bit more.

"And why's that?" Kagami growled even more, sure she was about to be very, very angry with Konata.

"Can you imagine the chat between the devil and God?" Konata laughed.

"What do you mean?" Kagami asked. Konata suddenly took on her best attempt at a deep, masculine voice.

"Hey God, about a week ago, I got this pretty girl down in hell!" Konata started. Kagami blushed. "I was thinking of making her my queen." Konata continued. Kagami's face reddened considerably more. "Well what happened?" Konata's voice changed to signal she was now speaking for God. She switched back. "Well, this little, blue haired girl came down at about the same time, systematically killed off all of my minions, tipped over all the cauldrons of boiling oil, put out all my fires, and is at this moment running around hell looking for the entrance to the next level!" Konata explained. "Almost as if she had done it a thousand times!" Kagami blinked a few times, letting it all sink in. Not only the joke, but the implication behind it.

_Did she really just say she would go to hell and back for me? Or am I just reading too far into this?_ Kagami wondered. She started giggling along with Konata. "I guess that would happen if an Otaku was sent to hell, wouldn't it?" Kagami smiled. She was sure she was thinking too much about Konata's little story, but she wanted to imagine that it were true. _Of course, Konata did almost kill a man because he tried to..._ Kagami couldn't finish the thought. It made her sick to think of what could have happened. Even then, the only reason Konata hadn't utterly destroyed the man is because Kagami had stopped her. Otherwise, who knows how long Konata would have kept up her punishment? She decided to find out. "So Kona, you'd go to hell for me?" She smiled teasingly. Konata's face turned red in one of the cutest displays Kagami had seen from the Otaku. She decided she loved seeing Konata get embarrassed. She started a sentence, but failed more than a couple syllables. Kagami giggled, so Konata breathed.

"Sure Kagamin! You smile, I smile. You cry, I cry." Konata rubbed Kagami's cheek with her hand. Kagami felt touched, and not only in the physical sense. "You jump off a bridge..." Konata smiled. Kagami felt her throat catching up. Was Konata really about to say she would die with her if she ever died? "I'll jump after, grab you, do an awesome ninja spy move, roll to safety, and pose." Konata performed each action as she narrated it. "'Cause I'm just that badass." She posed. Kagami couldn't help but giggle. Konata was being so cute, it made her want to melt. She didn't even care that the Otaku had just cursed. As far as Kagami was concerned, she was allowed to under these circumstances.

"Kona..." Kagami had stopped giggling and broken into a full blown laugh.

"Kagamin?" Konata asked, not leaving her pose. Kagami stopped laughing and breathed, readying herself.

"You can be really cute sometimes." She smiled as warmly as she knew how. Konata blinked at the compliment, struck dumb by it. Her already red face was quickly getting much, much darker. Kagami had just called her cute. Really cute! Konata felt like she could burst with happiness!

_Likes Yuri, likes my hugs, a cute nickname, and now she calls me really cute? She's gotta start liking me soon! All of those things combined..._ Konata thought nervously. _Whether she does or not, if I continue like I am, she's gotta fall for me sooner or later! If Kan-kan is right, that is..._ Konata continued with this train of thought, getting caught up. She was brought out of it, however, by a loud siren. She blinked and looked to see a police car. _Yui?_ She wondered. A man stepped out of the car and walked over.

"We've had some complaints about a loud noise in the area coming from two girls. You fit their description." He said. Kagami got a bit upset. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to write you both a ticket." He brought out a pad. Konata was in disbelief. Who had complained? She wished she knew so she could give them something legitimate to complain about.

"Oo~, are you selling us tickets to the policeman's ball?" Kagami chimed. The officer sighed.

"Policemen don't have balls." He said. He stopped writing for a moment. He looked up at Kagami and blinked. Both girls started giggling. Without another word, he turned around, got into his car, and drove away. That set them both off, laughing like people who were laughing loudly.

"Kagamin, that was BOSS!" Konata shouted, laughing so hard, she had to rest with her hands on her knees.

"Well I gotta learn SOMETHING while I'm around ya, right?" Kagami laughed. Finally, after several minutes of laughing, they calmed down.

Kagamin, you're pretty cute yourself." Konata smiled. Kagami blushed as Konata had.

"S-So we're agreed then?" Kagami smiled, being more conditioned to being embarrassed than Konata.

"Agreed on what?" Konata asked.

"We're two very cute girls." Kagami said. Konata giggled.

"Agreed." She nodded.

"Though you're a lot cuter than I am." Kagami commented. Konata blushed as she tried to come up with a response.

"I disagree, you're so much cuter than I am." Konata insisted. Kagami smiled.

"Oh yeah? Well you're prettier." Kagami said. Konata laughed.

"No I'm not, have you SEEN this body compared to yours? If I'm pretty, you're resplendent!" Konata argued. By now, the both of them were blushing fiercely.

"Ko-Kona... Do you wanna finish this argument elsewhere, where there's not people staring at us?" Kagami asked. Konata looked around to see there was, indeed, a crowd forming around them for some reason.

"Don't mind us, keep going!" Someone shouted. Konata blushed more deeply.

"Let's get outta here." Konata grabbed Kagami by the hand and dragged her out of the crowd. Half way through the crowd, she felt Kagami tense up. Konata turned to see Kagami looked a bit horrified and blushing a great deal. "Kagamin?" Konata asked.

"Someone... felt..." Kagami mumbled, barely able to continue. Konata instantly knew what her love was trying to say. She spun and threw Kagami stumbling out of the crowd.

"ALRIGHT, WHICH ONE OF YOU GROPED HER?" Konata shouted. No sooner did she shout then she felt a hand run down her back. Furious, she spun around to see a guy pulling back his hand. Realizing it wasn't too late to do so, Konata put the momentum of her spin into a strike to his neck, knocking the pervert out on the spot. "Anyone else?" Konata challenged as the entire group backed away from her. She jumped between anyone from the crowd and Kagami and took a stance. "Back the hell away, now!" She shouted. The crowd was swiftly dispersed. Konata sighed and put her hands by her sides. "Are you okay Kagami?" She asked. Through this entire ordeal starting with Konata throwing her, Kagami's heart was fluttering. Konata had just challenged a large group of people, very easily much larger than the groups she had been fighting. Not only that, but she had gotten mad. Not even mad, she had been some enhanced version of enraged.

"I'm alright Konata, they only felt my back. I think you stopped them before they could feel anymore." Kagami smiled to Konata. "Thank you." She hugged the Otaku strongly. Konata smiled to herself.

"You're welcome." She hugged Kagami back with even more strength. Something clicked in Kagami's head.

_I feel safe. Really, really safe._ Kagami smiled. She tightened her grasp on the Otaku. _I've never felt this safe, and I don't think I ever will in any other way. _She sighed happily in her head. Konata was meanwhile thinking.

_Hug...Hug...Hug...Hug...Tightened hug!_ She shouted in her head as Kagami tightened her hug on Konata. _She has to like me! She has to! I have to find a way to confess! SHE LIKES ME!_ Konata cheered, hoping she was right. There was still a nagging doubt, but she now had sufficient evidence that made her feel like she could risk it. It was enough doubt, however, that Konata didn't just want to come out and profess her love, she wanted to find some way to do it, some kind of excuse. _Maybe I can take her to a cake buffet!_ Konata thought. The thought that by the end of the day, Kagami may very well either be her girlfriend or someone who ridiculed her and no longer wanted anything to do with her was a frightening prospect. "Ka-Ka-Ka..." Konata tried to say through the mist that was starting to blanket her mind. Kagami released the smaller girl and looked in her eyes.

"Kona?" She smiled sweetly.

"Kagamin, wanna go to a cake buffet? My treat!" Konata smiled. Kagami's mood lit up.

"Yeah totally! I would love that!" She had stars in her eyes. Konata smiled and put her hands in her pockets to see how much money she had left. She dug and dug, but found nothing but pocket. The upper part of her face melted into blue lines.

_I blew all my money on Kagami already!_ She despaired. She reached as far down as she could in a desperate attempt to find money, but felt a soft hand grip her arm. She blushed and looked up to see Kagami holding her arm.

"Don't worry about it Kona, I've got it." She held a small purse with money in it. It wasn't much, but it was enough for them both to have a little while at a particular cake cafe she knew. Konata smiled.

"Thanks." She said.

"No problem, shall we go then?" Kagami smiled.

"Let's. Lead the way, Kagamin!" Konata pointed in a random direction. Kagami giggled.

"Onward to adventure!" Kagami shouted, posing similarly to how Konata would. Konata indeed took notice.

_How does everyone in the world not fall in love with her? _She giggled.

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

"Say ah~." Tony smiled. Tsukasa opened her mouth and, with cute compliance, said:

"Ah~." Before Tony fed her again. Suddenly, the door burst open with a loud:

"IMOTO!" As Misao ran in and saw Tsukasa awake and eating. "You're awake!" She ran and leaped with the intention of glomping the bedridden girl. As she neared the bed, however, there was a sudden force that stopped her fall just short of hitting the girl. She looked over to see Tony with his left index and middle finger on his left temple and his right hand outstretched and shaking. Gradually, Misao moved out from over the bed and was righted. Tony exhaled and sighed.

"Damn it, hug her normally..." He sighed. Misao blinked a time and hugged Tsukasa.

"Misa-chan!" Tsukasa cheered as she hugged the brunette. They heard a loud grumble from Tony's direction and looked to see him with his hand over his stomach, an embarrassed look on his face. As if on cue, a nurse walked in with more food and set it on a table.

"Well, eat!" Misao commanded and resumed hugging Tsukasa. Tony wasted no time following instructions and started eating after seeing there was enough food to nourish him and Tsukasa. After a moment, he looked up from his meal to see Tsukasa was blushing a deep red.

"Ka-Kan-kun..." She stuttered. Tony put a bit more food in his mouth as he thought for a moment on what could be embarrassing her so much. Then it hit him. In his rush, he had forgotten to grab himself chopsticks. His face lit up a little as he realized he was using Tsukasa's chopsticks. The ones in his mouth at this moment...

"S-sorry Tsukasa..." Tony took them from his mouth. "I'll get you new ones." He got up and started walking over the table.

"Ih-Ih-Ih-" Tsukasa started, causing Tony to pause.

"Tsukasa?" He asked, turning to see her blush even deeper.

"It's alright Kan-kun... I don't mind so much, ya know?" She mumbled, confident her face was maroon at best. After all, sharing eating utensils was not something done lightly. Tony blushed even more.

"If you say so..." He smiled to himself. He walked back and turned to see Misao sitting in his seat. "Mi-Misao, that's my seat!" He shouted.

"Go sit on the couch!" She pointed. Tony blinked a time or two.

"I don't wanna sit on the couch! That's too far from Tsu-chan!" Tony protested.

"Hang on a second, I feel like I'm forgetting something..." Misao put her hand to her chin for a moment in thought.

"Don't ignore me!" Tony protested, but his plea fell on deaf ears. Misao looked up at him. Suddenly, she jumped from the seat she was in and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"MY HERO!" She shouted. Tony stepped back and almost fell from the sudden tackle.

"Wh-what?" He asked.

"You put my brother in the hospital!" Misao shouted. Tony looked past her to see Tsukasa was watching them carefully. Tony put his hands out to the side as if to tell the airhead that he wasn't touching anywhere he shouldn't be.

"Who? Recoome or Kurono?" Tony asked.

"Kurono! I hate him, he's an asshole!" Misao shouted. The two of them heard a whine from behind Misao.

"Misa-chan, stop hugging Kan-kun~!" Tsukasa whined. Misao looked backwards to the girl with an amused look on her face.

"Aw~! Is Imoto jealous?" Misao giggled. Tsukasa gave a sharp intake of air, then continued.

"Y-yes!" She stuttered. Tony smiled as Misao released him.

"'Nuff said Imoto! No worries, it's not like I have any interest in him." Misao put her arms behind her head nonchalantly. Tony looked indignant.

_Well that was harsh!_ He folded his arms. _I mean, I love Tsukasa, but at least have a LITTLE mercy..._ He sighed.

"What's the matter Kan-kun?" Tsukasa asked. Tony smiled and got another dish of food. He walked back over to Tsukasa.

"Nothing, say ah~." He smiled. She opened her mouth.

"Ah~." She chimed as she bit the food. Misao squealed.

"Aw, Imoto you're so cute!" She said. Tony chuckled.

"Yeah she is. But..." He put a hand over her protectively. "She's mine." He squinted at Misao as if to melt her. Misao laughed.

"I know, I know!" She said. They continued eating in that fashion for a while. Tsukasa, for one, was becoming more and more silent and, when she did say something, it was generally a one word response or a half-hearted answer. Both of her companions took notice as she seemed to shrink a bit. Finally, she stopped saying anything altogether. After a few minutes without her saying anything, the two had had enough.

"Imoto, what's gotcha down?" Misao asked.

"Yeah Tsukasa, what's wrong?" Tony asked. Tsukasa looked as if she were about to cry.

"Kan-kun..." Tsukasa mumbled, putting a hand to her chest. "You spent a lot of money on that necklace, didn't you?" She mumbled. Tony remained silent for a moment before answering.

"I told ya not to worry about that." He smiled.

"Kan-kun, you spent a lot of money, I promised I wouldn't take it off, but..." She mumbled, tears coming into her eyes. "Kan-kun, I don't know where it is... I wanted to show Mom, but it slipped onto the floor of the car... I lost it..." She mumbled.

"I know Tsukasa, I know." Tony said, having noticed but not wanting to point it out. He had, indeed, spent a lot of money on it, and it was worth a large fortune, but he didn't want to make Tsukasa feel so bad. And the necklace's worth didn't matter to him, he had never had any intention of selling it in the first place. The way he figured it, why mourn money that he would never have? He had intended on asking Miki if she knew where the necklace was on the way to the tournament. He had hoped she would know, but now that was irrelevant. "Don't worry about it. I'll find it." Tony smiled to Tsukasa. She looked up at him in disbelief.

"How?" She asked.

"I can sense energy." Tony smiled. "I should be able to find it since it's enchanted with a large amount of energy..." Tony realized something. _I could have found that necklace and used the energy from it to heal Tsukasa! Damn it, that would have worked! Oh well, at least it's still got it's enchant on. Now all I have to do is learn how to sense energy..._ He chuckled in his head. He had no clue what he would do or how he would do it, but he'd have to learn.

"Are you sure?" Tsukasa asked, a hopeful gleam in her eye. Tony couldn't deny that face even if he tried. It was obvious, that necklace meant a LOT to Tsukasa.

"I promise on my word as sorcerer. If I can't get that necklace back, I'll personally deliver unto you several stars from the night sky." Tony promised. Tsukasa seemed to study him for a moment. She smiled and put her pinky out. Tony looked at it for a moment in confusion. Misao sneaked up behind him.

"Shake it with yours!" She whispered.

"That's a bit silly..." He commented to himself, but nevertheless shook it.

"Haven't you heard of a pinky swear before?" Tsukasa asked. Tony shook his head.

"Never." He said. Tsukasa and Misao both giggled.

"How could you have never done that before?" Tsukasa giggled.

"With whom would I?" Tony asked, eyebrow raised. "It's fairly obvious that my brother wasn't exactly the type to do that sort of thing." Tony chuckled. Tsukasa was cut to the quip on that one.

"Didn'tcha know anyone else?" Misao asked.

"Nope. Only one other person of importance, and she was more worried about my education." Tony said.

"Ah..." Misao mumbled. "So you're a sorcerer, huh? Didn't think those even existed!" Misao said.

"Yep yep. Still growing, but I'm getting stronger." Tony smiled.

"I wouldn't have believed ya if you had just said it, but when you stopped me and Chibi, and then stopped me in mid air, that was crazy!" Misao shouted.

"Yeah, you took it a lot better than people generally take it. I was surprised." Tony chuckled.

"Well, not much phases me anymore, I've seen some pretty scary stuff!" Misao exclaimed. "You ever seen Ayano when she's mad?"

"Aya-who?" Tony asked. Misao sweatdropped.

"Er... Never mind." She scratched the back of her head. "It's another one of me and Hiiragin's friends."

"Ah, sorry but I don't know her." Tony shrugged. "So Misao, why do you and Kon-kon hate each other so much?" Tony asked.

"Well..." Misao averted her gaze. "I can't tell ya why I didn't like Chibi before, but I think she didn't like me because my brother's an asshole. The same one you put in the hospital!" She added cheerfully.

"Well I'm glad to have been of service. Let me know if he causes any trouble again." Tony offered. Misao smiled.

"Thanks! So, I got the general idea from Hiiragin, but what happened to you Imoto?" Misao asked.

"Oh... Well-" Tsukasa began telling Misao about the festival.

"Wait, so you couldn't talk?" Misao asked. So Tsukasa started explaining the potion and it's effects. "You had to put in the "no talking bit"?" Misao turned to Tony. He scratched his head nervously, but Tsukasa answered for him.

"I'm sure he had to to make me beautiful! That makes me wonder something though..." Tsukasa looked over to Tony.

"And what's that?" He asked.

"Well, I thought that once I drank the potion, I would be pretty! Then you would see me get pretty and notice that you said when I thought of the person I liked. And then I hoped you would kiss me when you saw all of that and realized I liked you!" Tsukasa said. Tony began wondering why that hadn't worked, for it sounded like it should. After a moment of contemplation, it hit him.

_My wording..._ He laughed out loud.

"Kan-kun?" Tsukasa asked.

"I made a potion that would make you as beautiful to your love as you are to me! Since me and him and the same person, your appearance never changed for me!" He laughed. Tsukasa blushed.

"So... It didn't make me pretty?" She asked. Tony calmed down and smiled.

"Tsu-chan, you don't need a potion for that. You're already the prettiest girl I've ever seen." He said softly, looking into her eyes. She blushed deeply and found herself at a loss for words. Suddenly, Tony turned to Misao. "No offense, that is." He smiled.

"None taken, I'll agree that Imoto is cute as hell." She giggled as Tsukasa's face turned deeper.

"You're embarrassing me!" Tsukasa almost whined.

"Ya know Tsukasa, all of this could have been avoided if you had just confessed regularly." Tony smirked. Tsukasa blushed.

"I did!" She said. Tony blinked.

"Wait, what?" He asked.

"I did confess! After we watching Lion King 2!" Tsukasa said. Tony thought back to that time, thinking of when it could have been. It hit him.

"... You're welcome..." He mumbled beneath his breath.

"Kan-kun?" Tsukasa asked.

"When you confessed. I thought you were thanking me..." He muttered a bit louder. "Damn it! You mean to tell me that if I had had better hearing, we could have been together that much sooner? And probably none of this would have happened, I'd have never kissed you and left at the festival, I'd have never had to use the amulet's ability to teleport me when you're in danger, I'd have never had to do any of that! Plus, I'd never had to have made you that potion either!" Tony said. Tsukasa giggled.

"Who knows what woulda happened? We're together now Kan-kun, that's all that matters to me." Tsukasa smiled sweetly. Tony blushed and chuckled as he looked at the time.

"Holy Haruhi! We've been talking for so long! It's been a few hours..." He said.

"Oh..." Tsukasa looked dejected. "You should go so you can get home, rest, and get ready Kan-kun." She mumbled sorrowfully.

"You know Tsukasa, I don't have to go to this tournament. I can just stay here with you." Tony said. Tsukasa looked up at him and crossed her arms. It was a moment before Tony realized she was refusing to speak. "Alright, I get it, I get it. I'm going." Tony pushed himself out of the chair, stretching a little since he had been sitting for hours. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't even sure when he had sat down to begin with. He turned to the door, but stopped. He turned back to Tsukasa.

"Kan-kun?" She said inquisitively. Tony smiled.

"If you want me to go..." He smirked. "It's a two lip fee." Tsukasa giggled and smiled.

"Consider it paid." She leaned up and kissed him one last time. He smiled wider and, without another word, left the room.

"Man Imoto, you really wanted him to fight, didn'tcha?" Misao smiled. Tsukasa sighed and looked her friend in the eyes.

"No. I hate it when he fights." She said. Misao got confused.

"Then... Why?" She asked.

"Because he loves it. That's enough." She settled back into her bed, a headache settling in from the effort of leaning up.

Tony was walking home. He smiled. He started running. Then he started sprinting. He was home in relatively no time at all, out of breath, but overwhelmingly happy. He had Tsukasa back. He walked in and sat on the couch to rest for a moment before he would begin getting ready for the tournament the next day. He closed his eyes and almost drifted off. Suddenly, however, the door burst open. He saw Konata. What scared him was how she looked.

* * *

**POV Konata**

Konata and Kagami both sat back in their seats opposite each other, both stuffed full of cake. They didn't know how long they had been there, it seemed like an eternity, but they knew they only had a few hours. In that time, they had talked and laughed, joked and snarked, complimented and blushed, and everything in between.

"Kona..." Kagami sighed contently. "I've had so much fun since we left the hospital. Thanks for suggesting this." She smiled. Konata smiled back.

"It was my pleasure! I'm just a little sorry that I couldn't pay." Konata sweatdropped.

"Did you intend on us coming here this morning?" Kagami asked. Konata was a little confused by the seemingly random question.

"No, of course not." She answered.

"And you didn't know you didn't have money, correct?" Kagami asked. Konata raised an eyebrow.

"No, I didn't know..." She said almost cautiously. Kagami smiled warmly.

"That means you intended on paying for all of this. That's what counts Kona." Kagami smiled. "Besides..." She held up her hand to look at her ring again. "I think you easily deserve a few passes." She closed her eyes in quiet delight. She opened them again to look around. The very first thing she noticed was how cute Konata looked with a blush. The next thing was that this place was very familiar. Had she been here in the past few weeks? She couldn't think of when that could be though... Meh. It probably wasn't important. "Besides, I understand that you don't have much money. I know how you can get." Kagami smiled. Konata got a bit of an indignant look.

"What's that supposed to mean, Kagamin?" She whined a bit.

"Well, like with the tournament! You spend a ton of money there 'cause you get caught up in the vibe!" Kagami said. Konata seemed to ponder that and how much the ring had cost her.

"Yeah, I guess." Konata smiled.

"Same thing with Comiket, you don't think you're spending a lot on doujinshi, but that's the illusion of it! Then you're like "Whoa, I'm broke!"!" Kagami said. Suddenly, she stopped for a moment. A large drop of sweat ran down the back of her head. _Where the hell did that come from?_ She wondered. _Kona's really rubbing off on me..._ She smiled, not all too uncomfortable with the mental picture the thought provided.

"Wow Kagamin, I never thought I'd hear ya say THAT." Konata catgrinned.

"Yeah, I don't know what came over me..." Kagami giggled. She smiled as her gaze returned to her ring. "So Kona, any particular reason you bought me this?" Kagami asked. Konata averted her gaze with a catgrin, scratching her head sheepishly.

"Um..." She thought. Should she do it now? Should she wait? Damn it, this was hard! How on earth had Tony managed to confess? Suddenly, she felt something touch her face. She paid attention again and saw Kagami had leaned over the table and wiped something off with her finger. She brought it back to reveal there was icing on her finger. She brought the finger back as she sat down and... _She just ate it..._ Konata's eyes widened as she blushed a deep carmine. Kagami started giggling.

"What is it Kona?" She asked with a cute smile. Konata gripped the bottom of her shirt.

"...love..." She muttered. Kagami suddenly got a very serious look on her face.

"Kona, what did you just say?" She asked. When Konata didn't immediately respond, Kagami pushed the subject. "Kona, answer me! What did you just say to me?" She asked.

"Love!" Konata said louder. "I lo-..." She breathed hard. This was taking a toll on her. She breathed to calm down.

_Ih-Is she... confessing...?_ Kagami wondered. The thought seemed much, MUCH too good to be true. While Konata breathed to steady herself, she felt a wave of deja-vu hit her. _Seriously, where have I seen this before?_ She wondered. _A dream? No... I've been here though, recently._ She determined. Konata brought her back from her daze.

"Kagami." She said, staring intently on a single part of the table.

"Konata, please... Tell me what it is..." Kagami pleaded.

"Kagami, I..." Konata looked up to see her love staring at her. Konata breathed deeply as she stared into her love's eyes. "Kagami, I like you. More than friends. More than best friends." Konata said. "More than anyone, or anything." Konata said fiercely. She waited a moment while Kagami seemed to be thinking something.

_Kona just confessed..._ Something clicked in Kagami's head yet again. That was where she remembered! _This must have been where Tony took me on our date! If you can call it that... That's hilarious. My relationship with my sister's boyfriend ended in the same place as my relationship with Konata starts! This is just too perfect!_ Kagami felt bliss. She couldn't help it, the entire situation seemed ridiculously funny, the coincidence was unreal! _That's amazing!_ She started giggling until she was laughing out loud, hard enough that she had to put a hand over her stomach. She was laughing for a minute before she calmed down and heard a bell. She looked up to see the seat in front of her empty. Dread took her. In a rush, she got up and ran over to the door, but was cut off by the waitress.

"You can't just leave without paying." She protested. Kagami growled menacingly, causing the woman to shudder and move.

"I'll pay later, my love is getting away!" She shouted as she opened the door and ran out. She looked to her left, then her right to see Konata was running. _No way Kona!_ Kagami shouted in her head. She started sprinting faster than she had ever run before. "KONA!" She shouted to the smaller girl. _IDIOT! What a time to laugh! Konata JUST confessed! DAMN IT! What is WRONG with me?_ She scolded herself. She would make this right though. She was gaining on the Otaku. Once she got within a few meters of Konata, she started to try and talk. "Kona! You took it the wro-Kona!" She shouted as Konata looked behind her, and sped up. _How fast can she run?_ Kagami wondered. She was already almost dead tired from running faster than her fastest, yet Konata still had the energy to raise it higher! "Kona-" Kagami was cut off by her lack of air. She was forced to slow down and rest on her knees, panting heavily. She looked up to see Konata was almost out of sight. She took as deep a breath as she could. "Kona! I love you too!" She shouted as loudly as she was currently able. Konata didn't slow down. Kagami felt tears welling up in her eyes as she fell to her knees. "No..." She fell to her hands. "No! It's not fair!" She shouted. "What is with this? First Mom and Tsukasa get in a wreck, then after that's fixed, I act like a complete bitch and push Kona away from me!" Tears were flowing down her cheeks. "Am I just destined to have a crappy life?" She asked. She looked after Konata, who was by now completely gone. "Kona... I'm sorry." She whimpered pathetically. She pushed herself onto her feet wearily and started walking into the darkness. She pulled out her phone and called home.

"Kagami? Where are you?" She heard her mother ask. Kagami tried a few times to explain the situation, but failed each time. She breathed.

"Mom, I've done a bad thing..." She muttered. "And I've gotta make it right. I might not come home tonight, please understand." She pleaded with Miki. There was a moment of silence between them.

"Okay Kagami, just tell me what happened." Miki requested. Kagami did just that, holding nothing back. She didn't sugar coat what happened during their time at the cafe, nor what happened afterwards, nor did she even make an attempt to hide the self-loathing that was entering her voice. The entire time, Miki listened. As Kagami finished her recount of the events, she found herself outside Konata's house. "Kagami. I'll fix it with your father. Don't worry about coming home tonight. Just make things right with her. Good luck." Miki wished.

"Thank you so much Mom." Kagami said. She hung up and looked at the house of her love. She walked up and knocked on the door. When it didn't open, she knocked louder. "Kona?" She called. No response. She knocked louder still. "Kona!" She shouted. The door opened to reveal Sojiro, rubbing his eyes and looking like he had just gotten out of bed.

"Kagami? Where's Konata?" He asked. A pit formed in Kagami's stomach.

"She's not here?" Kagami asked.

"No. Did you want to come in?" Sojiro asked. Kagami fell to her knees again, tears in here eyes. Alarmed, Sojiro picked her up. "Kagami!" He stood her up. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"I wanna stay here..." Kagami muttered. "Until she comes back..."

"Well, if it's that important, I don't see why not. Let's get you to bed." Sojiro brought Kagami into a room, though Kagami didn't care enough to find out which, and set her in the bed. She waited for what seemed forever. She turned in her bed so she was face down in the pillow and began to sob. She curled up and hugged a pillow from the bed. A scent filled her nose, bringing more tears.

_Konata..._ She cried.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

The screen opens on an empty stage.

"Oh, that's right. They ain't here today... Why the hell is the camera still on?" The director shouted.

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

What was that you ask? That, my little water buckets, was the drama llama rearing it's ugly head. I'm really gonna have to write some serious fluff to make up for all of this drama, aren't I? I mean, seriously, how long has it been since one of my chapters has had a completely happy ending? *Crosses arms* Challenge accepted. So it occurred to me that the riddle might not have been very accurately described in the chapter. So here I am to explain it! Recoome's Eraser Gun, as I figured it, was used how it was because the energy was much more potent when coming purely from the energy source (The stomach, where food is digested and energy is created from it), so it'll come from the stomach, and be more concentrated and such. The energy usually used for healing comes down the arm and degrades along the way. Then, it goes into the recipient's body, where the energy would further diminish. So, through the mouth would be more potent and thus cost less energy! I hope I didn't just confuse you all more XD. By the way, oye. My chapters just keep getting longer... That's one reason why I gave Akira and Minoru off today. I'll end this before it becomes a novel XD, I promise more fluff in the future! I think! Please review!


	35. Luckier Star OVA

Luckier Star OVA: Lucky Star Hyadain

Hey everyone, I'm here to celebrate the 1 Year Anniversary of Luckier Star! Man, I was scared, 'cause Fanfiction was having problems the entire day... But that's right, it's a whole year old today! I never imagined it would grow to be so big when I started, I knew it would be big, but this is a whole 'nother level. It's pretty crazy, in one year's time, it's become the largest Lucky Star story on the site. On. The. Site. *Mind Blown* Anyway, this is probably one of the hardest song parodies I've ever done. Why you ask? Oh, you didn't? Well I'm tellin' ya anyway! The lyrics were in Japanese. I really liked the lyrics to this song (Super Mario Hyadain. If you have never seen it, or you haven't seen it in a long while, I recommend watching it before you read this. In fact, I recommend that anyway. Go watch it, then read this!) and thought it fit these characters perfectly in their current situation (more or less). However, had I posted the original lyrics, it would have been... less than entertaining. None of those lyrics rhymed in English. So, here you are guys, the rhyming Lucky Star Hyadain that should match up with the original as well! Enjoy!

* * *

Konata:  
"Hey Misakichi, why don't you cut down on the flack,  
Give up on Kagami, come on, get off our back!"

Misao:  
"Sorry, chibi girl, but Hiiragin's my destiny!  
It's undeniable, her future lies with me!"

Kagami:  
"Why don't the two of you stop with the insult?  
Can't you two see what will be the result?"

Konata and Misao together:  
"Obviously a girl who doesn't know our part...  
For both of us two girls will fight with our heart!"

"Not bad so far Cheebs," Misao grinned.

"Same same Misaki!" Konata smiled back.

"So when are we through with this story gig?" Misao asked.

"Dunno, it's already been a whole year, and it doesn't look like us main cast are getting much time off!" Konata complained.

"Isn't that nice? No time to settle down now, is there?" Misao teased.

"Aw~, stop it Misaki... Oh! The second verse is starting!" Konata pointed out.

Misao:  
"My sweetest Hiiragin, why can't you see my love for you?  
If you won't reciprocate, just leave the Otaku!"

Konata:  
"I'd get you back my girl, you're worth more than my life to me,  
Despite that arrow that I took to the knee!"

Kagami:  
"Cut out the both of you, can you both not hear?  
Are you two even listening here?"

Konata and Misao together:  
"The Tsundere in you is like an abstract art...  
But both us girls will still, fight with our heart!"

*Musical Interlude*

Tony:  
"Hang on here, haven't we forgotten one for debating?  
Kan-pek-i, entering the stage, Thanks for waiting!"

Konata:  
"Wait wait wait, what?"

Misao:  
"KY, KY, Try and get the atmosphere!"

Konata:  
"Kan-kan, I'll beat your ass if you don't get out of here!"

*Tony looking dejected as Tsukasa puts a comforting hand on his back.*

Kagami:  
"One super strong one is enough for me,  
He's kinda insolent for an OC..."

Konata and Misao together:  
"In love it should be, "'Till death to us part!""

Konata:  
"And that is why us girls, we'll fight with our-"

Misao:  
"That is why us girls, we'll fight with our-"

Kagami:  
"Please, oh please, oh please, don't fight with your heart!"

"Ah, that was quite the ordeal..." Misao commented.

"That was tiring..." Konata yawned.

"So~, time to get the night life rollin' eh Cheebs?" Misao asked, giggling.

"Er... Sorry, but I've probably gotta go get Kan-kan. He shoulda known better though..." Konata giggled.

"Oh~, I see! Great, that leaves me with Hiiragin!" Misao chimed.

"No way! And turn your mic off." Konata said.

"Crap, that's still on? Sorry, sorry!" Misao apologized.

* * *

**Aftersection**

What did you think? I think that was rather successful. So, in honor of my One Year Anniversary, I'm going to start the challenge I've been setting up for for the past year. Through out my story, there are several, maybe a bit less than a dozen, errors in the continuity hidden in my story that I placed. Now, these are extremely small, things you'd never even think of unless you were looking for them. And I mean looking hard. So, my challenge to you, my readers, is to find these errors. This will not be easy, but hopefully it will be fun! If you think you've found one, PM me to check it, someone might see a review and that might spoil the hunt! In any case, thank you all for stickin' with me for an entire year and I sincerely hope that you'll continue to follow me for the next one! Coming with the next chapter as soon as possible guys!


	36. Chapter 35: Apologies

Chapter 35: Apologies

Ah, my first entirely negative review since I cut out part of chapter 1. I've been expecting you for some time. First, I'd like to say thank you for taking the time to read my story up to it's current point, and thank you again for seeing it worthy of a review. As for my grammar, I do make a few grammar and spelling mistakes when I'm tired, and when I change things I may forget to change a tense or a word. I normally catch them when I'm checking for them on my phone, but my phone doesn't let me edit my documents, and I forget by the time I get home. I apologize if you think this is a big parody, I have a long history with parodies. I've been writing one in particular for something like five and a half years now, it's seeped into my brain. I'm hardwired to think of and include any and all references I think of. That often overlaps with Disney, something I'm an ardent fan of the olden days. In fact, there's one massive Disney reference I've been making that I'd bet money no one will have caught until I point it out probably in the chapter after this. The funniest thing about this, however, is that I recognized a while back that I do too many references to Disney. To date, there are 58 references to them that I've seen and avoided making for that reason. That's not to say they'll stop, but maybe I'll see about trying to lighten up on them. I already have two more planned, though those are very, VERY far away from each other. However, sometimes I do think that I make too many references, I'll give you that one. Actually, there's really only one thing in your review I whole-heartedly disagree with. Your last two sentences. Perhaps I should explain my point of view. You said that making references to other fanfics is lazy. If I make a reference to Harry Potter, am I lazy? If I make a reference to Lord of the Rings, am I lazy? If I make a reference to the Hobbit, am I lazy? I don't believe so. The fanfics I reference, I reference because they're extremely talented authors who deserve a much larger audience than they have. Flygon, I'm gonna pick on ya here a little, but let's take them for example. Only one other time have I seen Konata with such a broken past that could even remotely be construed as cannon, and never so skillfully done as I have seen when they did it. I've read all of the books I've talked about above, and I consider Flygon's works to be just as capable of being referenced as they are if not more so. Give me something Flygon wrote first. I'm not putting them down, but that's how highly I regard Flygon's writing skills. In that respect, I reference him above referencing Harry Potter, or Lord of the Rings, or the Hobbit, ect. That point aside, most, if not all, of my readers have read his stories. I prefer to make references I hope the audience will understand and enjoy. For example, in this story, I put a reference to a movie by the name of "The Jazz Singer". You'll be able to point out a reference to Flygon faster than you would one to that movie. Again, ignoring those points. An example of my next point, Kurono. He's a shout out to the Lucky Life Trilogy. Should I have, instead of making said reference, created a character that would serve the same purpose, with the same attitude, when one that would have been a reference to such an awesome story, and one that would have already been in the cannon of the Lucky Star universe, is so readily available to me? Perhaps. But again, that's not how my brain has been hardwired, blame Pavlov for that one. One more thing Army, I think I have a good bit of Konami, unless you mean for them to be a couple. And if you still maintain the opinion that I don't, just think of this. That means I have more than 250,000 words worth of Konami pent up that I'm just waiting to release, right? Like I said a few chapters ago, I may be at the half way point if I do nothing but focus on Konami and Kankasa for the rest of the story. Honestly, how much longer do you think I have in me to stall this with drama? Well, technically I could stall another 26 chapters, I came up with a story plot that would allow me to do that, but I wouldn't really succeed since the fans would lynch me after the seventh chapter. But I do agree, the story takes it a bit slow, but as one of my other reviewers put it so marvelously, you don't generally go from schoolfriends to full-blown relationship in 60K words, especially under the circumstances these characters are under. I couldn't imagine that they would, and I don't want to write what I don't feel, or the result will not only be horrible, but it will also be something I'm unmotivated to write and will likely be updated only once every few months, or something that gets dropped entirely. I learned that a long time ago. Well, I hope you continue reading and reviewing!Wow, I just realized how long it took me to reply to that one review... Okay, other reviews! Congratulations on mostly getting it Sqweebs! I'm glad you liked it Mavrick! It's easy HolyRiot, I do a lot of push ups and sit ups and I drink plenty of juice. And I'm lucky to have a good bodyguard! Besides, I'm not the one who said the meme, Konata is! And yes, technically, that was my shortest chapter! LOL Stealth. Thank you for the compliment! So I did a bit of research. I found a story that I'm shootin' to beat. It's called The Subspace Emissary's Worlds Conquest. It currently has 3,357,528 words. And I think it's still going... Mother of God... Okay, so I'm probably not gonna beat it. I'll tell ya now, I probably won't. Can't say I won't try though! We'll just have to see, won't we? Ulti! As a matter of fact, I actually had a bit of an idea with a few of the characters. Maybe I can write another three million words! By my calculations, it'll take me about another 11.5 years to hit that. About. About the Mind Palace bit, that's an actual method of memorization that I use myself. Granted, it isn't a palace. The idea is that it can be as big as you want as long as you can remember it's layout. I'm still building mine... Kiyo, glad to see you're still liking the story, you haven't reviewed for 15 chapters! Holy Haruhi, this is getting way too freaking long. Okay guys, I'm gonna just let you get to the chapter already. Sorry about that long, long~ beginning.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Kagami blinked awake in Konata's bed. She looked over to see it was still early in the morning. She felt horrible. She sat up.

_Where could she be?_ She wondered. She hadn't been at home, but she had come this way. What else was around here? Kagami sighed. She couldn't think of anything in her distress. She looked around, desperate for any distraction that could be provided. She saw her notebook, the one she had accidentally left at Konata's house during her sickness. She picked it up, but a pencil fell off of it. _Did she write in it?_ Kagami wondered. She opened it.

_Dear Diary,_ ….

_Did Kona use this as a diary? I can't read this! This is super private! But..._ Kagami held the notebook. _This might lead me to Kona._ She thought. Breathing deeply, she battled in her head. Privacy, or the possible well being of her love? She knew what she was about to do was horrible, but she was desperate to find her Kona. She continued.

_Dear Diary,_

_I am sick and this is my first entry. I guess I'll have to pay Kagami back for this notebook, eh? I just need to get my thoughts out, but I don't want to infect anyone, especially not Kagamin, though I know she would listen. She came to visit yesterday and her concern seemed genuine. I'm really grateful to her, but I feel guilty that she worried about me. I wish she would come over more, but I don't want to get her sick! I want both! Well, I'm getting tired Diary. I guess I had better get some more sleep..._

_Konata~_

Kagami smiled as she read the words. She turned the page.

_Dear Diary_

_I know I'm only really suppose to write in you once per day at most, but I'm really happy right now! Kagami, as if she heard me, came over this morning and made me a delicious pancake! Imagine that! Not only that, she's coming after school today too! I really hope I can get over this bug soon so I can see her some more at school, though I wouldn't mind her still coming over more..._ At this point, Kagami could imagine that cute catgrin was returning. _I really can't wait until she comes back, but I only got half an hour of sleep before. I figure I can sleep during school time and then wake up for them to come! I'm so excited! Bye Diary!_

_Konata~_

Kagami smiled again. _So that pancake was good. I guess I did put a lot of love into it, whether I realized it or not. _She flipped the page again.

_Dear Diary,_

_Yesterday was so much fun, I wanted to tell you about it but I had already written in you twice! When Kagami and the others came over, Kagami and Tsukasa ended up staying for a slumber party! It did get really weird at one point though. I was chasing Kagami and got tired so I laid down and asked her to get some manga. But when she did, she slipped and fell above me! It happens I know, but then it got... different. She started to lean in really close, she almost kissed me! Thing is... I don't know that I would hate it... I don't know what I'm feeling right now Diary but I really need to find out soon. I think I have feelings for Kagami... I've always joked about how cute she was and everything, I guess that's coming true. I don't know... I'm sorry you're getting stuck with all my problems Diary, but that's what you're for, right? Well, I gotta go now or I'll be late for school! Bye Diary!_

_Konata~_

Kagami felt tears in her eyes. It was that long ago? Konata had had feelings for her since then? She felt so stupid for having never noticed. Kagami thought back to that night. _To be completely honest, I don't know that I would have hated it either._ She sighed in her head. She breathed deeply and looked back. She turned the page. Her heart leaped at what she saw next.

_I'M IN LOVE WITH KAGAMI! Oh yeah..._

_Dear Diary, -June 1st_

_I'M IN LOVE WITH KAGAMI!_ _I know why I always hug her and tease her and smile and make perverted comments and everything! I love her, Dairy! I love her! But... She doesn't love me... Every time I hug her, she pushes me off...Every time I talk to her, I just end up pissing her off... I always annoy her... She says I'm like a perverted old man... I-_

End. The rest of the page was too wet to be able to distinguish anything more. What was on the paper already, however, tore at Kagami's soul. _Kona, I never hated you. Never, never, never. June 1__st__, I think that was the day that Tsukasa fell asleep on the subway._ She thought back. _She's loved me for so long... I guess I have too, I just didn't know it._ She sighed. Then the full impact of what she had just read hit her. _This was why she was acting so weird. Why she started shrinking whenever I got angry... Kona, I've been so horrible to you..._ Tears in her eyes, she flipped again.

_Dear Diary_

_I'm so confused! Kagami said she likes how I am, but she yells at me for it! Man, now that I read them, I realize that each of my entries have been about Kagami. Maybe I need to talk about something else... So I have a brother now. Yeah, he's really nice once you get to know him. My first impression was all wrong, even though he was a bit of a prick. He also._.. _He also... I thought he wanted Kagami, but I guess I was wrong. I sure am glad I was too..._ _Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get ready for a short day at work. Bye Diary!_

_Konata~_

_Boy do I feel stupid. _Kagami muttered in her head. It seems as if every page, though it didn't say it directly, made Kagami think about how stupid and mean she had been acting to Konata. Now she was starting to realize what confusing messages she must have been sending. _I have to make it up to her! If I can find her... Kona..._ She thought, her heart hurting. Now she also felt bad because Konata seemed so relieved in her words that Tony hadn't been interested in Kagami. She felt bad that that hadn't been true. She sighed and wiped the tears away. She turned the page again.

_Dear Diary,_

_I've just been told that Kagami talks about me at home! Whether that's good or bad... Well, I don't know, but I like it! And I also figured out that Tsukasa likes Tony! I'm wondering if I should tell him or not? I never said I wouldn't if she told me, after all! Anyway, I'm tired Diary, probably from the giant run I had during the tournament. Speaking of which, I wonder when I should give Kagami that ring? Can I give it to her for no reason you think? Last time I gave her something for no reason, she didn't believe me... Maybe I can turn it into a joke? No, that would be stupid. That's one of the things she hates... Maybe I'll ask Tony... He's good at strategies... Either way, thanks for listening Diary!_

_Konata~_

_Kona ran all the way home from the tournament and back in ten minutes? Holy crap! Just to get money so she could buy me this..._ She looked up at the ring still on her finger. _She's done so much for me... I feel so horrible! How could I have hurt such a perfect angel?_ She asked herself, though she knew she had no answer. She sighed and turned the page once more.

_Dear Diary,_

_I almost kissed Kagami today! I wish I had. I so wish I had. I asked her about how she would know who she loved. She responded by telling me that she'd just know. And she listed off a whole bunch of stuff! Hm... now that I think back, I think Kagami said she at one point... Maybe my wish that she liked me is messing with my head. I don't know if I can live up to her expectations, but I sure as hell gotta try! I think the best I can do is try to make her feel safe when I hug her. She said she liked it when I hugged her too! That made me so happy. I don't think I can even put it into words. Imagine something you enjoyed more then almost anything you can think of was healthy and profitable and good and stuff. I don't think that even does it. I love her. I wish she could see that. I'm tired now. I'm going to sleep diary. Thanks for listening._

_Konata~_

This was really recently. Kagami couldn't help it. Tears fell from her cheeks as she cried. She had hurt Konata. Her Konata. Well, she couldn't really call her hers now, could she? _I don't deserve her. This was when I first started to realize I was in love with her. I wish you had too Kona. Please... I hope you can forgive me when I find you..._ She cried, tears falling onto the paper. She wiped her tears once more and turned the page twice by accident. By this action, she could see that the next entry was the last. She turned back to it.

_Dear Diary._

_Kagami hates me. She just chased me away after I confessed. Dad's asleep. I've gotta see Tony, he said he owed me one, something about helping Tsukasa in the past. Anything he could do, he'd do for me. I'm calling in my favor._

_Konata_

Kagami felt a sense of dread coming over her. _What? What does that mean?_ Kagami gasped, afraid of the implications. _No! I've gotta find her! I hope she's still at Tony's house!_ Kagami sprang up and ran out the door. She dashed past the living room and out the door. She jumped down the steps leading up to Konata's house and ran over to Tony's front door. She smashed on the door as hard as she could. "TONY!" She shouted. "OPEN UP!" Tony soon opened. He looked a sort of depressed.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony was sitting happily on the couch, eyes closed and almost asleep. Suddenly, the door burst open, stirring Tony and causing him to look over. He saw Konata, tears in her eyes, and a look of fear on her face. That scared him.

"Konata?" Tony asked. Konata ran over to Tony, kicking the door closed in the process, and hugged onto him.

"Tony, I confessed to Kagami!" Konata shouted. Tony's fear deepened by magnitudes.

"And...?" He asked.

"She laughed at me and chased me away!" Konata cried into Tony's shirt. The notion that Kagami could do something like that seemed ridiculous.

"No way, you must have misunderstood! Kagami loves you, I know it!" Tony said. Konata shook her head.

"She laughed at me! I'm just a Yuri freak! She hates me!" Konata sobbed. Tony hugged her.

"Kon-kon, you're not a freak, she didn't laugh at you, and she most certainly does NOT hate you. I'm giving you my personal guarantee." Tony said. Konata hiccuped, but otherwise made no attempt to stop crying. What she did do was look up into Tony's eyes and stare at him.

"Kan-kan, how did you feel when you thought Tsukasa had rejected you?" Konata asked. Tony sighed.

"It was one of the worst feelings I've ever experienced." He said. Konata fiercely nodded her head.

"Only she didn't reject you! Kagami laughed at me!" Konata shouted. Tony sighed.

"Maybe I can go have a talk with her." Tony suggested. Konata sniffled.

"Kan-kan, if you want to help, I know how." Konata said.

"Name it Konata." Tony smiled.

"Do you think you can manipulate time?" Konata asked. Tony's eyes widened.

"What?" The smile faded fast.

"Can you turn back time? I want to take back my confession to Kagami, it's too soon! Do you have the energy?" Konata asked. Tony sighed.

"Konata, I'm sorry. Time is NOT something I want to mess with. Technically, yeah, I could. I could drain the energy from everything around us until I got what was necessary. Casualties wouldn't matter since we were going back to a time before they died, but still. I don't have the wisdom to tamper with the time line." Tony determined.

"I'm calling in my favor." Konata said.

"What?" Tony asked.

"I said I'm calling in my favor! You remember after we watched Lion King, you said you owed me one, that anything within your power was mine! Well this is what I want, and you just said it was in your power!" Konata argued. Tony gulped. He was caught by his own gratitude.

"Konata..." He muttered. "Please, understand. There are a million and one ways this could go horribly, horribly wrong." Tony said.

"No worse than things already are!" Konata said.

"Oh really? You said she chased you off. Picture you both having a great time, but you leave as friends. She goes to her house, but gets hit by a car on her way home! Or mugged, or raped, or who knows what? You know how dangerous the streets can get at night!" Tony said. "If any of those happened, it's very possible you'd never have a chance to see her again. And let me tell you Konata, losing a loved one without being able to tell them goodbye... There's no worse pain. Not even what you're feeling now." Tony's voice dropped. Konata blinked and sighed.

"But Kan-kan..." Konata breathed. Tony sighed.

_Damn it, I can't stand to see a girl cry... _"Konata. Wait twenty four hours. If you truly think that there is no other way, I'll do it. But I'm not sending you back alone, I'm coming too. Just promise me that you'll think about this. This is NOT something that I can do lightly, and if you hadn't helped Tsukasa so much in the past, I would not even consider the topic open." Tony said. Konata smiled.

"Thank you." She sighed contently.

"Please, take my bed. I'll sleep out here." Tony said.

"Where's your brother?" Konata asked. Tony shrugged.

"Still at work I think. He can have the guest room." Tony said. Konata smiled.

"Thank you Kan-kan." She said.

"You're welcome." He rubbed and patted her back. "Go get some sleep." He said. Konata smiled and got up. She walked to his room and closed the door. Tony sighed and laid back on the couch and closed his eyes. He fell asleep. Suddenly, there was banging. Banging and yelling. Tony groaned and got up. He figured he couldn't have slept for more than five hours based on the light he saw as he opened the door.

"Hello Kagami." He said curtly.

"Tony, let me in! I have to see Konata!" Kagami demanded. Tony sighed.

"I'm sorry Kagami, she doesn't want to see you right now." He said. Kagami glared at him.

"Listen, I HAVE to see her! About last night! She's my friend, you can't keep me from her!" She said. Tony flared his nostrils.

"She's MY sister, and I'll keep you from who ever the hell I want to, understand? You hurt her very, VERY badly! I won't have you coming into MY house and hurting her again!" Tony said. Kagami stepped back from the defiance in his voice. Kagami breathed in, then out.

"Tony, I love her." Kagami said, looking fiercely into his eyes. Tony raised his eyebrows in surprise. But they were soon followed by a skeptical look.

"Right. Because when I love someone, I laugh in their face when they confess." Tony said spitefully.

_Oh to hell with this!_ Kagami shouted in her head as she ducked past him. She didn't make it half way to the hall before she found she couldn't move.

"_Forget not who you are dealing with!" _A voice boomed in her head. Tony's voice. _"Konata is precious to me, if you so much as THINK of hurting her, I will tear out your throat and force feed you it!"_ He thundered viciously in her head. She started trembling as she was involuntarily dragged back to the door by some invisible force.

"Tony..." She mumbled, tears flowing down her cheeks. "Is there nothing... Nothing I can do?" She looked up into his eyes.

_Damn it! That isn't fair!_ He cursed in his head. _I can't stand to see a girl cry... Did that just become common knowledge or something? This is the second damn time!_ He thought. "Kagami, there's one thing. It's going to feel really weird, but you have to promise not to fight it." Tony said quickly. Kagami blinked. She then got a very downcast look and averted her gaze.

"I hope that came out wrong... But I'll do it. If I can see Kona first, I'll do whatever you want. Just know that I want nothing to do with you after it's done." She mumbled, looking down. Tony thought about what he had said and realized where Kagami was coming from.

_Whoa. I didn't mean it like that, yet she still agreed._ Tony thought. That spoke volumes of either the girl's dedication, or lack there of. However, she had said she'd want nothing to do with him afterward. But Tony still had to make sure. "It came out wrong Kagami. Just try to clear your mind." Tony said. Kagami sniffled and tried. Tony reached into her mind, doing his best to shroud his own thoughts, and searched. He found emotion after emotion. He found memories of old and recent times. Finally, he found a feeling of remorse that he could only compare to his after he had practically poisoned Tsukasa. Once he felt that, he knew she was sincere. He delved a sight deeper and found a massive well of devotion, waiting for an outlet. Waiting for Konata. "Kagami..." He muttered. He sighed and stepped aside. "You have been weighed, you have been measured, and you have been found remorseful. You may go, but know this." He looked into her eyes. "If you do anything, anything at all, to hurt my sister, then there will be **no** charity for you." He threatened. "I've never hit a girl before, and I don't know what the gods will think of me if I do, but they know I will." Kagami sighed in relief and smiled.

"Tony, thank you. I owe you." Kagami said. "Now I need to go apologize to Kona." Kagami walked into Tony's room, where she had suspected Tony had set her up so she would be comfortable, to see Konata sitting on the bed, crying. It broke Kagami's heart. Konata looked up to see Kagami. The Otaku suddenly got a very panicked look and backed up against the wall.

"Ho-How did you get in? I told Tony I didn't want to see you!" Konata pointed at Kagami, trembling.

"Kona..." Kagami started walking up to Konata. Konata, however, grabbed the nearest object, a pillow luckily, and hurled it at Kagami. It hit her in the face, but she wouldn't back down if it were knives thrown at her.

"No! Kagami, you hurt me!" Konata shouted. "You hate me! I'm just a disgusting Yuri freak!" Konata shouted.

"Kona!" Kagami cried out. Konata was hyperventilating. "Please Kona! Don't run! You're not disgusting, you're not a freak!" Kagami shouted, walking towards her love. Konata was still backing up as much as she could but, since she was already at the wall, she found she couldn't. "Kona..." Kagami reached her love. She looked into her eyes and could see the fear behind them. "I love you." She said. Konata was breathing heavily, looking at the Tsundere.

"Yo-Yo-You're lying..." She said. "You hate me." Konata muttered. Kagami brought Konata into a hug.

"I don't hate you. I love you." Kagami repeated. They stayed that way for a moment before Kagami broke the hug and smiled to Konata. Konata looked confused. Then she looked a little happy. Then, however, she looked enraged. Next thing Kagami knew, she was on the ground. Konata brought her hand back up from her side and looked down at Kagami as a red hand print appeared on the younger girl's face.

"You can't love me! Why the fuck would you laugh at me if you loved me too?" Konata shouted angrily. Kagami's cheek burned like the sun, but she knew she would have to bear the pain. She knew she deserved every bit of it and more.

"Listen Kona, I wasn't laughing at you..." Kagami picked herself up onto her knees. "I was laughing at something else."

"What then? What was so damn funny that you would laugh when I confessed to you?" Konata demanded. Kagami sighed.

"I can't tell you that, but please just trust me Kona!" Kagami pleaded. "I would do anything for you, just name it! I'll do it!" Kagami said. Konata growled.

"Leave me alone for a little while Kagami." Konata walked back to the bed and sat down. "I need to think." She said. "If you love me, you're gonna have to prove it. Sorry doesn't prove anything unless you mean it, and I'm not sure you do." Kagami felt tears in her eyes again, but got to her feet and walked to the door. She turned to see Konata.

"Konata... I'm so sorry..." She muttered before she left. Konata took a deep breath and laid back in the bed. There came a knock at the door a moment later.

"Come." Konata said lazily. Tony opened the door.

"Konata, what's going on? I heard shouting." He said as he entered the room.

"I need to think Tony. Kagami said she loved me, but I don't know. I wish I could be sure." Konata sighed. Tony sighed as well.

"Konata, I can't tell you what you should do right now. You're free to stay here as long as you like, or you could come and watch the tournament. Or maybe even enter if you want." Tony offered. "We could make a day of it!" He said cheerfully.

"Thanks Tony, I might take you up on that." Konata said flatly. Tony sighed.

"In the mean time, I'll leave you with a thought. I read Kagami's mind before she came in. She was sorry. Very sorry." Tony turned and left the room, leaving Konata to her thoughts. She thought by herself for a long while.

_Should I forgive Kagami? Tony just said she was genuinely sorry! But no, Kagami has to prove her love! But still... _This debate continued in her head for at least an hour. It could have been longer. She neither tossed nor turned, nor did anything catch her attention. Konata felt tears in her eyes. _I'm gonna crack. I need to get away from here for a little while._ She decided. She pushed herself up and left the room lethargically. "Kan-kan!" She shouted.

"Yo!" Tony waved from the kitchen. "What's up Kon-kon?" He asked.

"I think I'm gonna go to that tournament! Is that okay?" Konata asked as she entered the kitchen to see Tony with a slightly larger bag than the day before and his ornate obsidian blade at his side. Tony smiled and nodded.

"Absolutely. Hey, if you compete, you can let out some of that anger!" Tony laughed. Konata smiled.

"I'd like that. Okay then, it's settled! You and I are going to dominate at the tournament in Lohan!" Konata cheered. Tony smiled to see Konata happy again. Something caught Konata's eye. "Kan-kan, you get a ring?" She asked.

"Yeah!" He showed her the ring on his right ring finger he had gotten from the vendor. "I picked it up while you were in the room." He smiled. Konata took a closer look and Tony knew what she had seen. "Remind you of anything?" He asked.

"Other than what's written inside, this is almost exactly like Itachi Uchiha's ring." Konata commented. Tony laughed.

"Yep! He's my favorite Naruto character." Tony smiled, completely ignoring the fact that he knew Naruto himself.

"How much it run ya?" Konata asked.

"About 75,000 yen." Tony said.

"Holy Haruhi. That's not a bad deal for this quality, but still. How much money did you get from the tournament that you can just spend that much?" Konata asked.

"It was a hefty amount Kon-kon, that's not all I got either." Tony smiled. Konata cocked her head to the side quizzically.

"What else?" She asked.

"I'll show ya later." Tony said. They heard a beep from outside the house. "That must be our ride, what are you gonna use for a weapon?" Tony asked. Konata hummed.

"There are a couple weapons from my training days at my house! Think we have time to get them?" Konata asked. Tony smirked and grabbed her arm. The sensation of overwhelming pressure took over their senses again for an instant. Soon as it was over, Konata almost doubled over. She looked around to see they were in her living room. Her father was missing, but Konata knew that he was probably in his room doing who knows what. She ran over to her room. Tony heard another beep from outside. He breathed, and apparated to his house. Quickly, he ran into his training room and changed into weighted clothing. If they were using weapons, he could use the protection the clothes would provide. He sighed and went back to see Konata had yet to leave her room. Konata was a few more seconds before she came out in her cheongsam. Tony smiled.

"So where are the weapons?" He asked. Konata smiled a bit wider. She suddenly had two butterfly knives, one in each hand.

"This good?" She smirked.

"Sure, if that's whatcha want." Tony smiled. Konata cheered and ran over. "You ready?"

"Mhm!" Konata took a stance with her knives.

"Well then let's go!" Tony cheered. He grabbed Konata's arm again and they were back inside Tony's door. Konata noticed that she didn't have as much of a reaction this time.

_I must be getting use to it..._ Konata smiled. Tony breathed again, tired from the constant and heavy use of his energy. He felt fortunate that he would get several hours rest before he would have to fight. The two walked out the door and saw Miki in the car, waving. She gave a confused look at Konata until the two got up to her.

"She'll be accompanying us, if that's okay." Tony said.

"Fine with me..." Miki commented. She motioned for Tony to come closer to her. He complied while Konata walked around to the other side of the car. "Did you see Kagami?" She asked in a whisper.

"Yeah, she came. Konata just needs some time away from her, that's all." Tony said. "I'm sure that she'll be okay. Why?" Tony asked.

"She told me. I know Kagami has feelings for Konata, and I approve. She called last night and said she... did something very bad." Miki said.

"Very true, she laughed in Konata's face when she confessed. You don't get much worse than that." Tony almost spat. Miki sighed.

"I understand why you're so angry. Please, don't hate her though. She's truly sorry." Miki said. Tony sighed.

"Yes. I know. But let's put such thoughts behind us. We have a tournament we're gonna miss." Tony smiled. Miki smiled as well.

"That we do." Tony walked around and took a seat in the back next to Konata.

"Through the park Bitterman, you know how I love the park." Tony sort of shooed the air in front of him. Miki and Konata laughed. Tony, content that he had gotten a laugh from his reference, decided to risk talking to Hachiman again. He decided he would apologize for his presumptuous behavior and hope Hachiman would forgive him. Before he could summon the god, however, he felt the familiar presence of the being's consciousness brush against his. Tony opened his mind. _Boss? I was just about to call ya!_ Tony said.

_I know, I've been watchin' ya since yesterday. Kid, I'm sorry. I let my temper get the better of me._ Hachiman apologized.

_I was at fault as well Boss. I presumed myself more important than everyone else. I'll do my best to stop being so selfish._ Tony thought. He felt a certain satisfaction radiating from the god.

_Well, I'm glad to hear that. However, I still would like to apologize. So, you may ask any questions you wish. I shall answer to the best of my abilities. Nothing held back._ Hachiman said. Tony smiled and pondered the possibilities.

_Boss, how do you recharge your energy so quickly?_ Tony asked.

_Straight to the point I see. That is a question with an answer both simple and not. _Hachiman said.

_A little more cryptic please, I might actually have understood that a little_ _bit. _Tony thought sarcastically.

_You see, I merely convert matter into energy. You may not have realized, but there is a great amount of energy in even the smallest bits of matter. Take the atomic bomb, for example. How is the explosion created? _Hachiman asked.

_By splitting an atom... Damn, that's so simple! Why didn't I think of that?_ Tony scolded himself.

_It's good that you did not. Very few beings, divine and otherwise, can withstand the sheer amount of energy released in such a reaction. Do you believe you could suppress an atomic explosion?_ The god asked.

_*Sigh* No. Probably not._ Tony sighed.

_My point. Only under the very direst of circumstances, where the earth is at risk should you __**EVER** attempt this technique. Maybe not even then. If you overdid it, you could destroy the earth by yourself. Trying something like this is incredibly dangerous, even if I were supervising you. Unless..._ Hachiman sounded like he had suddenly had a thought.

_Unless...?_ Tony urged him to continue.

_Unless I took you away from the earth. To somewhere where you couldn't do any harm if you did kill yourself. Or at least, no physical harm. Just know that if you were to fail and you died, there's a good chance that it would be permanent. No resurrection like with your mother. And that would mean Tsukasa and the rest of your friends would be forced to live without you again. Do not forget Tsukasa's __past in particular. I don't think I need to tell you the implications if she lost someone she had gotten so very close to, even more so than Itsuwari._ Hachiman warned.

_Yeah..._ Tony felt fear grip him.

_Her recent hospitalization has also weakened her body. If I may put it more bluntly, I have a feeling she wouldn't be far behind you. And my feelings are seldom wrong, if you catch my meaning._ Hachiman said. Tony realized what the god was saying all too well. The immense feeling of dread that overtook him made coherent thought near impossible. It took him a moment to compose himself.

_It's an incredibly powerful technique that, if I could master it, would prove invaluable as both a way of getting energy back and as a failsafe if I could contain it. Should I even attempt it though..._ Tony thought to himself once he could again think.

_The decision is yours. Only know the gravity of what you'll be messing in. It's only because of your __recently acquired strength of character and my promise that I have even deemed to talk about this to you. I know you will not consciously cause any unnecessary damage if you were to learn this. However, I also must warn you. If this power got out of control, it could very easily unravel the very fabric of space and time and destroy everything in the known and unknown cosmos. One ordinary man turned to raw, unrelenting energy could destroy metropolis' with ease. You, with your much greater then ordinary energy supply, could do much more damage. As I said, the earth could be at risk._ Hachiman warned again.

_Gotcha. I'll... think on this._ Tony thought.

_Very well. Anything else?_ Hachiman asked. Tony thought for a moment.

_Did Amaterasu truly bless Tsukasa?_ Tony asked. He felt a feeling of amusement from the god.

_Indeed she did. She taught her a song and gave her that stone._ Hachiman said.

_What does the stone do?_ Tony asked. He got the impression of a sigh.

_That, I can honestly say, I do not know. All I can really tell ya is that if you need it, it will help. If you don't, it shouldn't harm you._ Hachiman said. Tony snickered in his head.

_I thought you knew everything._ He said.

_That's true, and not at the same time._ Hachiman said. Tony sighed.

_I really don't need an explanation for that one, I'll take your word for it._ He deadpanned. Hachiman seemed to find this amusing, a laugh coming from his mind.

_I understand, it's difficult for you to grasp the mind of a god. Sometimes, I don't entirely understand it myself!_ He said. Tony laughed in his mind.

_So, I have another question for you._ Tony said once he had calmed down and gotten more serious.

_That being...?_ Hachiman asked.

_Time. Had I sent Konata back in time, what would have happened? I have no intention of doing so, I'm sure Kagami will find a way to get Konata to forgive her by then anyway, but just a what if?_ Tony asked.

_Ah, that. First, let me say that I'm extremely happy that you recognized your place in that. You realized that you were not wise enough to tamper with the Time Line, and for that, I congratulate you. As for you breaking down at the sight of her crying... Well, I understand. I hate seeing girls cry as much as you do._ Hachiman chuckled. _But to answer your question, I don't know. Time is too uncertain to predict like that, too many variables to count for to come even remotely close to a logical guess at what would have happened._

_Makes sense._ Tony smiled. Another thought occurred to him, one he hadn't thought of before. _Hey Boss. You're a Shinto God, correct?_ He asked.

_Of course._ Hachiman said.

_As is Amaterasu._ Tony asked again.

_She too._ Hachiman said. _Where are you going with this kid?_

_Well, I was wondering. Since you two and the rest undoubtedly exist, does that mean that Shintoism and Buddhism are the correct religions?_ Tony asked. Hachiman laughed hard.

_I've absolutely no idea! It's just as likely not to be the case as it is TO be the case! We are patron Gods of Japan. It's the main religion here. It's entirely possible that elsewhere, there are other gods from the other religions. Perhaps there is a Zeus in Greece? Or there truly is a Shiva who will bring about the end of the world? None of this is known to us, and we're content without knowing. Doesn't mean we wouldn't fight tooth and nail to stop the end of the world, but all things will eventually end. I will. You will. In any case, don't worry so much about it. For all we know, there's a higher being named God who rules over us with an invisible hand. Do you have any more questions?_ Hachiman asked. Tony thought.

_Can you teach me to sense energy? I really want to find the necklace I gave to Tsukasa, but it seems that's the only way to go about it._ Tony said. Hachiman hummed.

_Another time kid. Meanwhile, look in your pocket._ Hachiman said. Tony stuck his hand in his pocket to feel something. He took it out and looked to see Tsukasa's amulet. _I know that wasn't what you were expecting, but I hope it'll do._

_Yes it will... Thank you_. Tony smiled.

_One thing though, if you put out your consciousness into a jewel and add energy, it'll act as a sort of energy bank. It's the first step to sensing energy as well. That gem in your ring, for example, is perfect._ Hachiman said.

_Thanks Boss._ Tony said.

_You're welcome. Anything else?_ Hachiman asked. Tony thought one last time.

_You're not gonna kick my ass again in this tournament, are you?_ Tony asked. Hachiman laughed again.

_I had not planned on it, no. Have fun kid._ The god laughed, sensing Tony had no more questions.

_I will. Thanks._ Tony smiled.

_No problem._ Hachiman left his mind. Tony opened his eyes as the car was conveniently pulling into the town.

"Here we are! Lohan!" Miki chimed. Tony and Konata looked at each other.

_This is gonna be fun._ They both thought simultaneously.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

"_**If you love me, then you're gonna have to prove it."**_ The words echoed in Kagami's head. She sighed away tears as she made her way back to her home.

_She's right. How have I proven my love to her in the past? Well, first I need to start being more truthful around her, and in general. Especially about my feelings._ Kagami sighed. She knew what she had to do. It would be several hours before she could enact her plan, but she knew she had to start somewhere. _Dad._ She sighed in fear. Fear of the man who could and probably would take her family away from her. However, there was no other way in Kagami's mind. She had to do this.

* * *

**POV Tony**

The three of them got out of the car.

"Oh, are you staying too Mrs. Hiiragi?" Tony asked. Miki giggled.

"Please, call me Mom." She smiled. Tony's eyes widened as a bit of a blush took to his face. Miki saw this and giggled again. "Well, I'm sure you have every intention of calling me that some day, so the way I see it, you're just not wasting any time like this!" She reasoned in front of him. He smiled.

"Thanks... Mom." Tony said. Calling someone Mom again. It felt good. It felt really, really good. He couldn't help but feel traitorous to his own mother though. He shook it all off and continued his query. "So you're staying?" He asked.

"Well~..." Miki brought out a recorder. "Tsukasa wanted me to tape it for her." She smiled. "What I'm worried about is you Konata." Miki turned to the smaller girl. She grinned back at the older woman.

"Why's that?" She asked.

"Well, you look rather small, I can't imagine you'll hold up very nicely against people who fight with weapons!" Miki said, worry evident in her voice. Konata smiled a warm smile.

"Thanks for caring, but I should be okay." Konata smiled as they made their way through the town. A merchant suddenly shouted at them from his place on a blanket.

"Hey, wanna buy a bottle!" He shouted. Tony chuckled.

"Maybe we should get a small token of our being here!" He laughed he walked over to the merchant. "How much is it?"

"This one's durable and the best quality you can get!" The merchant held out a bottle.

"How much?" Tony asked. The merchant grinned.

"... Surprise! It's a super bargain! How about 13,358,060,000,000 Yen?" He asked. Tony almost fainted.

"Yeah, no. Good luck with that." He muttered as they walked off. They heard the merchant yelling for them to come back, that it was a joke, but they ignored him and continued walking. They found an opening in which they entered to find themselves in a large ring. The three looked around when Konata noticed something. She looked up to see a couple strange animals running on the upper ring of the area. She giggled as they jumped over the gap that was the entry way.

"Kan-kan, what kinda animals are they?" Konata asked. Tony looked up just as they were running by again.

"I dunno, they aren't any kind of animal I know. They look like some kind of mouse or rat." Tony said. They walked around until they found a stand next to stairs.

"Hey, if any of you people out there are live fast, die young types and want to test your courage, step up and fill out the application! My advice to those of you who are feeble cowards or have cold feet, don't register. I guarantee you will die. So, you'll register now?" The attendant asked.

"I'll participate." Tony said.

"That's my man! And who will be participating?" The person asked. Tony scratched his head.

"Of course I am." He smiled.

"So am I." Konata smiled. The attendant leaned over the desk so that they could see the Otaku.

"Alright. When you are ready, go to the waiting room! We'll be waiting for you!" The person said.

"Thank you very much." Tony and Konata both bowed. They walked towards the stairs, where they stopped and turned to Miki.

"Good luck you two." She smiled.

"Thanks Mom..." Tony smiled. "I'll admit, I kind of wish Tsukasa was here to cheer me on..." He scratched his head. Miki giggled and handed him a phone. Confused, he put it to his ear.

"Good luck Kan-kun~!" He heard Tsukasa chime from the other end. Tony smiled much wider.

"Thanks Tsukasa, now I know I can win!" He cheered. Tsukasa giggled.

"Just don't come back too hurt, okay Kan-kun? I expect you to be able to take me on a date soon!" Tsukasa said. Tony chuckled.

"As you wish." He said.

"Bye-nii~!" Tsukasa chimed.

"Bye..." He squealed in his head. _How on earth did I get such a cute girl?_ He wondered as he returned the phone to Miki. "Thank you."

"I figured you would want to talk to her before you fought." Miki smiled.

"You figured right." Tony smiled. "I guess we'd better get going." Tony said.

"Good luck. I'll watching from up there." Miki pointed to the stands.

"Thanks." Konata smiled. Tony stopped them on the stairs.

"Kon-kon, I don't want to see you die here. I don't doubt your abilities, but misfortune strikes even the most skilled fighters. May I put a spell on you that will stop you from dying?" Tony asked. Konata seemed to think it over.

"Well, I don't want to cheat, but I don't want to die either... I guess so. But try to make it only take effect if I'm really gonna die, alright?" Konata asked. Tony smiled and nodded.

"Agreed." He said. He put a hand to her forehead and started mumbling something about the air halting weapons when her health was in danger. He breathed and was silenced. "Done. Thank you." He smiled.

"Hey, I should be thanking you! I don't want me to die as much as you don't!" Konata chuckled. The two descended down the stairs as Miki walked to her seat and started the camera. Konata and Tony walked down the steps to hear yelling.

"WHAT? Old geezer, say that again!" A man in armor yelled, a staff with a large iron ball at the end it in his hand.

"Martial abilities mature along with the spirit. You have such an immature spirit. You are not a match for me." The old man said.

"ARG! I can't stand it anymore! I'll settle this with you here!" The armored man shouted, readying his weapon. With one punch from the old man, however, the man was flat on his back, unconscious. The old man rolled his arm.

"I told you so. You have to respect old people." He said. Another man in red armor walked past Tony and Konata.

"Haschel!" He shouted.

"Oh? Oh! It's you Dart!" Haschel exclaimed. Konata and Tony walked up.

"That was awesome!" Konata's eyes sparkled. It was rare she saw another martial artist. Let alone one who could knock someone out with one punch to an armored chest.

"Oh, are you other contestants?" Haschel turned to them. The nodded.

"Yeah! You're pretty strong." Konata complimented, looking at the unconscious dunce. Haschel looked at him as well.

"Well, I taught him some courtesy. That's all." He commented. While those two talked, Tony and Dart met.

"So you're a swordsman as well?" Tony smiled.

"Yeah, I look forward to fighting with you." Dart said. "That's an interesting blade you have." He pointed out. Tony drew his black sword.

"Forged it myself, gotta admit I'm proud of it." He smiled. He began describing the blade's composition and discussing such things with the fellow swordsman.

"So, have you ever entered any other tournaments?" Dart asked.

"Yeah, I entered one just recently, a World's Martial Arts tournament. You?" Tony asked.

"I entered this one a few years ago, while I was on a quest." Dart said.

"Ah. Mind me asking what the quest was?" Tony asked.

"Not at all! I was pursuing a monster that destroyed my home town. They killed my family and burned my home to the ground." Dart said in a grave tone. Tony sighed.

"I'm sorry to hear that. How did it turn out?" He asked.

"Turned out okay, I'd say." Dart said.

"If it's any consolation, my family was killed by a monster as well." Tony said.

"Have you found them yet?" Dart asked.

"No. I intend to though. And when I do, I will kill him in the longest, most excruciatingly painful way I can imagine." Tony said.

"If you need help, let me know." Dart offered. Tony smiled.

"Thanks buddy." He said. The man from upstairs came in.

"Gents! The time has come to decide the strongest in Japan! Enter the arena when you are ready!" He said. Dart looked back and clapped Tony on the arm.

"Good luck man." He said. Tony returned the gesture.

"You too." They walked out into the arena. After opening ceremonies, the matches were announced.

* * *

**The First Match: Konata vs Gorgaga**

Konata walked in and saw her first opponent. It was a large man with a bare chest and stomach, yet shoulder armor. He had a large, two-handed ax. Konata put a fist in her hand and put it in front of her, as if to display it. Then, she smiled as she drew her butterfly knives. She looked up to see Miki was recording. Konata winked and turned back to her opponent.

_That must be something..._ Tony thought to himself.

"Eat this!" He shouted as he threw something green at her. Konata blinked, but suddenly felt very, VERY ill.

"Wh-what was that..." She coughed. She heard Dart from the side.

"Poison? A dirty trick!" He shouted.

_He poisoned me? Damn, that's not good..._ Konata thought.

"Hee hee hee... Winning is winning." Gorgaga chuckled. Konata brought herself up and took her stance. The man ran up and swung, but Konata was angry at this person now. She used the back of her blade to stop the halberd in the air and swung at the man. Despite his size, he managed to dodge, as Konata's movements were slowed. Konata leaned in and twisted her knives around his halberd and flipped them, causing the weapon to be wretched from his hands. Angry, he swung his fist at her. Normally, this would have been child's play for Konata. But she was not normally poisoned. The chemical impeded her movements for an instant, causing her to take the punch. She was thrown onto her back, her knives almost leaving her grasp while Gorgaga ran over to his weapon. He picked it up and ran back over. Seeing he was back and regaining her functions again, she rolled on her back and locked her legs around one of his, bringing him down to a knee. On his way down, he swung his halberd down to try and win with one strike, but Konata brought the side of her blade and redirected her opponent's weapon into the ground. She took her other knife and brought the flat of it onto the man's neck, pushing him down onto the ground as well. She rolled on her back and latched her legs onto his back. From there, she brought both her blades back and held them against Gorgaga's throat.

"Gotcha." She said.

"Damn! You just wait!" He got up and ran away.

"And the winner is Konata Izumi!" Someone shouted. Konata coughed again and walked out, wondering how she won from the man simply running away.

_I guess he forfeited..._ She stumbled out of the arena. Tony ran up to her and grabbed her by the arm. Suddenly, relief washed over Konata.

"That was a dirty trick he used. Are you okay?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, I think you got. Thanks a lot." Konata smiled up at him.

"No problem." He smiled back.

"Did your ward have to save me?" Konata asked. Tony shook his head.

"Nope. You had that one in the bag." Tony smiled. "I'm up next, wish me luck!" He waved.

"Luck!" Konata waved back. Tony rolled his eyes and chuckled.

* * *

**Second Match: Tony Vs Serfius**

Tony walked in to see a completely armored man. If Tony didn't know better, he'd say this sword wielding man was a medieval knight.

_There are a lot of armored fighters here. I suppose against armed opponents, it's a reasonable precaution though._ Tony thought. They both drew their swords and circled each other. Serfius ran up and swung his sword. Tony leaned back to dodge and swung his own blade. Serfius jumped back, but not before the blade cut across the armor on his stomach. Tony smiled. _Since obsidian is harder than steel, and my blade is bolstered by diamond, I can cut right through his armor._ Tony thought to himself. Serfius looked down at his armor and scowled, though his expression was hidden by his helmet. He ran up and struck again, but Tony brought the flat of his blade against his opponent's and let the sword follow the man's up his blade and hit him in the arm. Serfius jumped back again.

"Powerful, as I expected. Fine. I'll show you my swordsmanship." He braced down. He ran up and tried a downward slash. Tony breathed and gathered his strength.

_I'll end this now!_ He thought. He swung with a good portion of his strength and sliced _through_ the man's blade. Tony's sword continued and cut down the man's armor. It hit the ground and was stuck for an instant. Serfius looked terrified.

"Ahg! Too powerful..." He muttered. Tony pulled his sword out of the ground as he was announced winner. He stopped to wave at the crowd and left smiling.

_I hope that'll impress Tsukasa!_ Tony smiled. He looked to see his sword was slightly damaged, even with the diamond core in it. He placed his hand over it. "Repair this blade." He muttered. As if a sentient being, the space around the blade shimmered as the blade rebuild itself. Tony rubbed his forehead and ate a bit of the dengen he had packed earlier. He decided he might as well try the technique Hachiman had told him of and felt the ring with his mind. He started transferring whatever extra energy he got from the energy food into the ruby of the ring. The energy seemed to remain a bit more subdued and stayed put. Tony moved his hand around and was satisfied to see the energy move with it. It wasn't much, in fact it was miniscule. But it was a start. Then Tony wondered where Konata was. He looked around the room to see her in conversation with Haschel. Tony smiled and looked out to see Dart was fighting. By the current fight, he looked like he was winning by no small advantage. What confused Tony was the fact that both fighters were standing still. One would run up and attack, but the recipient wouldn't dodge. A sword would slash through someone's chest, but there was no wound. Only a little "87" would pop up in mid air in front of them. After that, the attacker would run back to his original position. Then the recipient would run up and attack. Rinse and repeat. Finally, Dart's opponent ran away. Dart turned to both sides, waving, and walked out. "Nice fight Dart!" Tony waved.

"Thanks! You're very skilled, I remember fighting Serfius when I first entered this tournament. It took me a lot longer." Dart said.

"Thanks buddy." Tony smiled. Haschel walked past them.

"My turn!" He said as he walked out. Konata walked up beside the two to watch.

"I see you made a friend Kon-kon." Tony smiled.

"Yeah, he knows a lot about martial arts! It's not the same style, but he doesn't need weapons to fight." Konata smiled. Then it was as if something dawned on her. "Kan-kan, I'm sorry I missed your fight! How didja do?" She asked.

"I died." He said. Konata giggled.

"Oh really?" She asked sarcastically.

"This is a recording." He chuckled. Konata giggled again and looked out to watch her fellow martial artist.

"She your girlfriend?" Dart asked.

"Sister, actually." Tony smiled. They were interrupted by cheers of the crowd as Haschel walked back in. Tony looked at him, bewildered. "That was fast..." He commented.

"It was pretty awesome, you shoulda watched." Konata catgrinned to Tony.

"Haschel is very skilled in rogue style." Dart complimented as Konata walked out to her next fight.

"Apparently... Konata's pretty skilled too." Tony smiled as they looked out. He gulped as he saw Konata's opponent was a large, fat man, covered with armor almost as red as Dart's. He had a helmet with a spike on it. Tony looked back to see Haschel relaxing. "Don't you wanna watch?" He asked him.

"When she wins this match and I win my next one, then I'll see her fight." Haschel said without opening his eyes. Tony turned back to the arena.

* * *

**Fifth Match: Konata vs Danton**

Konata cracked her neck as she walked out. She looked up to see Miki recording.

_I better not screw up. _She thought as she looked to see her opponent had a large wooden mace. She made the same gesture she had made in the beginning of her first match. Konata drew her blades and smiled. The man waddled over slowly and swung his mace clumsily. Konata dodged easily enough and swung one of her own knives at him. It ricocheted off his armor and flew from Konata's hand. The man swung his mace again and caught Konata in the side, throwing her to the side. Her other knife was sent flying from her hand. She rolled on her shoulder and took her fighting stance. The man ran over and swung horizontally, but Konata jumped over the mace. She gathered her strength and punched his at him, but he moved back. Konata realized she was at a great reach disadvantage. She ducked under the man's legs, but was stopped as the man grabbed her by the hair. Just as Konata had hoped. He pulled her up to level with his face, quite a painful action indeed. She couldn't help but notice that this man had horrible breath. That aside, Konata reached out and took the man's helmet by the spike and tore it off. She brought the metal against the man's head, causing him to drop the girl. Konata fell onto her feet and kicked the man's knee from the side, breaking it. The man fell to a knee. Konata smiled as the man fell to level with her. She released rapid fire fisticuffs onto the man's face. He swung blindly, but Konata slid over to the side and continued from the side of his head. Finally, the man gave in and fell unconscious. Konata exhaled in exhaustion as the crowd roared. She looked up at Miki and winked again before gathering her weapons and leaving the arena.

"Konata, that was insane!" Tony scolded. "I thought he was gonna rip your hair out!" Tony said as he grasped Konata's arm and healed her again. He ate more dengen, his stomach growling in protest. Deciding to capitalize on probably one of his last time he would be able to eat the stuff, he ate half the bag and let the energy he got from it drain into his ring. He wouldn't be able to eat very much if anymore or it would come back up. What was worse was that he was next to fight. He looked into his ring to see quite a sizable amount of energy was now stored. Now all that was left was to not forget about it. He got up and walked out to see his next opponent was an archer. Konata and Dart watched from the side as Tony easily cut the arrows fired by the archer out of the air. Soon, Tony flash stepped forward and sliced the bow in half, ending the fight. After cheers from the audience, he walked back in.

"That was an awesome fight Kan-kan!" Konata cheered.

"Ah, so you watched this time, did ya?" Tony chuckled.

"Totally!" Konata smiled. "That time you cut his arrow down the middle was awesome!" Konata cheered.

"You are a very skilled swordsman." Dart smiled as he passed on his way out to fight. They watched as he swiftly disposed of his opponent and came back in.

"I really do look forward to our fight." Tony smiled.

"As do I." Dart smiled as Haschel walked out into the arena. After an impressive display of martial arts, he walked back, looking none the worse for wear.

"So, next is Tony vs. Dart, then it's me vs. you Haschel." Konata smiled.

"Indeed it is." Haschel smiled back.

"The real fights begin." Tony cheered.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Kagami was sitting in the living room. Her sisters had gone to visit Tsukasa and she knew her father was expecting she would be as well. She figured in a few hours when her father got off work, he would come home to change and then follow suit. However, he would find Kagami there. And she would ask him to call her sisters home. And she would tell him. Everything.

_I love you Konata, and this is my proof._ Kagami sat determined. She knew what she was doing. She knew her father would probably disown her. But that would only serve to prove her love. If her father really loved her, he would accept her. If not, so be it. _Maybe I'll call Mom and ask if she got to talk to Dad._ Kagami wondered. In either case, at the end of the day, her father would know her feelings. Let his judgment be made.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya Luckies! I'm Akira Kogami, your navigator!"

"And I'm Minoru Shiriashi, the assistant!" Minoru bowed.

"Minoru, did you have a nice day off?" Akira asked.

"Shouldn't you know?" Minoru asked.

"M-... Well, I guess so, but you still need to tell the readers!" Akira said.

"We went to see Beauty and the Beast in 3D!" Minoru said.

"It was fantastic! I loved it! I laughed, I cried, I laughed more! I think I farted once..." Akira reminisced.

"Um, Akira..." Minoru mumbled uncomfortably. Akira looked at him and realized why he was uncomfortable. In not two lines, she had forgotten that she was live.

"Oh! Um..." She started thinking of something to say.

*Music Tone*

"Well, I guess that's all the time we have for today! I'll see you all next chapter! Bye nii~!"

"..."

"That was close!" Akira said.

"Yeah, that was quite a slip there Akira..." Minoru commented.

"I forgot we weren't in private, we've had a couple days off..."

"Yeah..."

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

Due to popular request, I am, in fact, writing a Valentine's Day one-shot. I know that I'm a little late, but most of the requests came in via PM on Valentine's Day itself, I ended up getting started at something like eight at night! So hopefully I can come out with it soon! This chapter didn't get nearly what I wanted done, so I should be able to get the next chapter out quickly, I'm confident of where it's gonna end already. I also started reader Smusher6's "Lucky Temptations" today as well! I really like it so far, I'm gonna have to review it when I get the chance. Unfortunately, my time is running out for today. I'll see if I can't review every chapter, I know I'm horrible with that though. Anyway, a big thank you to Flygon Master! And wish me luck in the next chapter! Review!


	37. Chapter 36: Of Tournaments and Tsunderes

Chapter 36: The Tournament's End and a Tsundere's Feelings

Here we are, the next chapter! Well Army, if that's how you feel, I hate to lose a reader. But there's not a whole hell of a lot I can do other than change my story's entire anatomy. Believe me, that's what would happen if I stopped, or even just cut down on references. I'm glad you enjoyed some of it however, and I hope maybe you'll stay for the eventual Konami. Though you can't expect people to not assume you meant I wrote a bad story based on the fact that most of the things you said were negative. *Shrug* Thank you very much for you compliments and your time, though I disagree that the relationship will never develop. I'm not gonna take up as much time on one review as I did last time, it was over a thousand words as a response last time :P HolyRiot, I laughed when I saw your review. I don't know if the line at the end was intentional, seeing as how this story isn't going to end anywhere in the REMOTELY near future. Ulti, I'm so glad you said what you did how you did. About other author referencing and the speed of Konami. You see, I was feeling the exact same way about referencing other authors, however I was unsure how to articulate it. You put it into words exactly though, thank you. And about the action, I can write it much better, but I have to cut something short so that the chapters don't get way the hell too long! I even had to cut the fights in this chapter as well :P As for the amount of parodies I write, I must once again agree. I'll even admit that when I'm reading it through these days, there are a few songs I wrote that I skip. However, I didn't pay as much attention to getting those perfect as I did some of the other ones. The ones I feel stand out from the rest have a LOT of work put into them. Hell, I have to listen to the actual song at least fifty times so that I can memorize the meter, the rhyme scheme, and then begin to apply it to the characters. And fifty times is when I pick it up exceptionally quick :P VampZard (By the way, is your name a shout out to Adventure Quest?) I am in no way a weekly updater, I wish I could claim such a solid schedule lol. Sometimes I'll take a month to type one chapter, and others I'll release two at once. Hell, the festival and the preparations before were more than 20,500 words and they took me ten days, not to mention I also wrote my OVA in that same span of time! So it all depends on if I get in a good writing mood, I hit a block with this particular chapter for several days before I used an old trick I learned to get around them! RU771AN... Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but did you change your name? And if so, how? I could have sworn your name was sebzz... In any case, thank you very much, glad to hear Chuck is liking it lol Ah Sqweebs, your question intrigued me. You questioned Konata's response, called it odd because she seemed like she wanted to forgive Kagami, but doesn't. Here's a scenario for you, one of your closest friends accidentally breaks your computer. You're gonna be mad, correct? That same friend, by the next day, has apologized and promised to give you money for a new computer. This friend is trustworthy, you know they're good for their word, but you're still going to be irked. You'd probably want to forgive them because you know they want to fix the problem and that they're sorry, but perhaps not quite yet since the damage has not yet been repaired. Perhaps that wasn't the best way to explain it, but it makes sense to me! Meh, who knows what works for me and what doesn't work for everyone else, I have some pretty hard dyslexia that makes my mind work in weird ways sometimes... Mavrick, you should forge yourself a sword exactly like Tony's. Hell, if I had the time and, for lack of a better word, ingredients, I'd make one myself! By the way, Konata is, in fact, not using the switchblade-wannabe butterfly knives, she's using the Wing Chun Butterfly Knives. While I'm sure a good portion of you got that, if not all, I just wanted to make sure. Any who, this has dragged out entirely too long again. One last thing before I let you read this chapter. As I've said before, I had to cut the last chapter's fights horribly to make sure it wasn't long. If you all don't mind, I think I'll nix that little limitation for this chapter, and not worry about length. So here it is, an almost completely unrestrained chapter! Enjoy!

* * *

**POV Tony**

"It looks like we're up." Tony said. Dart turned to him.

"Good luck." He clapped Tony on the arm. Tony smiled and returned the gesture.

"Good luck buddy." He said as the two walked out.

* * *

**Tony Vs. Dart**

Tony and Dart walked out into the arena.

"You ready?" Tony asked, pulling his obsidian sword from it's sheath. Dart drew his own blade.

"When you are!" He shouted. He ran up and slashed. Tony guarded with his own blade, causing Dart's blade to go off near the ground. Tony was about to counter, but he found the sword coming back up lightning fast. He guarded once more and again the blade pursued him. It was obvious that Dart had had long hours with this blade and done a great deal of fighting with it from the ease he wielded his weapon. It was six times in total before the blade finally ceased it's assault. "Madness Hero!" Dart shouted as he leaped back. Tony ran up and slashed to have Dart guard as Tony had before. His assault blocked, he ducked under the blade and arm, appearing behind his opponent.

"Behind you Dart!" Tony heard a girl shout from the audience. He looked up for an instant as he brought the sword around the same path, cutting Dart's arm in the process. He saw a young girl, probably early twenties, who looked very concerned. Tony felt an impact as Dart used the momentary lapse in attention to thrust his sword under his arm and hit Tony in the stomach. Tony probably would have been impaled if it hadn't been for the metal plates weighing his clothes down. He kicked Dart in the back, sending him across the arena. Though the boy was clearly injured by Tony's blade, it didn't seem to affect his swordsmanship at all. He ran up and struck twice, Tony parrying them both. Tony tried to find a place to counterattack through two more strike, but still found nothing. Dart stabbed, Tony parried. Dart stabbed again, and Tony let the blade slide down his with the intention to let Dart in close. One advantage he had was that his sword only needed one hand to use. Tony drew back his left hand to punch Dart, but the man kicked Tony back.

"Moon Strike!" He shouted.

_Did he name all of his attacks?_ Tony wondered. He ran up and swung his blade vertically. Dart put his own up at a slant, causing his opponent's blade to veer off. He swung at Tony vertically, but Tony used his momentum to turn and strike the sword away. The two started trading off blows, though neither hit the other when Dart jumped and kicked Tony in the face, back flipping. _Damn! That not only hurt, but how strong is this guy? He just back flipped off me in a full set of armor!_ Tony thought. He came back only to see Dart halfway through a front flip and bringing his sword down. Tony crouched and held his sword up as Dart's strike rang out.

"Blazing Dynamo!" Dart shouted. Tony noticed a few seconds of hesitation as a vibration ran through his opponent.

_Time for MY named attack!_ He thought. He moved their swords away with his own and struck Dart in the face, sending him back across the arena on his back. "Fist of the Fighting Sage." He smiled. Dart got up and had his sword on the ground behind him as one would to drag something. _Hurt him with that one._ Tony smirked. Dart breathed deeply. He reached into his pack and tossed something into the air. Glitter seemed to descend around him as he picked up his sword and resumed his previous stance. _Did he just heal himself?_ Tony wondered. _Well that's not very fair…_ Dart ran up and jabbed at Tony once again. Tony allowed the sword to collide with his and let the blade slide down his. He swung the pummel of his sword and hit Dart in the chest, sending him onto his back. Tony swung down slantedly to hit the warrior across the shoulder, but Dart put his sword into the ground above his shoulder, halting Tony's own blade. Dart used his free hand to push himself off the ground and used his grip on his sword to flip over it. On the way, he tried to kick Tony, but missed when Tony dodged back. Dart jumped back, but Tony dashed forward and swung horizontally across Dart's stomach. Dart arced his stomach inward to try and dodge, but Tony's blade still cut through his armor. It didn't, however, actually hit Dart himself. Tony raised his sword up and swung down at a slant again. Dart raised his sword to guard, but Tony didn't relent. Grabbing the hilt of his weapon with both hands, Tony swung again against Dart's sword. Again and again, Tony hit Dart's sword, forcing him down to a knee. Dart let one of his legs swing out from under him and kick Tony's leg. Tony was sent to a knee himself, bringing him onto equal level with Dart. Both pushed on their respective blades, attempting to overtake the other. Tony shot one of his elbows forward, hitting Dart in the chest. It hurt Tony's elbow a bit, but he was use to such things. Dart got the breath knocked out of him, forcing him to lose a considerable amount of strength for a second. Tony used the lapse in concentration to knock Dart's sword aside and swing again. Dart bent backwards, surprisingly dexterous for someone in medium armor, and got away with Tony cutting another piece of the armor that covered his stomach. Tony got to his feet and jumped back just in time for him to dodge a kick. Dart got back up and started running for his blade. _Oh no you don't!_ Tony shouted in his head. He threw his sword like a spear, fully knowing it wasn't going to hit or cause damage. Dart turned in time to see it and moved to the side. What he didn't see coming was Tony sprinting forward. He threw a powerful punch directly into the area he had been cutting away, denting the metal in. Dart bent over just low enough for Tony to bring his knee up and hit him in the face. Dart hit the ground on his back, again kicking at Tony with enough strength that Tony had to disengage. He jumped over to his sword and picked it up to see Dart straightening out and rubbing his nose, having gotten to his sword.

"You're strong, didn't think I'd have to use this." He held a fist out as one would to flex as a light surrounded it.

_Damn it, I knew SOMETHING mystic was gonna happen here!_ Tony cursed in his head. _I can never just have a normal tournament, can I? I've done my best to not use my powers, why can't they!_ He sighed as Dart raised his fist to the air. The light enveloped his entire body for an instant.

"Dart!" Tony heard the girl again and looked up at her. The entire audience was whispering and gasping. Light separated into six short paths behind Dart. The light faded to reveal entirely new and bulky armor and a bit of light behind him almost in the shape of wings. It looked somewhat more... Divine... His sword had transformed dramatically and one arm looked like the barrel of a gun.

"What's that?" Konata muttered. Haschel chuckled.

"It's complicated." He said.

"Can you do that?" Konata asked.

"You could say that." Haschel chuckled again.

"I'm gonna have to fight that, aren't I?" Konata asked.

"Nah. I'd prefer not use it, our little gang actually agreed not to use it during the tournament. We were afraid it would cause an uproar." Haschel said. "We're lucky it didn't."

_He's gotten huge. That means he'll only be stronger. That means he won't be as fas- _Dart drew back his new sword and dashed at Tony much quicker than before._ OH GOD HE'S STILL AS FAST! _Tony brought up his sword to defend and almost found himself being cut as it was pushed back. Another push sent it out of his grasp as Dart flew into the air. He came back down, forcing Tony to duck onto his rear to dodge as he flew back into the air. He came back and struck again as Tony rolled to the side. One last time, Dart struck out and impaled the ground as energy seemed to radiate and almost explode around the warrior. Luckily, Tony had once again rolled away. He rolled off his shoulder and popped up onto his feet. He began thinking of how to beat this transformed man.

_A frontal attack seems like suicide, his strength has increased ten fold..._ Tony thought. Meanwhile, Dart stomped on the ground as a blue light surrounded him. The light turned red as he jumped into the air. _Okay, I get it, you can fly._ Tony couldn't help but think. Suddenly, Dart thrust his shoulder forward as a sort of compartment opened in his armor to reveal holes. _Whoa! Didn't see that coming..._ Tony thought in surprise.

"BWAAAAH!" He shouted as pure energy gathered around his shoulder. "Divine Dragon Ball!" He shouted as the holes started shooting small energy blasts at Tony. He took a step back and jumped as one of the balls exploded where he had been.

"You're gonna make me use my Sage Mode up in here! Up in here!" Tony shouted as he ran to dodge the blasts. "**You're gonna make me engage Sage Mode up in here! Up in here!**" Tony shouted as the blasts stopped. _**I should be able to use Sage Mode if he can use... Whatever that is...**_Tony thought to himself. He stopped himself and looked to see Dart was on the ground again. However, light was gathering above them in the sky... "**Great, what cosmic blast is he sending my way THIS time?**" Tony wondered aloud. Dart held his arm to the sky as the light shot down and practically exploded on him. He impaled the ground next to him with his sword to keep it from falling and moved that hand onto the arm that looked like the gun barrel. He pointed it at Tony. _**Why am I just standing here like an idiot? **_Tony wondered as he saw light similar to earlier gather around the opening. _**Wait, why are there no people behind me? **_Tony wondered, looked behind him. He sighed and started running towards Dart.

"Kan-kan!" Konata shouted.

"Divine Dragon Canon." Dart shouted. "BWAAAAH!" He shouted once more as a beam of pure energy shot towards Tony. Tony stopped and crossed his arms, forming a sort of cone of energy in front of him. The blast hit the cone, exhausting half of Tony's energy, and shot off into the sky and into the stands behind him.

"**It's a good thing the area behind me was apparently empty, or that might have been kind of dangerous...**" Tony commented. His energy supply was at about half now. He breathed deeply. Seeing Dart pull his sword from the ground, Tony flashstepped over to his own and picked it up. _**How to win? How to win... **_Tony thought, looked at everything. Dart dashed forward and struck again. Tony, instead of blocking however, apparated behind the warrior. From back here, he swung his sword across Dart's back. The blade ricocheted without causing a scratch. _**Damn! This thing is useless in this fight! **_Tony cursed in his head as he tried to come up with a counter strategy. His first thought was Howling Voice, but that would probably hurt the audience too, not to mention wreck Miki's camera. His next thought was Hachiman, but he dismissed the idea. He wanted to win the tournament on his own strength. He wasn't leaving many options for himself... He ducked to avoid another swing that led to Tony dodging a combo exactly like earlier. _**Damn! This guy isn't giving me much time to think! **_Tony thought. He let his hands touch the ground and pushed off of them to kick Dart in the stomach with both feet. Dart was thrown back, giving Tony another few moments to think. From his position, he could see the sky turning light again. _**Crap! **_He thought as another beam of energy was sent his way. Covering his hand with a thick layer of energy, he smack the beam off into the air. _**25%. **_He thought, his energy dipping even lower. He looked up with a coat of sweat on his brow. Suddenly, the light that had enveloped Dart returned and obscured him from view. It faded with a snap to reveal him in his red armor again, sword on the ground.

"I give..." He panted. Tony raised his eyebrows in surprise as he let himself ease.

"Man, you almost had me!" Tony shouted.

"Out of energy." Dart simply replied back.

_It's no wonder..._ He chuckled to himself. "Another blast like that and I would have been a goner." Tony said as he walked over and propped Dart on his shoulder. There was a small red light that seemed to float away from Dart, but Tony paid little mind to it as he helped his friend out of the arena.

"That was awesome, but what was that, and what was that red light?" Konata asked.

"It's complicated." Haschel responded again. "Dart, how did you get the red spirit back in the first place?" Haschel asked the warrior. Dart shrugged.

"I thought it was lost with my father." He said.

"Maybe- Oh, they're calling us next." Haschel interrupted himself as he and Konata were called. The two walked out.

"This is gonna be interesting..." Tony smiled.

* * *

**Konata vs. Haschel**

Konata and Haschel walked into the arena to the cheers of the audience. Haschel took his stance.

"You ready?" He asked. Konata paused and looked at her butterfly knives.

"Not quite." She walked back to the entrance.

"Are you giving up?" An attendant asked.

"No, I just want to put these away is all." Konata said. "Kan-kan, could you come get these?" Konata shouted. Tony walked up.

"You sure Kon-kon?" Tony asked.

"Hey, don't underestimate me just because I'm old!" Haschel shouted. Konata smiled to him from her place at the entrance.

"I'm not underestimating you, but I want to fight my martial arts against yours! No weapons!" Konata called back. He seemed to think.

"Fair enough." Haschel nodded. Tony took the knives and left the arena. Konata walked back to her place. "Ready now?" Haschel asked with a smile. Konata smiled as well. She put a fist in her hand and put it in front of her. Haschel, having seen this before, returned the gesture. That surprised Konata, who smiled wider.

"Quite." She took her own stance. Haschel ran up and threw a punch, but Konata tapped it on the outside of the wrist to send him off balance, since a good amount of his weight was put into it. It seemed to work until he used the momentum to kick at Konata's head. The move surprised Konata, who was luckily shorter than Haschel's average opponent. The kick, though Konata moved to block it and would have been successful, sailed over her head. As he spun, Haschel saw the problem and continued his momentum so that he used it to jump. He brought down his fists as if they were hammers.

"Fist of four gods!" He shouted. Konata put her hands above her head in a kind of triangle, forcing Haschel's arms to slide to the side. Konata brought her hands down to his head and put her thumbs in his closed eyes to cut off his assault, which he hit off quickly enough. This maneuver, however, left him open. Konata made to unleashed a rapid fire of punches, but Haschel cut her off with a kick that sent her across the arena. She landed on her feet and saw him retaking his stance. Konata did the same for a second, but stopped.

_At some point, I'll have to come up with a named attack of my own..._ Konata thought. She looked over at Miki to see her recording. _I get it. No holding back._ She smiled, winked, and rolled her sleeves up to just above the wrists. She retook her stance. He ran up again and punched again. Konata hit him on the wrist again, but she found the punch was deflected much easier this time. That, and that he didn't go off balance. Konata's instinct twitched her head to the left as Haschel barely missed her cranium. She sent an open palm to the side of the master's face, but he blocked it. He used the position to strike back, but she blocked that. They made similar exchanges for a few minutes, both quite happy. Konata finally found someone she could fight and have a great amount of fun with. Haschel had found someone he could battle without holding back. Well, relatively speaking. Haschel punched, but it was blocked by Konata. He roundhouse kicked several times, staying on the same foot for the entire time. He slid around to the end of his assault and was on his knee facing backwards. Konata smiled and started to attack, but her opponent stood up and threw a hand up in an offhand backhand. Konata took the hit to her face and backed up. Haschel smiled.

"Ouch..." Konata muttered.

"Omni-sweep." Haschel said as he spun and retook his stance. Konata took her hands away from her nose. She retook her own stance. She decided she wasn't going to restrain herself at all anymore. She shifted her stance. Haschel ran up and started attacking, but Konata deflected it. She returned the attack and had it deflected. The two continued the cycle. Konata saw this wasn't going to do it and began getting faster. Oddly, so did Haschel. The crowd gasped as the two got faster and faster. Eventually, their arms seemed to blend into a wall of flashing flesh. Konata raised her foot and kicked at almost the exact same time as Haschel, causing their kicks to intercept each other and spin them both around. Konata punched in unison with her opponent, matching it. Starting to get a bit irritated with their constant mirroring, Konata started a flurry of strikes. Haschel did as well. Each punch slid onto it's twin's wrist and knocked it off target. The two stood resolute, neither giving up any ground, arms indistinguishable from the other. It was a full minute of this, both of their arms were in searing pain by now, even as conditioned to exertions as they were. It had been a long time since either had truly fought with their full strength. Suddenly, a break in the monotony as Haschel spun and put what power he could into a back hand. Konata made to block it, but wasn't fast enough as his strike found her cheek, turning her backward. Konata's instinct took a split instant to evaluate the situation.

_Point of impact: cheek. Impact: strong. Energy transfer: neck._ This wasn't spoken in her mind in actual words, but more like something she just knew. Konata could feel the kinetic energy from the strike moving through her body. The strike sent her off balance as she spun. She saw caught an image of Miki with the camera. _Waist._ Her instinct told her. She spun and saw Haschel in slow motion, going in for the final punch. She continued to spin. _Foot. NOW!_ She raised her foot and caught Haschel across the chin, not only her own power behind the hit, but Haschel's own energy fortifying the strike. The kick sent him off his feet and onto his back. Konata finished spinning and ended up on her knee, gasping for air. There was a moment of silence before a massive uproar started within the crowd, everyone cheering for the two fighters. She smiled widely and got to her feet to see Haschel standing up himself, rubbing his jaw.

"Hot damn! I was out for a minute there!" Haschel smiled through the pain. Konata chuckled.

"That was so much fun! I haven't gotten to go full force against a single person in so long, I didn't think I'd get to fight so hard in this tournament! Thank you so much for such an enjoyable fight." Konata bowed. Haschel returned the gesture. With that, the two left the arena.

"THAT WAS FREAKIN' AWESOME!" Tony shouted. Konata giggled and ran over, hugging him.

"We won the tournament!" She cheered.

"We dominated!" Tony cheered as well.

"Hey." Dart said.

"We are undefeatable!" Konata cheered.

"We are BEAST!" Tony laughed.

"Hey!" Dart shouted.

"We-!... Dart?" Tony turned to his fellow swords master.

"You do know that wasn't the end, right?" He asked. Tony and Konata blinked.

"What?" They both asked in unison.

"There's still the finals." He said. Tony and Konata took a moment and looked at each other.

_I..__I had never thought about having to fight Kon-kon..._ Tony thought.

_What? Fighting Kan-kan?_ Konata thought.

"Oh~..." They both said.

"Kan-kan, I'm exhausted. I think I'll forfeit, I had my fun." Konata smiled. Tony shook his head.

"But this is the fight the fans want most." Tony smirked as he motioned to the audience. As if by cue, the crowd started chanting both their names.

"I have no energy! I put it all into that last kick!" Konata said. Tony smiled again. He let his mind broach his ring.

"I have energy stored away that could bring us both back up to full power. However, I'm not going to insist to fight you if you don't want to. I don't want you to think that I WANT to hurt you Kon-kon. Quite the opposite. But if you don't mind, I think this would be a rather fun fight." Tony smiled.

"Right, the fight with the sorcerer." Konata deadpanned.

"Actually, I'm not gonna use Sage Mode or my magic, if that's okay. I only want to use my trained physical abilities versus yours if you want to." Tony smiled. "In either case..." He took the energy from the ring and flooded it into Konata until he sensed she was back at full. He looked into the ring again to see there was about as much as he thought there would be left. That wasn't particularly a lot though. Konata stepped back and moved around a bit, astounded as she felt amazing.

"Whoa, that was crazy..." Konata rolled her arms. Tony refilled his own energy and felt satisfied that there was still a bit left.

"So Kon-kon, what do you wanna do? No matter what you want to do, I'll support it." Tony nodded. Konata thought.

"Well we can't disappoint the fans, can we now?" Konata smiled as she drew her knives. Tony smiled as he drew his own blade.

"No we can't." He agreed.

"No magic?" Konata asked.

"Only the one that keeps us from dying. And I'll weave that through the energy stored in my ring so that it won't tax my energy during out fight. It'll just be me against you." Tony smiled.

"Alrighty." Konata smiled. "Let's agree that if your spell has to save one of us, that person will forfeit." Konata said.

"Agreed." Tony smiled. "Hey Kon-Kon." Tony chuckled.

"Hm?" Konata hummed at her brother.

"500 Yen says we get interrupted by some huge villain." Tony said. Konata laughed loudly.

"Yeah! Let's give 'em a show, shall we?" Konata smiled.

"Let's." He and she turned and started walking into the arena.

* * *

**Konata vs. Tony**

Konata and Tony walked out and faced each other. Konata put her knives on the ground, and put her fist in her hand.

"Please." She said. Tony, still not knowing what the gesture meant, decided to return it. He sheathed his sword and put his fist in his hand.

"Please." He smiled. Konata picked up her knives and took her stance. Tony unsheathed his sword and took his own. "Are you ready sis?" He asked.

"When you are." She smiled. Tony waited a moment while he waited for Konata to attack, but she remained stationary. Tony ran up and swung. Konata brought the flat of her blade across his and smacked it off, using her other blade to swing at Tony. Tony made to dodge, but the knife cut across his shirt, exposing the weights beneath it. Tony disengaged from the fight for an instant by jumping back about ten meters. Konata retook her stance, but Tony sheathed his sword again. Konata relaxed. "Kan-kan?" She asked. Tony smiled and took off his shirt. He tossed it to the ground, cracking it. Konata's jaw dropped. "Well then." She put her knives down again and rolled her sleeves back up to above her wrists.

"Getting right down to it, are we?" Tony smiled.

"Damn right Kan-kan. If I have any chance of winning this fight, I'm gonna need to go full force from the start." She said.

"I'm honored." Tony drew his sword yet again. Konata picked up her knives.

"Shall we continue?" She asked.

"Certainly!" Tony crossed the distance between them in less than a couple seconds. Konata raised her knives to guard as Tony swung his sword in surprisingly faster slashes than earlier. She let one knife carve around Tony's blade the second he impacted, letting her arm wrap above Tony's. In one fluid motion, she slid her knives up the blade and managed to make a small cut on Tony's hand before he let go of the blade. He slipped his hand out of her grasp and brought his other to strike her neck on the side, hoping for a quick knockout. She cocked her head to the side and brought her shoulder up to her head, guarding her from his chop. He punched her in the back quickly, avoiding the kidney and sending her a few feet away. She turned and retook her stance, happy to have disarmed her brother so seemingly easily. Tony inched towards Konata and started observing intensely. He faked a punch to her head to see her reaction. She made none. His eyes switched from her to his blade behind her. His focus returned to her. _I suppose I'll have to beat her in speed. That's gonna suck..._ He cracked his neck, hoping to get Konata to drop her guard. She didn't. _Man, I should have expected this much from someone as highly trained as her. She has so much training, it would take an average person more time than she's been alive to get to her level of skill._ Tony thought. He inched forward a little bit. He brought his leg up and made a side kick towards her head. Konata moved one of her arms to the side, directly beneath Tony's leg as she sidestepped it. She sent a kick to the side of his knee, causing him to drop to the ground. He rolled off his shoulder and popped back up to see Konata coming in to swing. Tony sent both hands to the joint that connected her arm to her shoulder, stalling out her arm long enough for him to use his grip to flip over her. He grabbed his sword and spun around to see Konata retaking her stance. She was smiling.

"Nice move." She complimented.

"Hey, you're the one who disarmed me." Tony chuckled. Konata shrugged.

"I saw an opening. I took advantage of it." Konata said.

"I rarely leave openings." Tony said.

"It's 'cause you're not use to armed combat with someone with as much martial arts experience as I have and my weapons of choice." Konata smiled. "You're use to fighting people a lot slower than you, so you're use to being able to take bigger chances that are proving to be your undoing in this fight." Konata explained.

"That sounds about right." Tony smiled, impressed and a little scared to see Konata pick out his weaknesses so easily. He jumped forward and struck again. Konata raised one blade to block and swung with her other. Tony slid his blade in a way that the ruby at the edge of the hilt blocked the blade. He kicked her in the stomach, causing her to arms to weaken for a moment. He pushed harder, but Konata sidestepped and moved her knives to the side, allowing Tony to go past her towards the floor. He let his momentum carry him into a roll, avoiding the counterattack from behind he knew was bound to come. He popped up again and spun to see Konata coming again. He swung his blade, catching one of Konata's knives. It flipped, but Konata grabbed it again. Tony looked at the weapon closer to see a small metal bit on the back of the hilt that allowed for the blade to be flipped, the actual blade of the knife facing out from the forearm. She swung from there, causing Tony to have to jump back a little. Konata flipped the blade back to its original position and went in for a cross chop with them. Tony intercepted it with a strike of his own to the middle. At this point, Tony was finding it extraordinarily difficult to keep from using Sage Mode, it was something he was always use to using whenever he needed it. The two's hands were trembling as they matched each other's strength. Konata moved the blades to either side to allow Tony's sword through. Quick as a flash, she twisted her blades to stop the sword halfway through the swing, halting the attack. She twisted again, sending the blade from his hand once again. He jumped back, sighing. The crowd was cheering loudly at the action. _She's got me beat..._ Tony chuckled in his head. Once he had stopped, he looked at Konata. One thing he had noticed was that while they fought, Konata's expression never changed. It would change during the small breaks they would take, where she would smile or shrug or something, but during the fight, when the action was actually taking place, it was as if her face was rock. No happiness, no anger, no frustration, no emotion. Tony thought a moment. He decided to test her resolve. He would sprint up to within striking distance of her, flash off to the side after intimidating her, then flash back behind her to grab his sword and swing to catch her neck. His spell would save her, and he would claim victory. He smiled and nodded to himself. He ran forward, fist drawn back. Through it, Konata's face remained impressively passive. Once he was within his intended distance, he started to flash off to the side. His instinct forced him to jump back, however, as Konata's knife drew across his stomach. He landed and held his hand over his stomach, which now hurt. A lot. He removed his hand and looked down, satisfied to see he had jumped away before the counterattack could deal him a serious injury. He sighed and looked at Konata.

"That didn't do it, huh?" Konata asked.

"Nope." Tony growled a bit.

"Well then, let's continue." Konata smiled. Tony brought himself to full height and cracked his neck the other way.

"Let's." He said. _That tears it..._ He thought. _Perhaps it's time I used an entirely new technique, one she won't be expecting..._ Tony smiled. He put both arms in front of his face, as if to hide them. He peered out to her to see her same, expressionless face on. "End game." He said. He sprinted at his fullest speed up to a safe distance from Konata, then started sprinting around her in a circle. As dust rose from his constant circling, Konata stayed resolute. She didn't even look around try and follow his moves. In fact, she seemed relaxed. Tony flashed beneath her and threw a kick up towards her chin. Konata cocked her head to the side unexpectedly, the speed Tony having gain now transferring into momentum. He shot up past her, but caught her under her chin as he was sent up. She was thus brought up with him, but he was forced to let go when Konata swung at his arms. Tony had half hoped she would have swung at his hands, but that would be too amateur a mistake for her to make and he knew it. Once he let go, be moved one hand to behind the knife, where the piece of metal that Konata had caught onto had been, and grabbed it. With that, he wretched the blade from her hand before letting himself land. He hit the ground and spun around. Konata had landed on her back and was getting back up. She spun around and faced him. Suddenly, she smiled and giggled a bit.

"Primary Lotus?" Konata asked.

"An attempt, at least. So that's how you avoided it so easily." Tony chuckled.

"Yeah. I saw it coming the second you started running around me." She commented. "You still did manage to get one of my knives though. I feel so violated." Konata giggled with a hint of sarcasm.

"Well then, shall we?" Tony smiled.

"We shall." Konata shifted her stance to compensate. Tony smiled and flash stepped forward. He swung, knowing full well it would be blocked, with enough force to cramp Konata's arm, but the action left his arm hurt as well. He used the forward momentum to fly over Konata and over to his own blade. He spun and, picking up his blade, let the knife fly straight at Konata. Knowing that even that would probably be blocked, he followed it with just enough speed it match it, the knife staying about ten feet in front of him. Konata seemed passive as always. Suddenly, she spun oddly. Tony's mouth gaped open when he saw her hook the metal bit from behind the blade through the hole that was the hilt of the knife. Spinning, she had both knives back in her hands. Tony came in and swung at the neck. He felt a decrease in his ring's energy. As he smiled a bit, he looked over to see his sword on the ground, directly below his hand. One of the metal bits from Konata's knives was jarred into that arm's pit, and the other knife was halted about an inch from Tony's neck. He blinked as he realized what happened. "Gotcha~." Konata chimed. He smiled a bit wider.

"Yes you did." He chuckled. The two disengaged. "I forfeit. You are the better fighter." Tony knelt. Konata smiled and giggled, giddy that she had just beaten Tony. A man ran out.

"Here are the results of the annual Japan Hero Competition! The victor is Konata Izumi, Sigung of Wing Chun! The toughest and strongest person in all Japan!" Konata waved to the crowd, who all cheered. "Second is Tatakai no Kenja, the Fighting Sage!" He shouted as the crowd cheered. The two waved to the crowd and left the stadium.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

_A couple of hours. Dad will be home in a couple of hours._ Kagami sighed in anticipation. She hadn't done anything since she had gotten home. All she had done was sit in her living room and play every possible scenario in her head. Only three had a good outcome, and they couldn't happen. _If Tony made him understand, but that would be an abuse of his powers. If Konata was here, then maybe Dad could see that I love her. No, she doesn't want to see me right now. Maybe Dad will just understand? Yeah, keep talking like that Kagami. The most religious man you know who owns a shrine is going to understand that you're a lesbian in love with an Otaku. I'm sure that's going to happen._ Kagami sighed. However, she knew she still had to do this.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony and Konata were sitting and resting down beneath the main grounds, in the ready room for the arena. Konata had already received the prize money, something Tony was a bit sad about since he wouldn't be able to give said money to Miki, but he was happy Konata had won. They had talked with Dart and Haschel for a few moments before the two had departed.

"So Kon-kon, mind telling me how you were able to beat me so easily?" Tony chuckled. "It looked like it took much less effort to beat me than it did Haschel." He said.

"Don't mistake composure for ease Kan-kan." Konata chuckled. "It's actually really simple. I've seen you fight a lot, I know your style. Not only that, but I know how you act in everyday situations too. If I'm right, you've only ever really fight a group of people at once one time when you saved Sanjo. Every other time you fought them one at a time. Like I said, you're use to fighting people who are much slower than you. Thus you can take bigger risks, which you're also use to doing. So, first I know you. I know how you fight, how you move normally, your strengths and your weaknesses, just about everything that could really play a factor in honorable fighting. I've also never seen you lose a fight, though you did get pretty banged up against Hachiman. Even subconsciously, that would play a role in your getting more confident. Another weakness. Basically, I just knew what you were going to do, when you were going to do it based on what I know of you and based on the fact that I knew you'd get confident. Besides that fact, you were also struggling to suppress your innate ability to enhance your attributes. That helped provide a distraction as well. In the end, the reason it looked so much easier is because I know you much, much better than I know Haschel. Plus, I was kind of using a secret trick I've taught myself over the years." Konata smiled. While he was curious, Tony looked at the time and realized they had kept Miki waiting for a long time.

"I'll have to hear that later, maybe I can learn it." Tony smiled.

"Any time Kan-kan." Konata smiled. And so, Tony and Konata walked up the stairs to see Miki standing and smiling.

"That was an amazing fight you two." Miki smiled.

"Thanks Mom." Tony smiled.

"May I give you something?" Konata asked. Miki raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Well that's a tad random. Of course!" Miki smiled. Konata held out the check she had gotten for the tournament.

"This should be enough for a new car, shouldn't it?" She asked. Miki looked in disbelief at the paper and back at Konata.

"I can't accept this!" She said, handing it back.

"Sure you can, I insist. It's not like I have much use for it, I'd just blow it on games and anime." Konata smiled. Miki blinked and retracted her arms.

"Right. Thank you." She said, truly touched. Tony laughed.

"Kan-kan?" Konata asked.

"Konata, I was gonna do that!" He laughed.

"Do what?" She asked, cocking her head to the side.

"I was gonna give her the money for a car if I won!" Tony continued to laugh. Konata joined him.

"We're getting more alike all the time!" She laughed. Miki smiled a smile that could melt the icecaps.

"I'm so glad to be welcoming such generous people into my family..." She commented, wiping a tear away from her eye. "I just know you'll both make my daughters happy..." She smiled. Tony and Konata calmed down and smiled.

"We'll do anything to make sure they stay happy." Konata said.

"Absolutely, with us they'll never cry in sorrow again." Tony promised.

"It's our pleasure to help out our new family." They both said simultaneously, bowing over dramatically. Miki sighed contently.

_There's no better feeling than to know your child will be happy and taken care of..._ She thought to herself. "I'm glad." She simply said. The trio walked a bit, letting the fuzzy moment pass. It gave Tony a bit of time to think. Suddenly, a wild idea appeared. It was a hilarious thought he had never pictured before, something he MUST share with Tsukasa the very next chance he got.

_She was an ordinary girl, cooking aside. Then she got captured by thugs. Then I (kinda) poisoned her, and now she's found her True Love... She's a walking Disney movie!_ Tony laughed extremely loudly at this. _Didn't she wish she was in a Disney movie? Not only all of that, but we'll randomly burst into song about the most random things, we sang about shopping for Haruhi's sake! I have to admit, the very best part of all of this is that I get to be her Prince Charming..._Tony smiled to himself. He didn't care that he was in public and that people were giving him looks. He found the whole notion that the Gods had seen it fit to turn Tsukasa's life into a Disney movie merely from a wish to be astounding. Now, he simply HAD to make her exit from the hospital something special. As he was walking, he started to formulate a plan. It was going to take quite a bit of luck to find what he required for it, but if he could pull it off, it would be the most epic thing he had ever done. He smirked.

"Um... Kan-kan? What's so funny?" Konata asked. Tony gave a smirk towards his sister.

"Kon-kon. I just had the most perfect idea that I have ever had in the history of ideas." Tony said.

"What's that?" Konata asked. Tony shared his discovery with her. She burst into laughter. "That's amazing! I never thought about that!" She laughed. Tony then communicated his idea with her regarding Tsukasa's imminent exit from the hospital. Konata blinked. "Yes. Oh dear gods, yes. That is epic. There are no other words I can think of to describe that." She said seriously. "But where are you going to get it?" She asked.

"I dunno, I was hoping you would have an idea." Tony said questioningly. Konata hummed.

"Nope, sorry. I can't say I do." She shrugged. "That was an amazing idea though." Konata sighed.

"Yeah... So what's around here? It looks like some games! Wanna play Kon-kon?" Tony asked his sister. Konata smiled and nodded. "Wanna come Mom? You're welcome to play." Tony smiled to Miki. She nodded as well.

"Sure thing." She smiled.

"Then onward to adventure!" Konata posed. Suddenly, a wave of nostalgia took over her as she remembered this being the exact thing that Kagami had said before they went to the cafe. In the exact same pose she was in. _Better times... _She sighed as the three walked towards a random game.

"This game costs one ticket." The person at the stand said.

"Tickets? Where do you buy them?" Tony asked. The man pointed over at another stand. Sighing, Tony led the three over to the stand. Behind the desk, they saw two people shaking hands along with a girl in a cloth hat, who was waiting on whatever transaction that was occurring to end. Konata lit up.

"Lawrence? Kraft Lawrence?" She asked. A gray haired man with a bit of a stubble turned and looked at her.

"Konata, what are you doing here?" He asked with a smile.

"I was in the tournament that was going just now! I got first place!" Konata smiled.

"Good for you!" He said. "Shall we find a place to eat?"

"Sure!" Konata smiled as the lot of them all walked outside the ring of stands to a table. They ordered food and sat down.

"Hey Kon-kon, aren't you gonna introduce me to your friends?" Tony asked, eying the girl cautiously. She seemed to have taken notice as well, eying him back in the same way. Konata looked between the two and smacked Tony on the chest.

"Kan-kan, it's impolite to stare! And don't you have a girlfriend?" Konata teased the last sentence. Tony lowered his voice to a whisper.

"Konata, doesn't she fit the description of Amaterasu almost perfectly?" Tony whispered to her.

"Who, Holo? She couldn't be, I've known her and Lawrence for a couple years, since they started selling to the Cafe!" Konata whispered back.

"If you say so..." Tony whispered back.

"Why are you staring? Is there something on my face?" Holo asked, looking quite amused. Tony thought for a moment.

"No, I apologize. I thought you were someone else." Tony said.

"It's not a problem." She said. "Although, who could be mistaken for me?" She asked with the same tone she had asked her previous question.

"A goddess?" Tony chuckled. Holo's entire aura changed for an instant, which Tony took notice of. "Perhaps a sun goddess?" He said a bit more forcefully. Holo seemed relieved and laughed.

"Oh, I assure you, I am no sun goddess." She laughed.

"I am!" Konata shouted cheerfully. Tony laughed, but noticed something. Oddly, the hat seemed to shuffle. Tony looked around the girl and saw fangs in her mouth, not unlike the one he saw in the mouth of Misao and Kuroi. Except this girl had four in the places one would expect to be on an animal. They all calmed down.

"So those fangs of yours are interesting." Tony commented. Holo glanced at Lawrence, who glanced back. Before they could comment, however, a young boy ran up.

"Lawrence!" He shouted. He handed Lawrence a letter. Tony used the distraction to pull Konata to the side.

"Konata, what's going on here?" He asked.

"What do you mean Kan-kan?" Konata asked.

"Fangs, her hat shuffled without reason, if I've learned anything from the gods, it's that there's some mystic crap out in the world. Is there something up with her?" Tony asked.

"If she wants to tell you-" Konata started, but they were interrupted by Lawrence bumped over his chair, having stood up abruptly. They looked over and saw him with his face in one of his hands. "Lawrence?" Konata asked.

"We're in debt again, I'm guessing." Holo sighed. "Who betrayed us this time?" She asked impatiently.

"I'm glad you find this so amusing." Lawrence said to Holo.

"Honestly, we're in debt every month. It gets a tad old." Holo sighed. "How much?" She asked.

"It's the biggest hole we've ever been in, I'll tell you that." He said. "You are right though. Every time we get a big deal, something happens like this." He looked the letter over again. "How are we gonna get out of this one?" He asked.

"How much is it?" Tony asked. Lawrence and Holo turned towards him. Lawrence handed the letter to Tony, who proceeded to read it. He gasped sharply. Konata looked over.

"Kan-kan?" She asked.

"Konata, are these guys your friends? Good friends?" Tony asked in a whisper. Konata nodded.

"I'd say very good." She said. "As good as a traveling merchant can be." She giggled a bit. Tony sighed.

"Really Konata. I think your cafe is the only place that has not betrayed us at some point or another." Holo sighed.

"I'll cover it." Tony said. Everyone around Tony turned towards him.

"What?" Lawrence asked, looking bewildered.

"I'll cover your debt. You seem to be good people. Everyone gets one sometime." Tony smiled. Konata could see something off about it though. He wasn't entirely happy about something.

"Thanks, but don't worry about it. We have a way of getting out of these things." Lawrence held up his hands.

"Well, this is how you're getting out of this one." Tony said.

"This is a very large amount of money. I couldn't ask you to give so much. We'd probably never be able to pay you back." Lawrence dismissed.

"Don't worry about payback. And you're not asking me, I'm telling you. I'll cover it." Tony said. Lawrence looked at Holo, who looked back.

"Well then..." Lawrence held his hand out. "I happily accept your charity." Tony clasped his hand. Tony looked over to see Holo wearing a look of disbelief, mouth slightly open. "If there's ever anything we can do for you, just name it." Lawrence smiled. Tony smiled back.

"I have a request if you don't mind." Tony said.

"Anything, I am in your debt." Lawrence bowed while sitting down. Tony turned to Holo.

"You don't talk much. I find they're the ones with some of the most interesting stories. I'd like to know yours." Tony said.

"Er, perhaps this could wait until we get back to the cafe. After all, this is extremely personal to Holo, I'd rather tell you in private." Lawrence requested. Tony thought a moment.

"I guess I understand. Very well, should we meet at the café, you'll tell me about her." Tony nodded to Lawrence. The man smiled.

"Thank you." He said.

"However, if you should find yourself in trouble, find us." Holo said. Tony turned and blinked at her, slightly surprised that she had spoken.

"Well thank you very much. I'll remember that." Tony smiled. Konata suddenly gasped.

"Lawrence, don't you have a horse?" She asked. Lawrence looked at her.

"Why, yes. Why?" Lawrence asked.

"White, right? Golden mane?" Konata asked excitedly.

"Yes, yes." Lawrence nodded. Tony understood what was going on.

"May I borrow it?" He asked. Lawrence turned towards Tony. "I'll consider your debt repaid in full."

"I suppose, when do you need it?" Lawrence asked.

"Could you get it to Saitama by this afternoon?" Tony asked. Lawrence looked a little taken aback.

"I might... I'd have to leave very soon though." He put a hand to his chin. "Sure. Where do you need it?" Lawrence asked.

"Dude, you're a life saver. Can you have it at 3-14-17 Kita-Satte?" Tony asked.

"Sure thing." Lawrence smiled. Before more could be said though, a small red light came down in front of Tony. He grabbed it and opened his hand to see a solid red marble.

"Hey, that looks like the same stone that Tsukasa had, only it's red!" Miki said.

"Wait, didn't that fly away from Dart after your fight?" Konata asked.

"Yeah... Wish I knew what the hell it was..." Tony held it up to the light.

"Lawrence, have you ever seen anything like it?" Konata asked.

"Hmmm..." He put a hand to his chin in thought. "I believe I saw a golden one for sale in this town several years ago for 77,000 yen..." He said. "But that's the only other one I've seen that I can recall." He said. He turned to his companion. "Holo?" He asked. She looked as though she had been thinking as well.

"I do not recall any more than you do." She said.

"Hm. Well, I'd make you an offer, but I don't have much money at the moment." Lawrence shrugged. "I'll have to catch you again another time. Maybe I'll have some by the time we get back to Saitama."

"Perhaps, but now I have one to match my girlfriend's." Tony smiled. "I might not sell it even if you paid me twice what it sold for those years ago." Tony smiled. "Maybe I'll have some new trinket with mystic powers to sell by then though." Tony looked at the time and realized it was probably time to go. He stood up, along with everyone else.

"And I hope you make use of my services when you do." Lawrence bowed.

"It's been nice meeting you Lawrence." Tony held out his hand.

"Same with you." Lawrence shook it. "We had better be going as well." He said.

"Yeah, we have a few hours drive home ourselves." Miki smiled.

"Then we shall take our leave. The horse shall be at the address soon, I just need to have a friend pick it up and meet me half way." Lawrence smiled and bowed.

"As shall we." Tony returned the gesture. With that, the two groups parted ways. Tony, Konata and Miki were walking down the dirt road towards their car.

"Hey Kan-kan?" Konata asked. Tony looked over at her.

"What's up?" He asked.

"What was wrong? Something seemed... off during your conversation." Konata said. Tony chuckled.

"That was almost the rest of my money, even with the half from Hachiman. They were in debt massively." He said. Most of the rest of his money was to be tied up in helping Miyuki's family get out of debt. Konata's mouth fell open a bit as she looked over at him.

"That's a lot of money!" Konata said.

"That's why I asked if they were good friends. No worries, I just have to win another tournament." Tony chuckled. He turned to Miki. "And before you try, don't. I'm not taking that money." He said. Konata was in such a shock from Tony's generosity, she stumbled for a moment and knocked something over. She heard a man sigh.

"I'm sorry, I'm really tired, I just fought in the tournament!" Konata apologized as she picked up the fallen article and replaced it. The man looking at the item glanced over at Konata.

"Lesbian." He mumbled as he turned back at his item.

"What?" Konata asked, having not heard him. The man turned to Konata for another instant.

"Hm? Pedestrian." He said before turning back to the item.

"Kanarazu..." Another, shorter man sighed next to him.

"Kon-kon, Mom, could you go on, I would like to talk with this person." Tony said. Konata and Miki glanced at each other.

"We'll be in the car." Miki said as the two walked off. Tony returned his gaze to the man.

"How did you know?" Tony asked.

"The level of personal grooming." Kanarazu said distractedly. "All of this is boring!" He shouted impatiently.

"What do you mean? What level?" Tony asked. Kanarazu turned around.

"Her nails. Cut short, probably subconsciously since she's not in a relationship right now. Yes, she keeps her nails very trim." Kanarazu began, talking very quickly. "She stumbled, she said she had just taken part in the tournament, but she didn't appear tired. No, she's use to heavy exertions, she's athletic, a martial artist. Physical "gruffness" is another trait common among lesbians, however her physique suggests Lolita. That's a turn on for quite a few lesbians. Yes, small breasts, small body, she'd attract a dominant girl, one who feels she needs to protect her though she knows it's not necessary. There's also the fact that her mother is gone, maybe dead, maybe divorced, I'd go with the latter based on how clingy she was to that woman." Kanarazu said.

"Wait... How do you know she wasn't Konata's mother?" Tony asked. Kanarazu rolled his eyes.

"Oh please, look at the features, all wrong. Just look at their shoes." He said as if Tony should have known, or even understood, all of this. "I can go on." He said. Tony blinked a few times. This man's logic was crazy. Correct, but crazy.

"So hang on, you saw her for a split second and you knew all of this?" Tony asked.

"He's always like that." The other man said.

"That... was amazing." Tony admitted.

"Do you think so?" Kanarazu asked.

"Of course it was, it was extraordinary. It was quite... extraordinary." Tony said.

"That's not what people normally say." Kanarazu said.

"What do people normally say?" Tony asked.

"Piss off." Kanarazu answered. "So what was it?"

"What was what?" Tony asked.

"Wrong, what did I get wrong?" Kanarazu asked. "There's always something."

"Konata's mom. She's dead. Not divorced." Tony said. Kanarazu scowled.

"Always something." He sighed. "Dead! Damn it, it's always something..." He sighed. Tony turned to the other man.

"You're his friend?" He asked.

"Wattono Musuko, yes. And he is always like this." He sighed and held out his hand, which Tony shook.

"Nice to meet you. I had better get going." Tony said. "Just one thing."

"You want to know my name." Kanarazu stated. Tony blinked once.

"Yes, how did you know?" Tony asked, but thought better a moment later. "Never mind, yes, that's what I wanted."

"The name's Kanarazu Joumae." He said.

"You should come to Saitama some time, I have a friend who I'm sure wouldn't mind meeting you." Tony smiled, thinking of Miyuki. After all, she was quite the perceptive one herself, maybe Kanarazu and she could have a talk about such things.

"Mm." He hummed distractedly. Wattono looked between the two.

"We'll see if we can some time." He said.

"I look forward to seeing you again. Kinda..." Tony mumbled as he left to meet up with Konata and Miki. "He was kind of a prick..." Tony commented to himself, sighing. He got to the car to see them already inside and talking to each other.

"And... just one more thing. Kagami has always been kind of a hardcore realist. Is there any real reason or is it just how she is?" Konata asked as Tony got in.

"Are you ready?" Miki asked Tony before answering Konata.

"Yep yep." Tony nodded.

"Well, there is a reason." Miki said as she began driving home.

"And what's that?" Konata asked.

"When Kagami was really little, she used to be a lot like Tsukasa when it came to Disney movies and magic and such. However, at around three years old, she started having horrible night terrors. We would wake up and find her standing in our room, crying. And it always involved the same kinds of things, all of the fantasies that those old movies use to create. It got to the point where I had to sing her back to sleep for her to rest peacefully, and even then, she would have more night terrors if she wasn't close to me and her father." Miki said.

"What did you sing?" Konata asked.

"A song my mother taught me when I was a little girl. It's called "Bushel and a Peck"." Miki said.

"Could you maybe teach it to me some time?" Konata asked hopefully. Miki smiled.

"I don't think that would be a problem." She said. "But to continue with my story. She continued to have these terrible night terrors for a couple years. Eventually, she found the best way to combat these terrors was to convince herself that none of it existed, or ever could exist. Along with all of that, she convinced herself that the only real things were what she could see and what we taught her was real. She had to stay in reality. After that, she never really talked about Prince Charming coming to her, or about happily ever afters, or any of it. It must have been weird for her when she saw that you can perform magic." Miki directed the statement to Tony.

"I guess so." He smiled.

"So that's the main reason. I hope it was the kind of thing you were hoping for." Miki said.

"It was. Thanks." Konata smiled.

"Kon-kon, would you mind if I asked you something?" Tony asked.

"I don't mind, ask away!" Konata turned to him. He thought of how to phrase his question and, finding there was no soft way of asking, came out with it.

"What did you and Kagami do last night? Where were you? What was going on? Everything, I want to try and figure out what got into her." Tony asked. Konata sighed.

"Well..." She started going over the events as they had transpired, from Misao to Kagami wanting to spend more time with her. She told of the playfulness the two went through, Otaku hell, the owning of the cop. She paid quite a bit of attention and had a bit of a blush on her cheeks when she told of the flirting the two had engaged in. Then she told of how cute Kagami was as she struck her pose. "And then we went to this cake buffet, that one about a mile from our house." Konata paused for breath, but stayed stopped as Tony stiffened considerably.

"One more time." He muttered.

"What?" Konata asked.

"That last part. Which buffet, exactly?" Tony asked.

"Club Harie, why?" Konata asked. Tony breathed deeply.

"I'm so sorry Konata, this is all my fault." He said. Konata looked confused.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Kagami didn't want to tell you about this, but I think it's necessary now." Tony sighed, scared. Konata blinked.

"Tony, what is it?" Konata asked seriously. When Tony didn't immediately respond, Konata began thinking. Then it hit her. "It was that wedding thing, wasn't it?" She asked.

"Yeah. That." Tony sighed. "Tsukasa isn't the first Hiiragi I tried to date." He said, avoiding eye contact with Konata. In fact, he was attempting to preoccupy himself with anything out the window in the opposite direction of the girl.

_So he DID want Kagami..._ Konata muttered in her head. "So you two went on a date..." Konata muttered.

"Yes." Tony answered.

"And what does that have to do with the buffet?" Konata asked. She had a feeling she knew, but she wanted to hear it.

"That's where I took her." Tony said. "That very buffet."

"How far did it go?" Konata asked. Tony felt relieved from the answer he could give.

"Basically, I told her I really liked her. There are two things you should really know though Konata." Tony said, looking Konata in the eyes.

"And they are...?" Konata urged.

"First of all, she was thinking of you the entire time. The whole time we were on the date, she had this distant look in her eyes, as if she wasn't really there. Truth is that she was distracted the whole date." Tony said. Konata blinked a time or two, not really sure how she felt at the moment. On one hand, her brother just told her that he had dated the girl she loved. On the other, said girl was thinking of her the whole time. And yet on the first, they had kept it from Konata for a long while.

"And number two?" Konata asked, doing her best to keep calm. Tony smiled.

"Number two is that her lips are still pure. I didn't kiss her, and quite frankly I'm glad." Tony smiled. "That's an honor you should have yourself." Tony said. Konata eased a little bit.

"Well I'm glad about that." She sighed. "So, do you still have feelings for Kagami?" Konata asked.

"Actually, do you remember after the first time you guys saw me fight at full power with those crooks, I was bedridden for a day?" Tony asked. Konata put a finger to her lips in thought for a moment.

"Yeah, what about it?" Konata asked.

"When you came in to see what I was laughing about?" Tony said.

"Yeah, yeah?" Konata urged.

"I was laughing because I realized my true feelings regarding Kagami. She was my friend. She was the first person in the group to be so friendly to me, I confused it with romantic interest." Tony said. Konata thought back.

**_"Oh really? Then what were you laughing at?" Konata asked, catgrin prominent._**

**_"My own stupidity!"_**

The thought rang in her head.

"So... that's what you were talking about..." She mumbled.

"Boy did I feel like an idiot." Tony chuckled.

"I remember." Konata smiled. They fell into a silence.

_Say something... Say something..._ Tony wished in his head. He wanted to know how angry Konata was going to be with him. His wish was granted as, after a few moments of silence, Konata sighed.

"Well..." She started. "I guess I can't be too angry." She sighed. "Kagamin's pretty easy to fall in love with, isn't she?" Konata looked at Tony, a sort of tired smile on her face. Tony felt relief wash over him.

"I hadn't expected you to forgive me so easily Konata..." Tony exhaled in relief. Suddenly, there was a butterfly knife at his throat.

"Just don't go trying for her in future." Konata growled menacingly. She started cracking up. "You should see the look on your face!" She shouted, laughing and bringing the knife back to it's resting place. "But seriously Kan-kan, I can't really be too angry. I can get mad that you didn't tell me, but I think I kind of understand why you didn't. After all..." She paused for a moment. "You knew, didn't you?" Konata asked.

"About?" Tony asked, though having a feeling he knew what she was asking.

"About me and Kagami. Even before we knew, you could tell I was going to fall for her, couldn't you?" Konata asked.

"As a matter of fact, yes. That's what your illness was." Tony said.

"Illness?" Konata asked.

"How you fell sick once I was introduced into the group. For the longest time, you had Kagami to yourself. She was undoubtedly yours, the biggest competition was Misao. However, add a new boy in to the equation, one with feelings for Kagami, and you're suddenly at war with your own head. You had competition. Then you had to decide. Accept this new boy, or realize your feelings for Kagami?" Tony said. "Remember how when you started to accept me, your illness began lessening?" Tony asked. Konata thought back.

"Yeah... Yeah! That was the night of the slumber party! I also started realizing that I had feelings for Kagami back then too! She almost kissed me then too..." Konata reminisced. Konata began giggling. Tony chuckled.

"Man Kon-kon, I'm glad you decided on coming with me to the tournament instead of trying to convince me to turn back time!" Tony said. Konata sighed contently.

"Yeah, my head was playing the worst possible scenario at that point... I thought Kagami was going to tell Tsukasa, then Tsukasa would tell Miyuki, and it would spread to the rest of the school. Then it'd just be you being my friend." Konata looked over at Tony. "What would you do if you thought your loved one left you forever and everyone you knew except your brother scorned and ridiculed you?" Konata asked.

"I'd kill myself." Tony said.

"Come on, use a bit of imagination." Konata urged, seeing what he would come up with since he was the one who had powers. Tony looked into Konata's eyes with a very serious stare.

"I don't have to." He said. Konata suddenly remembered who she was talking to. She was about to respond, but she was cut off by a ringing. Miki picked up her phone.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

_I think Dad's on his way home now. I better call Mom and ask her now._ Kagami sighed. She took out her phone and dialed the number of her mother.

"Hello?" Miki picked up.

"Hey Mom..." Kagami said.

"Kagami?" Miki asked. "How are you dear?" She asked in a gentle voice.

"Um... Have you by any chance... talked to Dad about my... you know. My feelings for Konata." Kagami asked.

"No. I haven't Kagami, why-..." Miki was about to ask, the aura around Miki tangibly changing into one of fear and panic.

"Oh well. I guess I'll just have to see what happens then." Kagami mumbled.

"Kagami, no! Don't tell-" Kagami hung up and sighed.

_Ten minutes. It's only ten more minutes._ Kagami sat back, turning off her phone to avoid calls.

* * *

**POV Konata**

Konata and Tony noticed the car seemed to be gaining speed.

"What's going on? What happened?" Konata asked in a hurry.

"Kagami's gonna tell her father about her feelings for you when he gets home! And if I'm right, Ta-kun's going to be home in about ten minutes!" Miki shouted as she tried to call Kagami for the third time. Again, it failed. She scowled as she figured Kagami must have shut her phone off to prevent Miki from doing exactly what she was trying to do. Tony's eyes widened as he began to think of some way home quicker.

"What?" Konata shouted. " There's no way! He can't find out, not yet! Why would she do something like this?"

"I don't know, but we're not going to make it home nearly quick enough!" Miki said, now truly despairing. If she wasn't there, she wouldn't be able to interject on any punishment that her husband saw fit. Even if she was there, she wouldn't be able to really stop it, but at least she would be able to plea with him. If he did disown Kagami, however, it wasn't something that could be taken back. If he made that decision, it was all over.

"Quiet, everyone quiet!" Tony said, silencing the two other girls. Konata looked over at him while Miki glanced at him through the mirror. His eyes were closed and his hands on his temples. "There has to be some way to get home. How do we do it... How?" He asked himself. Konata continued staring at him.

"What do you think he's-" Miki started. She was swiftly interrupted.

"Quiet! Both of you be quiet! Don't move, don't speak, don't breathe, I'm trying to think, Konata face the other way, you're putting me off!" Tony said quickly, sounding entirely panicked. Miki and Konata didn't speak another word. Konata looked at her brother another second. "Back! Now please!" Tony insisted. Konata turned and looked out the window. Through glances through the mirror, Miki could see Tony occasionally move a hand as if to bat away a fly. They were driving another couple minutes before Tony finally reopened his eyes. "Pull over!" He shouted.

"We're still hours away, why would I-" Miki started.

"**Pull over!**" Tony shouted again. Miki flinched and pulled slightly into a field on the side of the road without further questioning. Tony breathed and put his hands on the car door and seat. He groaned as if he were attempting to lift a boulder several tons in weight. He breathed in and out sharply through his teeth as he gritted them. He groaned again as he funneled his energy into his apparition spell. As he predicted, he hadn't nearly enough energy to complete it. In panic, he reached out into the grass around the car and siphoned what he could from it. The spell still taking from him as well, his body trembled with involuntary tremors. He extended his thoughts to the entire field. Konata looked out around the field to see the grass began to turn brown and wilt.

_What's..._ She wondered as she noticed a tremendous heat inside the car. She looked back over at Tony to see he looked as if every vein in his body were bulging. He roared once as a familiar sensation took over Konata's senses.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Kagami heard a car door. Oddly, she could recognize the sound of that particular car. It was her father.

_Here it comes. Since the hospital is close, it won't take Matsuri and Inori long to get here._ Kagami thought. As her father entered the room, he looked up to see Kagami. He looked quite surprised.

"Kagami? What are you doing here? I thought you'd be with your sisters visiting Tsukasa." Tadao said.

"Dad... I need you to call Matsuri and Inori and tell them to come home. I need to tell you all something." Kagami said. She wanted so much to simply say never mind, but she wouldn't let herself make such a decision. If she truly loved Konata, she would have to tell her family now.

"... Okay Kagami..." Tadao eyed his daughter suspiciously as he called his daughters and told them to come home.

"Thanks Dad..." Kagami mumbled.

* * *

**POV Konata**

As the sensation faded, Konata had to take a few moments to steady herself, having never gone so far a distance before. She shook her head and looked outside to see they were outside the Hiiragi house. She smiled and looked to Tony, opening her mouth to thank him. When she saw him, he looked completely wrecked. His eyes were almost glazed over and his mouth hung open. It was almost as if...

_No, he can't be!_ Konata shouted in her head. She was about to ask if he were okay when she felt a presence of a consciousness press against her mind. As it forced it's way in, she could feel so extreme a lethargy, the colors she saw seemed to lose some of their luster. And, in a slow and deep voice, as if speaking were a struggle of almost unbearable proportions, she heard Tony's voice in her head.

"_Go... Now..."_ He seemed barely able to speak. Konata was torn between stopping Kagami and checking on Tony. _"Fine... Tired... Go..."_ He said, attempting to sound reassuring. Then the presence vanished, leaving behind a bit of emptiness.

"Thank you so much Tony!" Konata cried as she opened the car door to see two other cars there. She looked over to see Miki outside the car, using it for support as she was more than likely losing her lunch. Konata ran inside.

"-love with Konata!" Kagami shouted as Konata tore open the door. She saw the back of Kagami. In front of her was Tadao, Matsuri, and Inori. Matsuri and Inori turned their attention to Konata, causing Kagami to turn. She looked tired. Konata could feel tears in her eyes.

"It's all a joke! A prank! Don't worry about what she ju-" Konata started to say before she was cut off. Kagami brought her into a hug, silencing the Otaku.

"Thank you Konata, I know what you were trying to do. But it isn't necessary. I love you." Kagami said softly, though loudly enough for the room to hear.

"Kagamin you dummy..." Konata muttered. The two looked over at the three across the room. It seemed as if miles separated them. Matsuri was the first to comment. She smiled.

"Good for you Imoto." She said. Inori gave a slightly panicked look to Matsuri. Then, with a sigh, she made her comment.

"I'm happy for you Kagami." She smiled. Kagami, in spite of the situation, smiled at the support she was getting. It made her feel a little bit stronger.

"Dad, I just want you to know that no matter what you say tonight, I love Konata." She reiterated.

"And I love Kagami." Konata stepped beside her love. The two of them looked each other in the eyes for a moment and grasped each other's hand, intertwining their fingers, and bracing for what was to come. Whatever was to come, they would take it together. At that point, everyone in the room turned to Tadao. He was sitting cross-legged, arms folded, and eyes closed, his expression completely unreadable.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

The screen opens on an empty stage.

"What?" The director shouted. "They got the day off again? What the hell? Why don't I get a damn day off every once in a while! That little shi-"

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

I feel evil. Oh, so evil. So evil and wicked and vile~! I want to wrap this up quick, it feels like forever since I updated and I don't want to hurt anybodies soul any more than is necessary. Or until it gets boring... Of course, I don't foresee THAT happening any time soon XD So I wonder if anyone actually took my OVA challenge seriously and looked? I'll give you guys a hint, there's one in chapter 14. Like I said, it's probably gonna be very hard to find, you'd probably have to run it through with a fine toothed comb :P Anyway, review! By the power of the Millennium Rod, I command you! ...Wait what? Oh, that only works on people named Steve?... Er... Review please... Hang on a second, someone's at the door... I open it to see Tony.

"Well hello Ac. I wanted to have a little talk about Tadao." He says. Damn, he knew where to find me because I had to call on him to defend from HolyRiot's threats. "Look, I can tell he loves his daughter, but I think he'll still need a little... persuasion."

What will happen will happen as I see fit.

"You see, it's like this..." Tony starts.

**"There's**, a, danger their love's thwarted,  
And dried like a Harmattan,  
For the father of the courted,  
is thick as Tien Shan!  
So the time has come for my master plan,  
For which, I'll turn to a Peter Pan,  
To find such a man,  
Who better than~?  
**Acsuperman."** Tony continued, hoping to garner my favor despite calling me a Peter Pan, and thus immature.  
**"She**, would, love this girl all over,  
She wants for them to be clan,  
She would take a bullet for her,  
Even leave Japan!  
So quite amazing to relate,  
She'll be rejected as a mate!  
Which forces me to contemplate~...  
**Acsuperman."**

**I'd** say it's time for your curt Adieu.  
For I don't see what you want me to do.  
For this is MY story, it is all my decision!  
I care not for your vision,  
Nor for your **derision.**

**"Imprison!" **Tony shouts. I stop, though his powers don't work here.  
**"It's** Tadao who is your quarry,  
I can tell from a quick scan,  
He's approached this deal with **chary,"**

**He'll **muck up your **plan?**

**"He'll **be Kagami's new best man,  
Or I'll act as a hit man!  
You can do this all in short **span~!"**

Acsuperman?

"**Do** I make myself entirely clear?  
It's the simplest deal of your writing career,  
Put Tadao in place or he'll be here in moments,  
in, a, dreadful state,  
He'll capitulate to ME~!  
I'll~, be~, putting down an **asshole!"**

Oh, but can you?

"Yes I can!"

**Just **wait for the next update,  
And see what's my **plan!**

**"So **wave bachelorette goodbye!  
Their time is **nigh!"**

**He'd** rather **die...** Tony glares at me.  
**Than **have his daughter **ossify.**

**"Alone** by his **ban~!"**

"**So book a shrine, raise glasses high~!  
To Acsuperman~~!" **I sing with him. Tony turns to leave.

By the way dude?

"What?" He asks as he turns around.

I've already written what happens. I just played along for the sake of getting to write another one of these parodies.

"You mean all of that was for nothing?" Tony deadpans.

Yep. Absolutely pointless.

"... Well that was a waste of a good parody..." Tony mumbles as he walks away. I snicker.


	38. Chapter 37: Ohana

Chapter 37: Ohana

Yo yo yo! What is up my home dogs, my P-dizzles, my little nut-megs! … Sorry about that... Edge, thank you for the compliment, I'm glad he didn't get violent. I wouldn't want to have to write him out of the story... HolyRiot, I must admit, you are now amazing. Several people have promised that they would review every chapter before you promised, but you're the first to follow through. Oh man, I was happy that day, I guiltily admit that I half expected you to not do it. So I thank you so much. I'm happy my hints didn't go unnoticed! And don't worry about the threats, I remain that anyone can threaten me with characters from their story once they reach half my word length. Of course, I fully intend on continuing this story for a very long time to come. Hell, by the time I get everything done, I could very well be at twice my current length, so your story would have to rank second in length on the site (Assuming it's Lucky Star). I'll tell you about the whole Balsamic Vinegar thing a bit later, that okay? And yes, the diary entries were in the last chapter. I'll be honest, I really liked writing a win for Konata, that's how I felt it would go down if Tony didn't go superhuman. Ru771an, you never reviewed the last chapter itself! You should totally include a review to the last chapter in with this one... I jest, you don't have to :P Sqweebs, you hurt me man! You hurt me deep! Waste of time? *Shrug* Well, I'll have to see if I can't remedy that with this chapter. Dark, I'm glad you liked it! I have to do cliffhangers, they make me happy! And last but not least, another new reader! Shikamaru's babygirl! I do hope you end up reading this, you reviewed the first two chapters of my story, I hope you continue with this story! Without further adieu, let's see what happens! So here it is, my very latest chapter, one you've waited for, Tadao's Decision!

* * *

**POV Kagami**

"I had a feeling Kagami." Tadao said, his expression unreadable but his tone grave. Kagami bit her lip as he seemed to be contemplating his situation. He opened his eyes and looked seriously at the two.

* * *

**POV Tony**

It was a moment before Tony could summon coherent thought again. The energy it had taken to communicate with Konata had left him close to death. He felt into his ring and took what energy was left. He pushed himself so he wasn't leaning on the door anymore and, after another moment of collecting himself, started to exit the vehicle. He looked around to see he was alone, not surprisingly. He cracked his neck and looked around. His plan to disprove Kagami's lesbianism had already failed, there was no way he could conjure the energy to walk to the house, let alone summon Miyuki. Tony sighed as he sat back in the car and laid down.

_Damn it. This had to happen? There has to be some way to fix__ this._ He continued thinking as much as he could it occurred to him. _It's not a puzzle. Not anymore. Now, it's entirely based on luck. _He sighed as he pushed himself up. _There's nothing more that can be done here. If Kagami is kicked out, all that Konata a__nd I can do is welcome her into one of our houses._ Tony thought. _I might as well get ready for my plan with Tsukasa. I hope they're still going to be up to helping me after this._ Tony started walking to the place he could get what he needed. It would end up taking the rest of his money, but that would just make it make more of an impact. As he was walking, his phone started ringing. He picked it up and decided to have a bit of fun with whoever was calling him. "Nyeh, yello?" Tony said with a Brooklyn accent. When the speaker spoke, he recognized instantly who it was.

"He-hello? I think I have the wrong number..." Tsukasa mumbled.

"Nyeh, I don' think so Tsu-Tsu." Tony said, chuckling in his head.

"Wh-who is this? Kan-kun?" Tsukasa asked.

"You are CORRECT ma'am!" Tony said dramatically, dropping the accent. Tsukasa giggled.

"You're silly." She said. "Are you almost home?" She asked.

"Almost, it won't be too much longer." Tony said. "Why?" He asked.

"Because Dad called Matsuri-nee-san and Inori-nee-san home, I just wanted to know if you knew why?" Tsukasa clarified.

"Ah..." Tony debated with himself for a moment. "No, I'm afraid I don't. Sorry." Tony apologized.

"Okay... Do you know where Onee-chan is? I haven't seen her since they all left yesterday!" Tsukasa said. Tony's throat caught up. Right now, Tsukasa barely needed another worry.

"No, I'm not sure." Tony said nervously. There was a silence between the two.

"Kan-kun, are you lying to me?" Tsukasa asked. Tony scolded himself.

_How the hell can she tell?_ He shouted in his head. "No, why would you think that?" Tony asked her.

"Hm. I dunno, I just got a feeling." Tsukasa responded. Tony arrived at his destination.

"Hey Tsukasa, I've got to get off the phone right now. I'll see you later though, eh?" Tony asked. Tsukasa sighed.

"Okay Kan-kun, but hurry. Misa-chan left a while ago and it's boring here. I talked to Yuki-chan for a while, but she had to go..." Tsukasa whined a bit. Tony couldn't help but chuckle.

"Alrighty Tsukasa. I'll see you as soon as I can!" Tony said.

"Bye Kan-kun~!" Tsukasa chimed.

"See ya." Tony smiled. Tsukasa hung up. Tony looked up at the store he was currently standing outside. He smiled. _Onward to epicness._

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

"When's the first date, when's the first date?" Matsuri urged Tsukasa. After all, neither of her younger sisters had ever been in a relationship and Matsuri wanted details.

"I-I don't know!" Tsukasa responded, looking a bit panicked. Her sister was being very forceful.

"Come on, give Imoto a break." Misao said.

"You aren't curious? Imoto's never had a boyfriend before!" Matsuri said.

"Bu-but..." Tsukasa mumbled a little panicked like.

"What?" Inori asked her.

"I know you're all curious, but I didn't expect a kind of Spanish Inquisition..." Tsukasa mumbled. Suddenly, the door burst open as three men all in red ran in. They all stopped and posed.

"NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!" One in a snazzy red hat yelled. Tsukasa sank back into her bed. Tears welled up in her eyes as she was frightened by these men. Misao saw this.

"Hey you three, get the hell out of here!" She got up and yelled at the three with such ferocity, she instantly cut off the rest of the three's lines. "Well? Leave! You're scaring Imoto!" She shouted, pointing at the door.

"Er..." The main man mumbled. Misao growled. The three of them shuffled out quickly. Misao sighed and sat back down.

"That should be the last of them." She crossed her arms. "You okay Imoto?" Misao asked Tsukasa. She smiled and sniffed.

"Yeah... Thanks." She sighed contently. Matsuri and Inori looked at each other, then smiled to Misao.

"Well I didn't know you were so protective of Tsukasa." Inori smiled.

"She's like my little sister, ya know?" Misao scratched the back of her head sheepishly. Suddenly, her phone started ringing. She picked it up. "Yo?" She greeted whoever was on the other end of the phone. She scowled. "I don't wanna! I'm visiting a friend in the hospital! She... But she just came out of a coma!" Misao protested. "I don't care if he wants to see me! He's just gonna insult me again!" Misao shouted. *Sigh* "Fine. I'm on my way." Misao sighed, almost disgusted. She hung up. "Sorry Imoto, I've gotta go home. My idiot brother wants to have an argument. Or, what he calls an argument. Basically, it's him insulting me and me telling him to shut up."

"Sorry you have to go home to that." Matsuri apologized.

"Oh, I don't care if he insults me. He insulted Hiiragin and Imoto once." Misao commented.

"What? Let me at him..." Matsuri growled. Misao smiled.

"Sorry, I beat you to it." Misao said.

"What did you do?" Inori asked.

"I was grounded for a month. They only let me out for school and visiting him." Misao smiled.

"Visiting?" Inori asked.

"In the hospital." Misao got up and walked to the door. She glanced back to see the room staring at her. She shrugged. "I'm very protective of Hiiragin and Imoto. They're very precious to me. In fact, they're two of the most important people in the world to me and no one insults them if I have anything to say about it." She said whole-heartidly. She exited.

"Do we want her hanging out with Imoto? She seems a little violent..." Matsuri commented.

"Do you want to be the one to tell her that she can't be around Kagami?" Inori asked her sister. Matsuri shook her head.

"No way." She said. "I'm not sure if it's her violence that makes me cautious so much as her nonchalance about it and her willingness to use it."

"Hang on Matsuri, the instant she said he insulted Kagami and Tsukasa, you wanted to kill him!" Inori accused.

"Not kill him! Just maim him a little..." Matsuri protested.

"That's not much better!" Inori said.

"But there's a difference! Imoto's my sister!" Matsuri said.

"And she said Tsukasa and Kagami were like hers." Inori said. Before they could continue arguing, Tsukasa interrupted on behalf of her friend.

"It's okay Onee-san! She's been Onee-chan's friend for years!" Tsukasa defended her friend.

"Still, I'm not sure how I feel about that..." Matsuri commented.

"Well, Kagami hasn't come home complaining about her violence, so I guess she's okay around her." Inori said.

"She really is!" Tsukasa urged them. There was a moment of silence until Matsuri realized her question had never been answered.

"Imoto, you have to have talked about SOMETHING!" Matsuri said. "First date, living together, kids, anything?" She asked. Tsukasa blushed as thoughts entered her head. Thoughts of their date, moving in, and of, of course, kids. Of course, when thinking of something such as this, one also must think about how to get to such events...

"O-O-Onee-san... We... We haven't been on a first date yet... We haven't talked about any of that..." Tsukasa mumbled meekly, turning deeply red. Matsuri almost squealed.

"Imoto, you're so cute sometimes!" She shouted. "I just wanna squeeze the stuffing out of you!" She giggled. Tsukasa smiled.

"Thanks... I think." She mumbled. It was weird being called cute by your big sister like that.

"Just keep bein' cute Imoto!" Matsuri gave a wink and a thumbs up before her cellphone rang. "Yo? What's up?" She asked. She suddenly got a confused look. "What? Now? We're visiting Tsukasa." Matsuri said. "Home? … Alright." Matsuri said cautiously.

"What's up?" Inori asked.

"Dad wants us to come home right away." Matsuri said.

"Ah. Alright. Well, I guess let's go. I'll see ya later Tsukasa." Inori got up.

"See ya Imoto!" Matsuri waved as the two got to the door. "Stay cute!" She bade as they left. Tsukasa sighed. She laid back in bed.

"I wish Kan-kun was here..." She mumbled as she snuggled in to her bed. "It's boring when I'm here by myself. Maybe I can call Yuki-chan." She pondered the thought. "She was really tired yesterday. I wonder why..." She mumbled to herself. She brought out her cellphone. She clicked two on her speed dial. Miyuki picked up after a couple rings.

"Tsukasa, how are you?" She asked sweetly. Tsukasa could hear machinery in the background.

"I'm fine Yuki-chan, I'm just a little bored. I have a question though!" Tsukasa asked.

"Yes?" Miyuki asked.

"Why were you so tired yesterday?" Tsukasa asked. Miyuki hummed, trying to think of something. After all, she didn't want to tell her that she had stayed up all night because fo her, then she would feel guilty!

"I just didn't get a very good night's sleep." Miyuki lied.

"Oh~... What are you doing?" Tsukasa asked, buying the lie.

"I was visiting Masutā at work." Miyuki said.

"He got a job?" Tsukasa asked.

"Yes, he offered to pay for the rent of my home and-" Miyuki was cut off by a gasp from Tsukasa.

"What happened? I thought you got enough money from your Dad!" Tsukasa said.

"My mother stopped getting alimony, and her credit card was stolen. We lost a lot of money before I canceled the card." Miyuki said.

"Oh... Masuta's really generous... Isn't your rent a lot?" Tsukasa asked.

"Yes, but he's performing a hard job that he's one of the only people who can complete the task. Normally, it would take several people to complete the job and that would result in several different paychecks having to be paid. So he's saving them money by performing an extremely physically demanding job in a place where machinery is awkward to use. So they pay him a lot of money." Miyuki explained.

"Oh~... Okay then." Tsukasa nodded, even though she knew Miyuki couldn't see it. "And he gives all of it to you and your Mom?" Tsukasa asked. The speaker piece seemed to get muffled as Miyuki said something to someone. It became clear again.

"Yes. He does." She said softly as the sound of machinery seemed to get more distant. Tsukasa instantly picked up on a new tone in her friend's voice.

"Yuki-chan~... Do you like him~?" Tsukasa chimed.

"..." Miyuki seemed to pause here. "Yes. I do. He's generous and nice and..." Miyuki paused again.

"And what?" Tsukasa urged her friend to continue.

"... And he's hot." Miyuki admitted. From the way she said it, it sounded like she had less confessed it and more let it burst out before she could let herself think of what might come from saying it. Tsukasa giggled. "Have you ever seen him with his shirt off?" Miyuki asked.

"No, is he like Kan-kun?" Tsukasa asked.

"A little, but just... bigger. Even though Kanpeki-san is stronger, Masutā has larger muscles and..." Miyuki paused. "If "commanding" could describe looks, it would definitely describe him. You should hear him ordering people to do things. You can tell he must have been a commander in the special forces just by the way he holds himself and the way he speaks. Besides that, he-hoo..." Miyuki was cut off. There was a moment of silence.

"Yuki-chan?" Tsukasa asked.

"I'm sorry Tsukasa, I just kind of... do that when I see him without his shirt..." Miyuki said sheepishly. "What makes him all the more fascinating is how easily he can switch his tone and aura." Miyuki said.

"What do you mean?" Tsukasa asked.

"I mean that he can authoritatively command someone to pick up a metal bar that's much too heavy for them, inspire them to do it with a silver tongue, and then sound as mild and gentle as the cradle-babe when speaking to me." Miyuki described.

"Yuki-chan, he likes you! I bet he does!" Tsukasa chimed.

"I... I was thinking of asking him if he would like to move in with mother and I. After all, if he's paying rent on a building, then he should be able to use it, correct?" Miyuki sounded extremely uncertain. Tsukasa, while she thought this was totally romantic, realized she should probably use a more level head than going on that thought alone.

"Well..." Tsukasa thought. "It would seem like a really big step considering you aren't dating yet..." Tsukasa pondered aloud.

"Yet..." She could hear Miyuki mumble. Tsukasa admitted, Miyuki seemed different right now, but Tsukasa correctly assumed it was simply because she had never seen her best friend liking someone like this before.

"Hmmm..." Tsukasa continued to ponder. "You do bring a good argument that he should be able to live in that house if he wants since he pays for some of it. Does your Mom still have her job?" Tsukasa asked.

"Yes, but it didn't cover half of our living expenses. With Masuta's money, however, we'll be go-hoo..." Miyuki was cut off once more. Tsukasa giggled.

"Yuki-chan, I don't know what to tell you. It might seem really forward if you ask him to come live with you, but it may just be what you need to do to tell him what you think of him, you know?" Tsukasa asked.

"I... I guess... After all, our house is bigger than Kanpeki-san's. He'd likely be more comfortable living with us, right?" Miyuki asked.

"Right!" Tsukasa smiled.

"Alright... Maybe I'll ask him... Just not today." Miyuki said. Tsukasa giggled.

"Yuki-chan, you'll have to do it sometime." Tsukasa said.

"I suppose you're right... Thanks Tsukasa." Miyuki said.

"No, thank you! I haven't gotten to talk to you much lately, you know?" Tsukasa said.

"Yeah... I hope we can talk again soon." Miyuki said.

"Me too Yuki-chan!" Tsukasa chimed.

"I'll see you later Tsukasa." Miyuki bade.

"Bye bye Yuki-chan!" Tsukasa chimed as the two ended the call. Tsukasa smiled. "Maybe I'll call Kan-kun..." She smiled and clicked three on her speed dial.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Tadao sighed.

"Kagami... Someone asked me what I would do if this was the case." Tadao said. Kagami bit her lip. It was weird. She was strangely calm. Her sisters supported her. Her mother supported her. Konata was beside her, hand in hand, loving her. Whatever her father's decision, there was an odd serenity that made her feel as if she could take it. "I've been thinking for a long time. Time alone in my room on this subject." Tadao said.

_So that's why he was staying to himself inside__ his room..._ Kagami thought.

"The notion was brought up around a month ago if I remember correctly." Tadao said. "My initial plan was to disown you." Tadao looked into Kagami's eyes to tell her that he was completely serious. She gulped. "When it was brought up, I felt it went against our religion, that we may incur some divine punishment should I allow this in my house. So I thought. I thought a great deal by myself. I called a lot of people, priests, and other such people. I've heard testimonies that it was an abomination from some and from others I've heard that the entire point of the religion was not to reject ourselves what makes us happy, but to pursue them. That didn't help me." Tadao sighed. "I eventually came to the realization that it wasn't my religion that made this into something bad, quite the opposite. The truth is, I was just scared and using my religion as an excuse. Even then, I've been trying to come to terms with the thought of you being a lesbian. I wasn't sure what I would do if that were the case." Tadao sighed. "I've put off deciding what I would do until such a time that you told me. I have to ask Kagami..." Tadao paused and looked between the two girls. "Do you love this girl with all your heart? Or is there any possibility that this is a phase you're going through? Can you see yourself spending the rest of your life with her?" He asked. Kagami looked to Konata, who looked back. Kagami looked into her love's eyes and, for a split instant, saw Konata in ten years, hair in a bun, a responsible adult with just enough childish habits to balance her. Kagami smiled and turned back to her father.

"I do. I can see a future with Konata." Kagami said. Tadao turned to Konata.

"Konata." He said gravely. "Do you love my daughter?" He asked. Konata nodded.

"With all my heart and everything that I am." Konata answered. Tadao sighed and seemed to compose himself. He looked back at Konata.

"From here, I'm leaving my daughter in your charge." Tadao said. "Make my girl happy."

"Does that mean..." Konata muttered.

"Know this now Kagami. Should you pursue your relationship with Konata... I'll accept and support you both all the way." Tadao finished, smiling wide. Kagami's expression turned to joy as she ran and hugged her dad with all her might.

"Thank you so much dad!" She cried. "I was so afraid!"

"Don't worry Kagami. I'm your father, and I'll always love you. No matter what." The man hugged his daughter back. Kagami was in bliss. Her father accepted her. This was more than she could have ever hoped for or imagined. She didn't even notice when Inori and Matsuri had run over and joined in the hug, or when Miki, who had also joined in the hug as well, had even arrived. It was a moment before Kagami felt something was missing. She turned to see Konata standing where she had been before Kagami had run to her father. Tadao followed his daughter's gaze and saw the Otaku, as did the rest of the present company.

"Come here Konatan!" Matsuri shouted.

"Being part of the family means being part of group hugs." Inori said.

"Come on Kona. This is a family hug. Get in here." Kagami smiled. Konata smiled widely and glomped the group.

"I can't believe it! That makes us an official couple!" Konata shouted happily. Kagami smiled.

"Yup. We're official." She said.

"Took long enough..." Konata giggled. "We've gotta tell Tsukasa and Tony!" Konata said excitedly.

"Yeah! Hang on..." Kagami broke from the hug and took out her phone, but it disappeared. She looked over to see Konata holding it.

"We have to tell them in person! However, there is something I want to ask Tsukasa to do~..." Konata catgrinned.

"What's that Kona?" Kagami asked.

"A bit of a thanks to Kan-kan for getting us here so quickly." Konata said.

"Getting you here? Where did you go?" Kagami asked.

"Oh yeah, I went with Kan-kan to the tournament!" Konata said.

"You didn't get hurt, did you Kona?" Kagami asked quickly, obviously concerned. "Didn't they use weapons? What did you use?" Kagami asked.

"Whoa whoa, it's okay Kagamin! I used Wing Chun Butterfly Knives! Sure I got hurt, but Kan-kan healed me!" Konata said, leaving out the poisoning. "It was all recorded too!" Konata catgrinned at Miki. She held up a camera.

"All right here." Miki smiled. Kagami looked at it.

"... I really want to see that..." Kagami looked at the camera longingly. Konata giggled.

"Don't we have to go get Tsukasa?" Konata asked. Kagami sighed.

"Yeah. So what's the whole deal with Tony?" She asked.

"Well, if I know him, he's preparing an awesome plan for when Tsukasa can leave the hospital." Konata said. "He probably felt there wasn't anything he could do here." She started dialing Tsukasa's number, walking out of the room. She would explain Tony's plan after she had made her request to Tsukasa.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony looked around. He was outside the hospital.

_Horse in place... _Tony looked up. _Tsukasa's window..._ He shifted uncomfortably. _Costume is definitely on..._ He thought, said costume under his current clothes. He breathed. "Show time." He smiled. He walked up.

"Okay Kona-chan!" Tsukasa smiled. "If you think he'd like it..." She said. There was a knock at the door. Tsukasa dropped her voice to a whisper. "That's him. I'll tell you how he reacts!" She said.

"Thanks Tsukasa!" Konata giggled. Tony entered the room just as Tsukasa was putting the phone away.

"Hey Tsu-chan, I'm home!" He smiled.

"Welcome back Master!" Tsukasa chimed with one of the sweetest smiles Tony had ever se-...

_Ma-Ma-Ma..._ Tony repeated in his head, what Tsukasa had said just now hitting him and turning his face a deep red. Tsukasa couldn't help but squeal in her head at how amazingly cute she found Tony when he looked like he did right now. Suddenly, a small trickle of blood ran from his nose and he fell backwards.

"Kan-kun!" Tsukasa shouted as Tony fainted. Tsukasa struggled to get up for a moment or two, but Tony came to soon, rubbing his nose. "Kan-kun, are you okay?" She asked.

"Ye-yeah... Just... stuff..." He said. He was curious about when Tsukasa had been told about that particular bit of information, but for now he wanted to forget what had just happened. Not entirely, he would keep the memory of Tsukasa saying that and how it actually sounded safely tucked away in a hidden corner of his mind palace, but other than that, he was forgetting the incident. Tony walked over to his love and sat down next to her.

"So that means Kona-chan is home too, right?" Tsukasa asked.

"Yeah... Hey Tsukasa..." Tony muttered.

"Kan-kun...?" Tsukasa asked as Tony had a weird sort of tone in his voice. Tony breathed, readying himself to tell Tsukasa the news of what was happening.

"Konata and Kagami... Konata co-" He was cut off as the door burst open to reveal Konata and Kagami.

"Guys! You're not going to believe this!" Kagami shouted.

"Then why listen? Now, where were we?" Tony turned back to Tsukasa.

"You know Tony, sometimes you can be really funny!" Konata chuckled. Halfway through, she stopped VERY abruptly. "And then there's now." Konata said.

"Well what is it?" Tsukasa asked. Kagami and Konata smiled to her. By that smile, Tony could guess the news. Konata and Kagami looked into each other's eyes. Konata felt Kagami's cheek sensually and Kagami sighed, preparing herself for the telling of news.

"We... Dad... Me and Kona... I..." She tried several times. Kagami was interrupted by Konata taking her cheek in her hand again. Kagami looked into Konata's eyes.

"You talk too much." Konata smiled. Kagami blinked and paused for a beat and realized what Konata was getting at. She gulped and leaned closer. Konata leaned up. Tsukasa watched as their faces got closer and closer until she joyously saw Kagami and Konata kiss for the very first time. Since the invention of the kiss, there have been seven kisses that have been rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind. The two put more passion into that kiss than anything they ever had before. They continued kissing for about a minute. Kagami could feel love pouring from Konata. Konata felt love pouring from Kagami. Kagami could barely think. She had always thought about what her first kiss would be like. She imagined she would feel indescribable joy as she hugged the love of her life, the person she would undoubtedly spend the rest of her life with. That description didn't come anywhere close to the reality of it. In that hug, Kagami felt safe. In that first kiss, she was home. And she knew she could never love anyone else as much as she did Konata.

"ONEE-CHAN~!" Tsukasa shouted in joy.

"YES! FINALLY!" Tony cheered. "It's about damn time! We were getting impatient!" Tony shouted. Konata and Kagami finally broke for air and to address their siblings.

"I know, right?" Konata giggled. Tony ran over and hugged the two.

"Big hug! Big hug!" He said. He picked the two giggling girls up with little apparent effort. He walked the two over to Tsukasa's bed and set them down. "Hug them with me Tsukasa!" He requested. Tsukasa happily sat up and hugged the couple.

"Group hug!" Tsukasa chimed.

"So when's the first date?" Tony asked as they disengaged from the hug. Kagami shrugged.

"I dunno! We haven't talked about it, but that reminds me of something! Where are you two going on your first date?" Kagami asked. Tony looked to Tsukasa, who looked back at him.

"Tsu-chan?" Tony asked.

"Hm..." She put a finger to her lip in thought. "It's a little weird for a first date, but how about that cake buffet, Club Harie?" She asked. Everyone else in the room visibly cringed. Kagami noticed Konata cringing too.

"Let's try somewhere else... How about I take you out to dinner?" Tony asked. Suddenly he made a face. "Scratch that. I forgot, I have no money..." He mumbled.

"What happened?" Tsukasa asked.

"I paid off a friend's debt, but that's not important..." He sighed. "No girl of mine is having a cheap date. I need to find a tournament somewhere." Tony determined. Konata flashed a smile to Kagami.

"You're right." Kagami chimed. Tony turned his attention to her.

"What?" He asked.

"No sister of mine is having a cheap date." Kagami held up two bills.

"20,000 yen?" Tony looked at it. "No, I can't let you pay for our date! What about your own?" Tony asked.

"Don't worry about it. The family all chipped in. It's yours." Kagami held out the money.

"Thanks, but I can't acc-"

"Don't you dare finish that mister." Konata interrupted him. "You just gave all your money away to people you barely freakin' knew. And besides that, I know that if you had won that tournament, you would have turned around and given the money away within the next five minutes. Now you're accepting this money or I'm gonna beat you up again!" Konata said, striking her stance over dramatically. Tony chuckled and scratched his head.

"So Tsukasa, where do you wanna go that costs less than 20,000 yen?" Tony asked. Kagami smiled to Konata.

"I think dinner sounds really nice... Maybe we can go tomorrow, or after they release me today!" Tsukasa chimed happily. Tony smiled to himself.

"I like the idea of that." He said. He sighed contently. "SUBJECT CHANGE!" He suddenly shouted. "So Tadao accepted you himself?" Tony asked.

"Yeah!" Kagami cheered. "It got a little close, but Kona being there convinced him I think." She smiled to her Otaku.

"Really?" Tony smiled. "You did it without Seoige?" Tony cheered, pronouncing Miyuki's name in Al Bhed to keep it from the twins.

"Yep! Kagami's Dad was on the fence on the issue and I Sparta-kicked him onto our side!" Konata demonstrated with an over dramatic kick. "We didn't even need Seoige! In fact, that might not have worked at all! It was a good idea though." Konata complimented. Kagami sighed.

"Hey, what's Seoige?" She asked. "Some other language?" She asked after a moment.

"Al Bhed." Tony chuckled.

"Geez." Kagami facepalmed. "What have I gotten myself in to?"

"I find your lack of faith... disturbing..." Konata said ominously, making a pose like she was squashing Kagami throat. Tony laughed as Kagami rolled her eyes, but giggled nonetheless. They looked over to see Tsukasa laughing as well.

"Tsukasa... Do you even know what that's from?" Kagami asked. Tsukasa nodded.

"It's from Star Wars! We watched it a couple years ago, remember?" Tsukasa smiled. Kagami looked between Tony and Konata, then back to Tsukasa. Konata looked confusedly at Kagami, and then at a Tony. He had the same expression as Kagami, which confused Konata all the more.

"Why is that so surprising?" She asked.

"Don't you remember Kona? When we first met Tony, he made a reference to Star Wars and she didn't remember it..." Kagami said. "I dunno, that's just a bit weird that she would remember it now." Kagami said.

"Well, that's one of the most memorable lines from the entire series! It's no wonder Tsukasa would remember it, right?" Konata asked. Kagami shrugged.

"I guess." She sighed. "Yeah, I guess it's nothing. By the way Tony." She looked at the boy. "I need to ask you about something later in private." Kagami said. Tony raised an eyebrow.

"About?" He asked. Kagami glanced at her sister and lover.

"Acerca de nuestra cita." Kagami said in Spanish, recalling that Tony knew Spanish as well as she did. (About our date.)

"Konata sabe." Tony said. Kagami got a slightly panicked look.  
(Konata knows.)

"Lo hace?" She shouted. Tony sighed.  
(She does?)

"Tuve que decirle. Ella me dijo lo que pasó anoche, yo no quería que te culpo por mi algo que era mi culpa." Tony explained. Kagami blinked.  
(I had to tell her. She told me what happened last night, I didn't want her to blame you for something that was my fault.)

"Hey! Stop speaking a language I don't know!" Konata protested. Kagami giggled.

"Now you know what I feel when you two speak Al Bhed." Kagami said. Konata opened her mouth, but couldn't think of a comeback.

"Well still!" She protested. "You're talking about me! I heard my name!" Konata said. Kagami looked at Tsukasa. Tony had told his sister, now she felt it was her job to tell hers. How would she react though? Tsukasa had a MUCH different past with boys than Konata did, to hear the boy she loved dated her sister might lead to some cataclysmic results. She took a deep breath, but was cut off as Tony's alarm on his phone went off. Konata smiled.

_Plan ZX-52 is underway._ She smiled.

"Sorry Tsukasa, I have to go. Like, now. I'll see ya later!" Tony got up.

"Kan-kun, they're about to let me out!" Tsukasa protested.

"I know, I'll make it up to you!" Tony said before he apparated. Tsukasa sighed as Dr. Zimmerman walked in.

"Okay, you're free to go." He looked around. "I'm surprised Mr. Otokonoko isn't here to see you off." He commented.

"He had something he had to do." Konata said.

"Ah. Well, as of this moment, you're a free woman." Dr. Zimmerman nodded to Tsukasa. He handed a small packet to her. "After waking from a coma, there have been reports of serious headaches. Your medical record doesn't show any allergies, so you should take these in case you get such a headache. I'll write a prescription for them later." Dr. Zimmerman said.

"How will I know if it's that kind of headache or if it's just a common one?" Tsukasa asked.

"You'll know. It'll be less of a headache and more of a serious migraine." Dr. Zimmerman said before exiting. Tsukasa sighed as she put the packet in her pocket.

"I kinda wish Kan-kun was here to walk me out too..." Tsukasa said, disappointed that only her sister and friend were there. "Not that I'm not happy to see you two! It's just-"

"We get it Tsukasa." Kagami smiled. "You love him. Just like I do Kona." Tsukasa blushed as she smiled too.

_And he loves me... I'll trust that he'll make it up some how..._ She thought happily, giggling. Kagami started getting cold feet about the plan, but kept going with it.

"Whoa! What's that!" Konata ran to the window and looked out. Tsukasa

"What? What?" Tsukasa rushed over and peered out the open window.

"There!" Konata pointed, no longer looking where she was pointing, but down. She got a thumbs up from Tony below. Konata snickered at how ridiculous he looked.

"Where? Where?" Tsukasa leaned further outside the window. Kagami gulped, eased only by a thumbs up from Konata. Kagami took a deep breath.

"Down!" She shouted as she gave Tsukasa a gentle push, the latter losing her balance.

"Onee-CHAN~?" She shouted in terror until she saw Tony below. Her eyes widened as she saw him in a poofy red suit on a beautiful white horse with a golden mane. As she tumbled out, she instantly picked up on EXACTLY what was happening. She fell out the window, as Tony had predicted since he had mentally guided her, and Tony caught her in his arms. She smiled as she saw Tony's smirk.

"Oh my gosh..." Tsukasa mumbled. "It's you..." She put her hand behind Tony's head.

"Ahe, yes it's me!" Tony said. "And you are...?"

"Tsukasa." Tsukasa smiled, bringing her hand back.

"Oh~ TSUKASA!" Tony shouted.  
**"You're** the fairest maid I've ever met!  
You were **made-" **He sang, being interrupted by Tsukasa.

"**...****...- To** finish your **duet!"**

"**And **in years to come~ we'll **reminisce!" **They sang together before splitting off.

"**How** we came to **love,"** Tony sang.

"**-And **grew and grew **love," **Tsukasa sang immediately after Tony stopped.

"**Since** first we knew love, through True~ Love's~ **Kiss~!"** They finished as they rode off. Kagami smiled to Konata as they held each other's hand.

"Kona..." Kagami started.

"Yes Kagamin?"

"After doing that... I really need something sweet..." Kagami sighed. Konata giggled.

"Would some sugar help?" Konata suggested suggestively. Kagami giggled.

"In a relationship for half an hour and you're already talking dirty to me..." She commented.

"You like it." Konata said.

"I do." Kagami closed in, but lift up and pecked her girlfriend on the forehead at the last second.

"Kagamin~!" Konata whined. "On the lips!" She pouted.

"Hey, I'm not just some girl you can up and kiss any time you want you know. We haven't even been on our first date. Kiss me then." Kagami bonked Konata on the nose with her finger. "Or, as I imagine Tony would do it..." She poked Konata in the forehead. "Sorry Kona. Another time?" She giggled. Konata pouted.

"But I kissed you just a moment ago!" She protested.

"I let you kiss me. Kona, I wanted you to have my first kiss." Kagami clarified. Konata blinked.

"Kagamin, you're not helping! That makes me want to kiss you so much more!" Konata tried to glomp Kagami, but the Tsundere put a hand out and caught her by her forehead.

"Denied." She said. Konata groaned.

"Fine, but that means we have to stop for pocky on the way out." Konata chimed. "Do you have money for the vending machine?" Konata asked

"Um..." Kagami checked her change purse. "Haha!" She laughed in triumph, taking out several coins. "Got it!" She cheered as the two began making their way out of the hospital.

"Awesome! We can play the pocky game~..." Konata chimed.

"No pocky game. Date first." Kagami bonked Konata again. Konata pouted.

"What, is that a thing now?" Konata asked.

"Of course it is, you're so cute when I do that!" Kagami squealed as she hugged Konata.

"Whoa! Kagamin, what big deredere you have!" She shouted, extremely surprised and rapidly blushing.

"I know, but I can finally say that! Before, it was weird 'cause I wasn't sure if you would take it weird! I don't even care that you're using stupid Otaku terms!" Kagami cheered.

"Kagamin..." Konata mumbled.

"Kona?" Kagami asked. "What is ih-" Kagami jumped back a bit as Konata pecked her on the nose.

"I'll respect your wishes." She smiled. Kagami smiled.

"I'll admit it Kona, I'm a little surprised that you would do that. Between you and Tony, I wasn't sure who was more obscene." Kagami giggled.

"He is, we took a poll." Konata said. Kagami giggled a bit more.

"Sounds about right. So, what do you wanna do?" Kagami asked.

"Date?" Konata asked slyly.

"Maybe… First let's just try hanging out as a couple before we actually go on a date, ya know?" Kagami asked.

"Not really, what's the difference?" Konata asked.

"Well, this way we can kind of get accustomed to being in public before we go announcing to the world that we're a couple…" Kagami said.

"But that means I can't kiss you even after today!" Konata complained.

"The best things in life are worth waiting for, aren't they?" Kagami asked. Konata pouted.

"Just being worth it doesn't make waiting for it suck any less…" She said. Kagami patted Konata on the head.

"Be strong." She said as she started rubbing Konata's head like one would their pet.

"I'm not an animal Kagamin!" Konata protested. Kagami patted Konata's head twice and brought her hand back.

"I dunno, sometimes you act like one though… Like a wolf sometimes…" Kagami commented.

"Wolf? I've never been so insulted in my life!" Konata shouted dramatically. "GrrrrrRUFF! Ruff!" She barked. Kagami giggled again. They found a vending machine, which Kagami put her coins into. She clicked the buttons for pocky and waited as the snack got closer in the rings. Suddenly, it stopped. Kagami blinked and wait a moment for it to continue. Another moment…

"Oh come on!" She shouted. "Damn thing ate my money…" Kagami sighed in sorrow."That was all I had too…" She mumbled in defeat. Konata started humming. Kagami looked at her to see her eyes closed in intense concentration, her lips in the form of a cat's. Suddenly, she opened her eyes.

"HYAAAAAH!" She shouted dramatically and punched the machine on the metal cage that protected the glass. The pocky box fell, causing Kagami to cheer in joyous triumph.

"Woo! Go Kona!" Kagami cheered, looking to her little loli. Konata was crouched with her hand in her other hand and looking at the knuckles. "Kona?" Kagami asked. Konata looked up with a silly grin and a bit of a sad look.

"That really hurt…" She commented. Kagami knelt down next to her friend and took her hand, examining it. The knuckles were red, turning blue, and in all just looked like they were in pain. Kagami, feeling guilty, brought the hand up to her lips and kissed each knuckle. She looked up at her lover to see her smile. "Thank you Kagamin." Konata smiled.

"My pleasure, my lady!" Kagami held Konata's hand up above her head as if she were royalty. Konata giggled as Kagami came back up with her pocky. "Thanks Kona." She smiled as she took one out. "As a reward, you may have the first stick." She said as if this were the most generous prize to have ever been offered. Konata bit onto it and hummed, causing Kagami to let go. "Hey, I meant for you to take it!" She shouted. Konata brought a hand up and broke the stick off in her mouth, ate it, and smiled at Kagami.

"Well you offered it! I assumed your feeding me was part of my reward!" Konata threw her arms in the air for emphasis. "I accept this reward with the humblest of gratitude!" Konata bowed over dramatically.

"So we haven't decided where we're going to go yet." Kagami said. Konata hummed.

"How about Gamers?" She suggested.

"Sounds good enough, we did almost kiss there…" Kagami smiled as the two set off. Konata smiled as well.

"I admit, I wish we had then…" Konata said.

"So do I." Kagami admitted.

"So when did you realize that you liked me? I mean, if you don't mind…" Konata asked.

"Hmm…" Kagami thought. "Liked or loved?" Kagami asked. "It's kind of a weird thing to ask, you know?" She said. "Especially at the beginning of a relationship..."

"Both if you don't mind me asking!" Konata clarified.

"Well…" Kagami scratched her head. "I honestly wouldn't be able to tell you when I first started liking you… Probably the first time I seriously considered having a romantic relationship was the morning after that slumber party we had. Remember? Tsukasa made that Tater Tot Casserole?" Kagami said. Konata put a finger to her chin and thought.

"Yeah, I remember. I told you, I remember everything important." Konata said.

"Well… The next morning-"

"Is it that dream?" Konata asked. Kagami blinked and thought a moment before she remembered.

"Yeah, I kinda lied about that. The thing that startled me so much was that you had cuddled up and hugged me while we were sleeping. My emotions sort of got the better of me there, and I panicked." Kagami said.

"If I remember correctly, that was the day you went out with Tony, right?" Konata asked. Kagami felt guilty again.

"Yeah. Yeah it is." She said. "Kona, can I explain?" She asked. Konata sighed.

"I guess, but I'm not mad." She said. Kagami smiled.

"I'm glad…" She sighed in relief. "You see… After that hug, I also started thinking about… what happened. How we almost kissed the night before. I felt so safe and happy... But I went into denial about my feelings and I started to question myself and think that there was no way. I mean, you always seemed like you joked around a lot, but then I saw you so submissive… Anyway, Tony asked me out and…" Kagami sighed. "I'm not proud about the next part." She said.

"What is it Kagamin?" Konata urged her girlfriend to continue.

"Well, I went out with him so that I could prove to myself I wasn't a lesbian. That didn't work too well though." Kagami said. "I was thinking of you and what you guys must have been doing the entire time. I used Tony and I hate myself for it…" Kagami mumbled. Konata hugged onto Kagami while they walked.

"Kagamin, don't fret about what you did or didn't do. Now that it's done, there's no possible way it could have happened any different. We're together now and that's all that matters to me." Konata said. Kagami smiled.

"Thanks." She said affectionately. "I'm glad you aren't mad Kona." Kagami said.

"I'll tell you the same thing I told Kan-kan." Konata said.

"And what's that?" Kagami asked.

"You're really easy to fall in love with." Konata said. Kagami felt her heart warming from the close proximity to her love and the compliments she was being paid.

"You are too." Kagami smiled as she thought. Her arms were trapped by Konata's hug. _Kona c__an't weigh too much…_ She thought. She lifted her arms up and, with some effort, got Konata in the air.

"Kagamin…?" Konata mumbled. Kagami suddenly dropped so that she slipped from Konata's grasp and had her arms free. In the instant Konata was still in the air, Kagami wrapped her arms around her girlfriend.

"It's no fair if I can't hug you while you hug me." She said. She looked into Konata's eyes to see a bit of fear in them.

"Kagami, if you had missed or waited another second, I'd have hurt my legs! What would you have done then?" Konata scolded Kagami.

"I thought that once it was done, there was no way it could have happened differently?" Kagami repeated. Konata opened her mouth to respond, but closed it.

"Yeah, I guess." She said. Kagami giggled in triumph. They arrived at Gamers.

"Onward to adventure?" Kagami asked.

"Onward to adventure." Konata nodded. The two entered.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony and Tsukasa were trotting along on the horse Tony had borrowed from Lawrence.

"Kan-kun, where are we going?" Tsukasa asked.

"To dinner!" Tony answered.

"You mean on a date?" Tsukasa asked cautiously.

"Yeah, is that a problem?" Tony asked.

"Kan-kun, I have to get ready!" Tsukasa protested.

"Wh...What?" Tony asked, confused.

"I have to get changed, make up, shower, all that stuff! I've been in the hospital for several days, I must look like a mess!" Tsukasa said.

"Tsukasa, you're beautiful. Why don't we just go like we are?" Tony asked. Tsukasa blushed.

"Because, I have to get prepared..." She mumbled. Tony sighed and shrugged.

"Well, you know more about this kind of stuff than I do." He said. He turned to face front. "Hold on." He said as he took the reins. Tsukasa slid her arms around his stomach. "Hya!" He whipped the reins, causing the horse to start galloping.

"Is this legal?" Tsukasa shouted against the wind.

"Probably not!" Tony shouted back. They saw a couple in front of them on a so far empty street. "Hya, hya, HYA!" He bade the horse go faster. The horse sped up and jumped over the couple, scaring the two half to death. They heard sirens behind them. Tony turned for an instant to see police.

"Kan-kun, what are we gonna do?" Tsukasa shouted. Tony smiled.

"Have fun!" He shouted. He turned his head in the way opposite the way of the police and winked at Tsukasa. "Giselle." It was weird, it was like his face was changing... "Hey!" He pulled on the reins, bringing the horse to a stop. The car stopped as well as Tony jumped off.

"You realize it's illegal to ride a hors-" Tony put his hand where a sheath would be and summoned his sword. He pulled it out and pointed it at the policeman.

"Silence!" He shouted, waving his sword around. The policeman pulled out his stick quickly, but Tony blocked the energy pathways to his brain, preventing voluntary movement. "Your name, peasant?" Tony demanded.

"Keisatsu!" The officer shouted.

"And why do you pursue me and my princess?" Tony asked viciously.

"My prince, let him go!" Tsukasa bade dramatically.

"You think I should Giselle?" Tony asked her.

"I do so think you should!" Tsukasa said. Tony sheathed his sword and released his grip on the man's mind.

"Then good day Keisatsu." Tony clapped the man on the arm and jumped back on the horse. "Off to the wedding!" He shouted as the horse took off again. Tony heard sirens, but they turned a corner and were out of sight of the police officer. Tony smirked as the two lovers and the horse disappeared. The police turned the corner to see empty road. He scratched his head.

"Weird…" He said. "I gotta get more sleep…" He muttered. A street over, Tony laughed, even with a bit of exhaustion.

"That was great! You'd make a great actress…" Tony chuckled. He looked over at Tsukasa to see a bit of fear in her eyes. He felt a pang of sorrow before he realized what it was. "Tsukasa, you know I wasn't going to hurt him for real." Tony said.

"I know, it's just… That policeman had a family, you know? I was just a little afraid of what you might do…. I know you wouldn't, but-…" Tsukasa sighed.

"I understand Tsukasa. I'm sorry." He apologized.

"No, I'm being silly…" Tsukasa sighed again.

"You're not, your reactions are completely understandable." Tony said. He looked to the sky to see it darkening. "Tsu-chan, how late are dates usually?" He asked. Tsukasa thought for a few moments.

"I'm not sure..." Tsukasa said. "Why? Do you think it's getting late?" She asked.

"It's about quarter after nine." Tony said.

"Wow, how do you know that?" Tsukasa asked.

"That was one of the first things I learned, the position of the moon. By the stars, I could tell you what day of the month it is, too." Tony said.

"That's cool... I'm not sure if a date is supposed to be this late though..." Tsukasa sighed.

"Bah! That sucks." Tony sighed. "Then shall we postpone our date to tomorrow?" He smiled. Tsukasa smiled as well.

"Totally! I can't wait Kan-kun." She said.

"Nor can I, my princess. Shall I take you home?" Tony asked.

"Sure Kan-kun." Tsukasa smiled. Tony chuckled.

"HYA!" He whipped again, galloping towards the Hiiragi house.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Konata and Kagami walked out of the game shop laughing. They started walking to Kagami's house to drop her off, it being rather late and they being unable to do much else.

"Kagamin~! I can't believe you really bought that game!" Konata said, truly astounded.

"Well, the back of it has a good summary and it looked interesting!" Kagami said. Konata giggled.

"Face it, you're just in it for the Yuri scenes, aren't you?" Konata accused gently.

"Kona..." Kagami muttered in embarrassment and blush. "I want to see the plot of the story too. Besides, this game has a feature that lets you skip all of those scenes." Kagami informed her little teaser. Konata catgrinned.

"But you're not going to, are you?" Konata asked in a way that asserted her statement as true. Kagami blushed even more and averted her gaze.

"...No..." She said.

"Face it Kagami, you're a raging lez, aren't you?" Konata asked. Kagami looked at Konata with a VERY annoyed look.

"Hey, that's a really offensive word Konata. Just 'cause you're a lesbian too doesn't mean you can use derogatory terms to address me." Kagami scolded. Konata shrunk a little.

"I'm sorry Kagamin..." She looked at the ground. Despite her anger, Kagami felt guilty for making Konata scared, and even worse knowing she was the cause of such a large change. She held strong for a moment, but sighed.

"It's alright Kona, just try and watch it..." Kagami hugged Konata around her shoulders. The Otaku leaned on Kagami's shoulder.

"You know Kagamin..." Konata started.

"What is it Kona?" Kagami asked.

"The point of coming out when it wasn't a date was so that we weren't basically announcing that we were a couple to the world, right?" Konata asked.

"Yeah." Kagami answered.

"This probably isn't helping that." Konata said. Kagami sighed.

"Honestly Kona, we flirted a lot in there. I didn't feel as awkward as I thought I would, even though we got a lot of weird looks. Then we got a lot of approving looks... Of course, we were in a place with Otaku, so I don't know if we can really count their opinions as normal. I think for now, we should go out to a restaurant or something. Somewhere normal where a mix of people can see us." Kagami said.

"I didn't feel as awkward as I thought I might either. I guess I can see where you're coming from though..." Konata said. "Tomorrow then?" Konata looked up at her lover.

"It's a date." Kagami smiled as they continued on their way to drop off Kagami.

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

"Thanks for the ride home Kan-kun, I didn't know you knew how to ride a horse!" Tsukasa said.

"I learned a while ago how to make use of animals in my surroundings. There are very few ways that a horse can be used more effectively than as a mount, so that was the first thing I was taught with them!" Tony explained. "It was my pleasure Tsukasa." He smiled.

"I'm just glad that we didn't run into any more policemen!" Tsukasa said as Tony helped her dismount.

"Yeah." Tony smiled.

"Bye Kan-kun, I'll see you tomorrow." Tsukasa said happily.

"Goodbye my beautiful girl, my life partner, my one coquette, the answer to my love's duet." Tony said with a smile. Tsukasa's face exploded, causing Tony to laugh. _Got her with that one. Now I just have to return the horse to Lawrence at my house._ Tony smiled. "HYA!" He whipped the reins, sending the horse into a gallop. Tsukasa watched wistfully as he disappeared from view. She sighed contently as she made her way into her house, a tad wobbly legged since Tony had insisted on jumping on every available occasion, but for the most part okay. She closed the door behind her.

"Which Imoto is it?" She heard Matsuri shout from the living room.

"It's me Onee-san!" Tsukasa called back. "Is Onee-chan not back yet?" Tsukasa asked, walking into the living room to see everyone turned around and looking at the door she was in, waiting for her. She caught sight of her father.

"No, I guess she's hangin' out with Konatan." Matsuri said.

"Sorry we didn't come to take you home Tsukasa, but once we heard Tony's plan, we couldn't help but go along." Miki said. Tsukasa smiled as she started running. She leaped into the air and glomped her dad.

"Thank you so much for accepting Onee-chan Dad." She hugged him with all her strength. He smiled.

"Don't thank me, I only did what a father should do." Tadao said. "It's called unconditional love for a reason."

"Still, I was worried." Tsukasa said. She broke the hug. "Um..." She bit her lip, unsure of how to ask her question.

"What's up Imoto?" Matsuri asked.

"Well... I kinda need some help..." Tsukasa said.

"What with?" Inori asked.

"I have a date with Kan-kun tomorrow, but I kind of don't know what I'm supposed to do on a date, you know?" Tsukasa said. "I'm really nervous..."

"Aw~, don't worry so much, we'll help you out." Inori said as she and Matsuri both stood up.

"You should wear those clothes I gave you!" Matsuri said. Tsukasa thought about it for a moment.

"Actually, can I borrow that dress I gave you?" Tsukasa asked.

"Hmmm... I guess so Imoto. Let's go get your stuff for tomorrow ready! Come on!" Matsuri and her two sisters started to the middle child's room. Tadao and Miki smiled to each other before turning towards the television again.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

"Thanks for walking me home Kona." Kagami smiled. The two had stayed connected for the entire walk home, but Konata had since shifted so that she could hug Kagami's waist while Kagami put her arm on Konata's shoulders. They had gotten a couple looks, but they didn't really care. They were just happy to be together.

"It's no problem Kagamin. I'm super happy, I feel like I could run home in five seconds, so I should be the one to drop you off, right?" Konata asked lazily, a smile on her face.

"You don't sound like it. Knowing you though, you'd make it in half that time." Kagami said lazily.

"Maybe. If I got a kiss, that is." Konata said. Before Kagami could scold her for pushing the point, Konata spoke again. "I know. Tomorrow." Konata said. Silence took them for a moment.

"Maybe." Kagami said. "Probably." She added.

"You better." Konata giggled. They arrived at the Hiiragi house. Konata reluctantly let go of her girlfriend and sighed.

"Good night Kona." Kagami smiled as she turned to Konata. Konata took her hand.

"Sleep well, princess." Konata knelt and kissed Kagami on the back of her hand. Kagami's face exploded. Konata stood back up and smiled at her love. "Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow." Kagami nodded. Konata turned and started jogging home. Kagami sighed contently and walked in her house.

"Welcome home Kagami." Miki said from the living room. Kagami walked in to see her mother and father sitting in front of the television, but turned to greet her.

"Hey Mom, hey Dad." Kagami smiled. "Tsukasa still out with Tony?" Kagami asked.

"No, Matsuri and Inori are teaching her about dating." Miki giggled.

"Wait... Matsuri?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah, why?" Miki asked.

"Oh man..." She turned and hurried to her older sister's room, remembering what happened the last time Matsuri had "helped" her little sister in this subject...

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

"So what do I do on a date?" Tsukasa asked.

"Look cute mostly, you've got that down!" Matsuri said distractedly while she dug through her closet for the dress she had received from her little sister in exchange for her expertise in men.

"Oh... Um..." Tsukasa was sitting on the floor with her oldest sister. Inori saw Matsuri was preoccupied and so decided it would fall to her to advise her youngest sister.

"Well, mostly you go someplace special, like a restaurant, or a movie, or museum, or you just hang out and you talk." Inori explained.

"Ah." Tsukasa smiled. "What do you talk about?"

"Normally-" The door opened to reveal Kagami.

"Alright, what are you telling Tsukasa?" She asked accusingly.

"What a date is." Inori said. Kagami looked at Inori and blinked.

"You're explaining it?" She asked.

"Yeah." Inori nodded.

"Oh, alright then..." Kagami sighed in relief.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean!" Matsuri shouted. It fell on deaf ears.

"Mind if I sit in on it..." Kagami blushed a bit.

"It's no problem Kagami." Inori smiled as Kagami walked over and sat next to her twin, facing Inori. Inori restated what she had said.

"That makes sense." Kagami said. "What kind of stuff do you talk about?" She asked.

"Well with you it'll be either really easy or really hard. For Tsukasa, it'll be easy." Inori said.

"Why's that?" Kagami asked.

"Normally on a date, you talk about each other. About yourself. About your interests, your likes your dislikes, you talk. You've known Konata for years though, so it's different. I'd think a date with you two would be more like what you do normally, but with more flirting and kissing." Inori said. "Tsukasa still probably doesn't know everything about Tony and vice-versa." She explained.

"Sounds like sound advice. Thanks Inori." Kagami smiled. "So mostly it's just talking you think?" She asked.

"It starts with talking, then you kinda... see where it goes." Inori said.

"Oh~..." Tsukasa smiled.

"Here it is!" Matsuri finally pulled out the dress. "Here ya go Imoto!" Matsuri tossed the dress as if it were now a rag onto her sister.

"Onee-san!" Tsukasa grabbed the dress. "You're gonna damage it!" She complained.

"Well it's my dress! I can do whatever I want with it!" Matsuri put her hands on her hips.

"But I really like this dress Onee-san..." Tsukasa sighed. "Thanks though." She smiled.

"Anything Imoto, I just hope this guy turns out to be the real thing for ya." Matsuri scratched the back of her head.

"I'm sure he is." Tsukasa said confidently. "So is there anything else we should know Onee-san?" Tsukasa asked.

"Mainly, be yourself. Don't preoccupy yourself trying to think of something to talk about because it's a date, just talk like you would normally and let it flow naturally. Don't get nervous, act almost like nothing has changed. Only now you can be a bit more intimate. If the time feels right, kiss them. If it feels right to talk, talk. Be yourself." Matsuri said.

"And don't forget, they'll probably be as nervous as you will, if not more so." Inori said.

"Gotcha." Kagami said, paying close attention to everything her sisters were saying.

"And now on to makeup..." Matsuri brought out a large makeup kit. "The point of wearing makeup is to make it look like you aren't, like so..." Matsuri got to work. And so the night continued, Matsuri and Inori continuing to give the twins tips and such.

* * *

**POV Konata**

Konata was running home at a pace that would normally tire her out. However, she didn't seem to notice the exertion. In fact, she felt like she could take off and fly home. She heard a whinny from ahead.

_No way..._ She smiled. She sped up slightly and jumped to avoid horse droppings. After a very short run, she caught up with Tony, who was riding at a canter. "Kan-kan!" She shouted. Tony turned around and waved.

"Kon-kon!" He shouted. "Hey." He tensed the reins to slow the horse down. Konata caught up and began walking at the horse's pace. "You and Kagami go on a date or something? I'd have expected you'd be home a little while ago!" Tony said.

"We went to Gamers and Kagamin bought a Yuri game!" Konata said cheerfully.

"Oh really?" Tony smiled.

"Yeah, it even has some graphic content..." Konata catgrinned. Tony laughed.

"Maybe, but I'm sure she's be skipping those scenes." Tony said.

"Nope! She said she wasn't gonna skip them." Konata's grin widened. Tony laughed harder.

"Well, maybe I was wrong! Maybe she does like girls!" Tony said.

"You think?" Konata asked. Tony hummed, wondering if he had said something potentially harmful.

"I think maybe she didn't like girls until she fell in love with you. However, now she's warmed up to the idea of dating and being romantic with a girl." Tony smiled.

"I guess that makes sense." Konata said. Tony smirked.

"Besides, maybe she's doing research on how to better pleasure you later in the relationship." He said. Konata blushed.

"Maybe..." Konata mumbled. Tony laughed. "So did you go on a date?" Konata asked.

"Nope, we're going on one tomorrow though! It's too late for a date now." Tony said.

"Really? Me and Kagami are too!" Konata said.

"Awesome! Maybe we can double date!" Tony offered.

"Hmm..." Konata hummed.

"What's up?" Tony asked.

"Well, I was kind of thinking that this could just be something with me and Kagami. No offense!" Konata added quickly.

"None taken." Tony said. "I understand. First date and all." Tony smiled. "So, you wouldn't happen to know what happens on a date, would you?" He asked.

"Outside games, not a clue. And I don't think we should do what happens in those games..." Konata scratched her head sheepishly.

"Why? What happens?" Tony asked. Konata looked at him with half lidded eyes. Understanding came to him quite quickly. "Oh~..." He got what was being said. "Yeah, that probably wouldn't work out the way it does in your games, would it?" Tony asked.

"Don't you wish." Konata giggled as Tony blushed. They arrived at home to see Lawrence and Holo.

"Hey man!" Tony waved. As they came closer to the two, Tony dismounted. "Everything went off without a hitch!" Tony said.

"Good, I'm glad to hear that!" Lawrence said. "We have to be going soon, maybe we can talk more later?" Lawrence suggested.

"Sure, I understand. I know this great bar named "South Side of Chicago"! It's got a really western feel to it, almost like that old Cheers show." Tony said. Holo perked up.

"They have good alcohol there?" She asked. Tony smiled.

"Yep." He nodded. Holo turned to her companion.

"Lawrence, I want to go there!" She demanded. He held both hands up as if showing submission.

"We will, we will." He said. Tony and Konata laughed.

"Thank you for letting me use your horse." Tony bowed.

"It's no problem, I'm glad things worked out." Lawrence bowed as well. "Ready to go Holo?" He smiled to his companion.

"Yes, I should think so." She walked and got into their vehicle while Lawrence got the horse in the back.

"I'll talk to you later!" Lawrence waved as he got in. The two drove away.

"Well, good night Kon-kon." Tony smiled.

"Good night Kan-kan." Konata smiled. The two entered their respective house.

"Hey Masutā!" Tony shouted.

"What's up Otōto?" Tony heard his brother shout.

"Cool, I haven't talked to you in a while!" Tony entered the room his brother was in.

"Yeah, I've been working hard. Miyuki's rent is a lot, so I need to work a lot to pay it. Otōto, would you say you know Miyuki well?" Masutā asked Tony.

"Not really, but Tsukasa knows her very well. Why?" Tony asked.

"Well, she seemed flustered today. I was wondering if you might know what it was? Maybe being surrounded by guys threw her off..." Masutā pondered. Tony raised an eyebrow.

"She visited your work again, eh?" Tony smiled.

"She has and stayed most of the day almost every day. In fact, I think the only day she didn't was when Tsukasa was in the hospital." Masutā said. Tony smiled.

"She likes you. She has to." He said. His older brother chuckled.

"Don't I wish?" Masutā said

"Anyway Aniki, do you know what I'm supposed to do on a date? Me and Tsukasa are going on one tomorrow and I have absolutely no clue what I'm doing." Tony sighed.

"... I can't say I really know. I didn't get much time for that before." Masutā sighed.

"Bah! I'm going to bed." Tony sighed.

"Night Otōto!" Masutā shouted.

"Night Aniki!" Tony shouted back. He went into his room and promptly plopped on the bed. _I wonder what's gonna interrupt us tomorrow. There's always something to spoil things..._ He thought before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted out. "Hiya Luckies! I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami!"

"And I'm the assistant, Minoru Shiraishi!"

"Minoru! Minoru! Did you hear? The chapter gloves are off!" Akira shouted.

"Yeah, the author isn't gonna limit the chapter length nearly as much now. I can't wait! Maybe they'll find parts for the original cast too!" Minoru said.

"Yeah, but they can't do it right now, they're in the middle of an arc right now!"

"Are they?" Minoru asked.

"Totally! Though, which one remains to be seen~..." Akira said, as if she knew something she shouldn't...

"What's that mean Akira?" Minoru asked.

"I got into Ac's secret folder with all the stuff that's being planned right now! Let me tell ya, it was super interesting!" Akira said. Damn it, I knew I forgot to put a password on something...

"Well what did it say?" Minoru asked.

"For example, Tsukasa-"

*Music Tone*

"Oh, I guess that's all the time we have for today! I'll see you all next time! Bye nii~!"

"..."

"So what were you saying Akira?"

"Well, around the time she-"

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

Hey. Back from password making. Akira ain't gettin' in again, I'll tell you that right now. That someone knows that much stuff that's gonna happen is a bit unnerving... By the way, I did in fact have that little stunt planned with Tadao for at LEAST twenty or twenty five chapters. That was fun to write. Guess what guys? This story is well over 300,000 words in length. That is awesome! And yes, I am alerting you all of every time this story passes a hundred thousand word mark. Let's hope I can give you guys a LOT more of these kinds of announcements! So, I made a special effort this chapter to not end with a cliffhanger. In exchange, I did up the drama in the chapter a bit. That's something I've hardwired myself too as well... In any case, I better go ahead and wrap this up, I'm really tired. Thanks for reading and please review!


	39. Chapter 38: First Dates

Chapter 38: Dates and Various Other Adventures

Ah, it's been a long time my readers... I apologize for being out for a month... And that's right, you read the word count right. 22,000 words. I got a bit carried away with this chapter, but I was told not to fret the length of the chapter and I really didn't want to cut it off at any point in this chapter. I could have pretty easily cut it in half though XD Both would have the average amount of words lol. It was really weird, the last chapter was posted a day and a half before it was available. Edge, you realize you technically reviewed the last chapter before it was available XD It wasn't technically available to read until the afternoon after I read your review! That's weird... Honestly, I didn't expect so many people to get the Spanish Inquisition reference... Almost no one I know knows Monty Python, so that was a real treat for me lol... The realm of tap-dancing Jesus... I think I have a new catch phrase... Holyriot, don't hesitate to leave the longest review possible! Those are some of my favorite! The longer the better! Ulti, you're confusing me buddy. Did I at least do better with the last fights? I didn't cut them nearly as much as I did with the other ones that you said were too short. And now for my new reader! Er... Three new readers! Xroyal, I'm glad you like my story! I hope you continue to read, enjoy, and review! Caseymm12 and Zalupe, you never reviewed, you but you still like my story! Thanks for reading! Oh, and I was also contacted on a different website by a reader! That made my day... However, now you've revealed yourself Definition! You have to start reviewing! I COMMAND YOU! By the power of the Millennium Rod, I com- wait, is your name Steve? No? Crap... Unless you just have a different name on this website... Woo! My story is still gaining readers~! Please enjoy!

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony woke up and stretched.

_Today... today, I'm going on a date with the cutest girl in existence... No pressure..._ He thought to himself. _Something's gonna interrupt us._ He sighed. _Something always does. _He thought as he got up and got dressed. He remembered what Tsukasa said.

_**I have to get changed, make up, shower, all that stuff!**_

_Hm... Tsukasa was in mostly regular clothes, so maybe I need to wear formal wear?_ He wondered. He got undressed and looked in his closet, trying to find the thing he considered most formal in his wardrobe. He took out the clothes he decided were most appropriate. _Okay, now make up. … What the hell is that?_ He wondered. He put on a robe and walked out of his room. "Aniki?" He half-whispered. He didn't get an answer. _He must not be up. Damn, I guess I'll just have to skip that step. Shower._ He walked to the bathroom. He interrupted himself with a thought. _… When do I pick her up? When is this thing supposed to start?_ He wondered. He looked at the time to see it was still rather early. _She's gonna still be asleep right now... Maybe I can ask Konata..._ He sighed. His phone started ringing. _What timing!_ He smiled. He flipped open his phone. "Hello?" He asked.

"Kan-kun, when do you want to meet?" He heard Tsukasa ask. Tony's jaw almost dropped.

"Tsu-chan, you're awake!" Tony smiled.

"Why do you sound surprised?" Tsukasa whined. Tony couldn't help but think of how cute she was.

"Sorry Tsu-chan, it's nothing. So when does the date start?" He asked. Tsukasa hummed.

"Well I need to get ready. How about~... six o'clock?" She suggested.

"As you wish. At six, we shall dine!" Tony smiled widely.

"I'll see you then Kan-kun." Tsukasa said softly.

"Until then Tsukasa." Tony said as softly. The call ended. He sat on a chair and sighed. "This is awesome." He chuckled. He breathed deeply. His phone started to ring again. He smiled and picked up his phone. "Yo?" He answered.

"Hey Kan-kan, since we won't see much of each other come date time, wanna hang out now?" Konata asked. Tony smiled wider.

"Sure thing Kon-kon." He answered.

"Cool! Maybe I can get your opinion on some dresses too!" Konata shouted excitedly.

"Yeah, want to come over here or I come over there?" Tony asked.

"Hm... I came over there before, so why not come over here?" Konata suggested.

"Alrighty! I'll be over in a second!" Tony said.

"Literally?" Konata asked.

"Quite." He smiled as he hung up. He grabbed up the clothes he had picked out and apparated. He appeared outside. "Hmmm..." He looked around. "Where am I?" He wondered. He looked into a window to his right and saw the inside of Konata's house. "Miscalculated that a little bit..." Tony chuckled. He walked around the house and knocked on the door. Konata opened the door after a moment.

"Kan-kan? What are you doing out there?" Konata asked.

"Well~... I kinda misjudged the distance between our houses I guess, and appeared outside. So here I am!" He said sheepishly.

"Well come in." Konata gestured inside. "Hey, heads up, I haven't told Dad yet, so could you not say anything if he wakes up?" She requested.

"I'll keep quiet, but your Dad is an Otaku, right? I'd think he'd accept you with fervent enthusiasm. I would think he'd give you just about anything he had if he knew." Tony said.

"Yeah... I guess..." Konata smiled.

"Besides that, if Kagami's Dad, a very traditional man, accepted her, an Otaku should, right?" Tony smiled.

"Yeah! Maybe I'll tell him... Not right now though." Konata said. "I'm still really nervous about telling him, you know?"

"It's understandable. That's a very big announcement, you should make it when you're ready." Tony said.

"Yeah... So, I need you to tell me what you like and what you think I should wear on my date!" Konata said.

"As you wish!" Tony smiled. Konata entered her room while Tony waited outside. He waited a moment. She opened the door. She had the same outfit that she had on during the festival. Tony looked at it and gave a thoughtful look. Konata twirled around. Tony shook his head. "What else?" He asked. Konata bit her lip and returned to her room. After a moment, she came out with another outfit. It was a bit simpler, having fewer images on it. Tony looked thoughtful for a moment.

"What do you think?" Konata asked, spinning around again.

"I'm not sure..." Tony said.

"I've got one more!" Konata disappeared into her room again. Tony sighed. She came back out in a kimono that had a much less complicated look, repeating the same pattern. She had a formal obi on. "Well? Well?" She twirled around a few times.

"I like it! I think Kagami will love it." Tony smiled and nodded approvingly. Konata cheered.

"Yay! Now it's shower time!" Konata said. She calmed down a bit. "You wanna go first?" Konata asked.

"You can if you want." Tony held up a hand.

"You're a guest though!" Konata protested.

"I know, but... going first is really boring..." Tony admitted, looking absolutely bored with the idea. Konata laughed.

"That's why I insist you go first!" Konata shoved Tony. "Go on!" She said.

"Alright, alright!" He chuckled, but hesitated. "Hey Kon-kon?" He turned and looked at his sister.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"Did you tell Tsukasa about my whole... Master... thing?" Tony asked. Konata scratched the back of her head sheepishly.

"Actually, I just mentioned that, since you could probably have beaten me easily if you hadn't held back, you should be counted as a Master too. I said she should give the name a try and told her you would probably like it. She doesn't know it's a fetish though." Konata said cheerfully. Tony sighed.

"She probably does now." He said. _If she even knows what a fetish is, that is..._ Tony thought to himself.

"Why's that?" Konata asked.

"Because of my reaction..." Tony sighed. Konata catgrinned.

"How DID you react anyway?" She asked.

"I... kinda got a nosebleed and fainted for a few seconds..." Tony said, an embarrassed blush spreading across his face. Konata burst out laughing.

"That's hilarious! The almighty Fighting Sage brought down by the word master from his girlfriend!" Konata was doubled over in laughter.

"It's not that funny!" Tony protested.

"It totally was!" Konata continued to laugh, but eventually calmed down. Tony sighed.

"Geez, I tell you these things in confidence and you laugh at me!" Tony said. Konata chuckled for a moment.

"I'm sorry, but it was just so funny. Besides, I woulda heard it from Tsukasa anyway, I asked her to tell me how you reacted." Konata admitted. Tony threw up his hands.

"Well then! I might as well just go ahead and take the shower!" He said dramatically and entered the bathroom. Konata giggled, knowing Tony wasn't honestly mad at her. "By the way! You have to tell me how my outfit is!" He shouted from inside the bathroom.

"Sure thing!" Konata shouted back.

_I wonder where her Dad is..._ Tony wondered as he began washing himself. He sighed. _I'm glad Kon-kon liked what I picked, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I felt like a dog in a science lab..._

* * *

**POV Konata**

Konata sighed and walked to her father's room.

_I wonder where Dad is, I didn't hear anything when I shouted a moment __ago._ She wondered. She looked into her father's room, a VERY risky venture, to see the room empty. _Huh. Weird._ She thought. She shrugged and started down the hall to her room. She heard an unmistakable yawn from behind her. She turned and saw her incredibly moe younger cousin. Even though she was dressed in street clothes and her hair was in its normal two pony tails, it was obvious she hadn't been up for very long since she was still rubbing sleep out of her eye.

"Morning Nee-chan~..." Yutaka yawned the last bit. Konata almost cried.

_Yu-chan, why do you have to be so damn cute?_ Konata thought. _It's not fair for the rest of us!_ She complained. "Morning Yu-chan, what's up?" Konata asked.

"I'm meeting Minami-chan today! We're gonna make a day of today." Yutaka said cheerfully. She looked around. "Where's Oji-san?" She asked.

"I dunno, he was gone this morning." Konata said. "Hey Yu-chan, do you know when school is starting again? It seems like it's taking a really long time since the exams." Konata said.

"Well, I think it's only been a few days, right?" Yutaka asked.

"Really? Its seemed more like ten..." Konata commented. _A lot has happened since then..._ Konata smiled.

"So if Oji-san isn't here, who's in the bathroom?" Yutaka asked.

"Kan-kan!" Konata smiled.

"Who?" Yutaka asked.

"Tony." Konata clarified.

"Oh~..." Yutaka said.

"Yeah, he has a date today, but he has absolutely no clue what to do so I'm tryin' to help him!" Konata said.

"That's nice of you!" Yutaka praised her cousin. Her stomach growled.

"Yu-chan~, would you like some breakfast before you go?" Konata asked. Yutaka smiled.

"I really would, but I'm actually meeting Minami-chan at a diner and we're having breakfast!" Yutaka chimed.

"Oh, so Kan-kan's not the only one with a date today, huh?" Konata chimed. Yutaka blushed.

"N-Nee-chan!" She whined. "I'm not- We're not- I just..." Yutaka sighed, her face getting a great deal redder. Konata instantly got a lot more serious.

"Yutaka, are you okay?" She asked. Yutaka sighed again.

"I'm fine Nee-chan. I just have to get going is all." Yutaka said as she started heading for the door. Konata watched as her cousin left the house.

_Maybe she and Minami are go__nna get together, she was acting a lot like Kagami used to act about me, and look at where we are now! _Konata thought. _In any case, I better get goin', I'm hungry myself and I know Kan-kan will be too._ Konata headed to the kitchen. She began making a good sized, though not fancy, breakfast for the two of them, preparing rice and soup. After a time passed, she finished and set it on the table. She heard the door to the bathroom open. She walked into the hall and looked to see Tony in his outfit he intended on wearing on his date. Konata smiled.

"You can go ahead Kon-kon, I'm out." Tony said.

"Kan-kan, you're shaved, cleaned, dressed! It's revolting." Konata chuckled. Tony looked proud.

"Why thank you!" He shouted.

"I'm kidding, you look sharp." Konata said.

"Thanks... I'm gonna make sure Tsu-chan has the best date EVER!" Tony cheered. Konata chuckled.

"A little overconfident, are we?" She asked. Tony thought about retracting what he had said, but decided against it.

"I am the essence of overconfidence! I am speculation, adventure, the spirit of pursuit, the stag howling for its winsome yet anonymous mate. I am the love call of evolution; the perfume and color of the flowers as they offer their pollen to the gentle buzz of the bees. I am sex itself, Konata. I am life. I am appetite!" Tony shouted. Konata backed up a step.

"And I'm not taking my clothes off until you leave!" Konata said. She had already taken her bath before calling Tony, so she could back up her claim with action. Tony laughed.

"No need to worry! I've got Tsukasa, remember?" Tony said.

"Yeah... So you think you two are gonna sing?" Konata giggled as she started to head to the kitchen with Tony to eat.

"I dunno, the song is a pretty powerful thing. We should start reserving its power for times of need." Tony said. Konata laughed. They got in the kitchen and began to eat.

"Powerful, huh? I guess you can't underestimate the power of love, can you?" Konata asked.

"Nope. After all, a single heart-warming love scene or even just a Disney-like song can destroy an entire space armada, beasts from the underworld, or bloodthirsty barbarians. It's a rule." Tony said. Konata laughed harder, almost choking on her food. "Thank you for the food." Tony said appreciatively.

"No problem." Konata said.

"So I don't intend on singing during our date. If Tsukasa wants to, I suppose she can." Tony smiled. Konata chuckled.

"Hey Kan-kan, you're treating Tsukasa like a princess, right? Or you intend to?" Konata asked.

"Yeah, why?" Tony asked.

"Well, don't the prince and princess usually get married after, like, a day or something?" Konata asked. Tony's face turned red.

"I... I suppose..." Tony muttered. Konata giggled.

"Kan-kan, you're too easy to get flustered now! I say ten words and your face goes beet red!" Konata protested. Tony crossed his arms.

"Well excuse me!" He said. The two continued to eat for a moment. "I wonder what the twins are doing..." Tony commented.

"Yeah..."

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Kagami's eyes fluttered open.

_Kona... It all feels like __a dream. A happy dream that could never happen. But it did happen. It had to happen. It's not possible that it didn't... Right?_ Kagami smiled and got up. She got dressed and walked out to meet her sister in the hallway.

"Good morning Onee-chan!" Tsukasa chimed. Kagami looked at her sister and instantly realized that her sister had already taken a shower.

"Good morning Tsukasa, are you and Tony going on your first date too?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah! We're meeting at the restaurant at six!" Tsukasa chimed. "You and Kona-chan are going on a date too?" She asked excitedly.

"Yeah! I don't know what we're gonna do though..." Kagami said. _Right._ She thought happily. "I think we'll keep it simple for now. Maybe out to a diner or something, you know?" Kagami turned for confirmation to her sister.

"If you want Onee-chan, it's your date!" Tsukasa chimed. She winced a bit.

"Tsukasa?" Kagami grabbed her sister in case she fell, but Tsukasa righted herself.

"I'm alright, just a bit of a headache..." Tsukasa sighed. She had a couple extremely minor ones thus far, but nothing anywhere near the level of migraine. So, she hadn't used the medicine Dr. Zimmerman had given to her. She was still carrying it just in case, but she hoped she wouldn't need it since she had been healed through magic. _Through True Love's Kiss..._ She giggled giddily in her mind. _Who'd have thought it?_ Tsukasa wondered. _I wonder if the gods heard me when I wished to be like a princess..._ Tsukasa giggled.

"Tsukasa?" Kagami smiled to her sister.

"It's nothing Onee-chan... I've just been thinking about how much has changed..." Tsukasa said. Kagami smiled.

"Yeah, I understand..." Kagami sighed contently. "We're in love, Tsukasa. You, with a boy you met not two months ago, me, with a girl we've known for years. It's crazy how much can change in so short a time." Kagami said.

"Right?" Tsukasa smiled. The two twins, having slowed to almost a snail's pace during their conversation, finally made it out of the hall and into the living room to see their parents were awake and in front of the television.

"You out Tsukasa?" Tadao asked.

"Yup!" Tsukasa chimed.

"Hey Mom. Hey Dad." Kagami smiled.

"Hey Kagami." Tadao greeted his daughter.

"Good morning Kagami." Miki greeted her daughter similarly.

"Want me to make some breakfast?" Tsukasa asked.

"That would be fantastic..." Kagami put her hand on her stomach, which growled quite loudly. She smiled and hummed as she thought about Tsukasa's cooking. The two entered the kitchen. "Hey Tsukasa, can I help?" Kagami asked.

"Um... What I was thinking of making was a little complicated, is it okay if we just talk while I cook?" Tsukasa asked. Kagami nodded.

"Sure, I understand!" Kagami smiled. Tsukasa felt a little guilty. She didn't have a thing in mind for breakfast that Kagami couldn't make herself, but she liked her pots and pans in one piece...

"Alright..." Tsukasa set to work. She began an omelette with an assortment of different ingredients she found. She also started rice. She glanced at Kagami to see her back was turned. She smiled and added her secret ingredient. Many would think even just a hint of Balsamic Vinegar would spoil the omelette, but she had never had a complaint.

"Are you nervous about your date Tsukasa?" Kagami asked.

"Super nervous..." Tsukasa said.

"You don't seem it." Kagami said. "You seem so cool about it." Kagami complimented.

"I might seem cool, but I really can hardly stand it..." Tsukasa mumbled. Kagami thought for a moment.

"Well, think of it this way! I bet Tony is as nervous as you! I bet he's even more so!" Kagami said. Tsukasa smiled.

"Yeah, I guess that's true. He doesn't have a great sister to help him relax, does he?" Tsukasa turned around, her meal complete. Kagami smiled happily.

"Thanks." Kagami said appreciatively. "Yeah, I bet right now, he's going crazy from nervousness." Kagami said.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony and Konata were draped about the living room. Konata was laid in a chair was Tony was on the couch, also laid down.

"Knock knock." Tony said.

"Who's there?" Konata asked.

"Hachiman." Tony said.

"Hachiman who?" Konata asked.

"Don't you know me?" Tony asked before laughing. Konata giggled a bit.

"That was terrible." She said.

"Okay, okay, one more."

"No!" Konata shouted overdramatically.

"Come on! Just one more!" Tony shouted.

"Fine." Konata sighed.

"Knock knock." Tony said.

"Who's there?" Konata asked.

"Amaterasu." Tony said.

"Amaterasu who?" Konata asked.

"Was Hachiman just here?" Tony asked before laughing again. Konata groaned.

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

"Yeah, I bet you're right Onee-chan!" Tsukasa smiled. Kagami smiled at the thought of Konata being nervous, but she knew that was probably not the case, knowing Konata's cool disposition about EVERYTHING.

"Man, to think that Tony's gonna be able to eat like this every day… I'm really, genuinely jealous." Kagami smiled. Tsukasa blushed.

"What do you mean, unless he comes over every day or something…" Tsukasa commented. Kagami smiled a bit wider.

"No, I mean when you move in with him." Kagami said. Tsukasa's red tint deepened.

"Um…" She mumbled, unsure of what to say. Kagami finished her breakfast.

"Thanks Tsukasa, that was amazing. I'm gonna grab a quick shower while you finish, alright?" Kagami asked. Tsukasa nodded.

"Alright Onee-chan…" Tsukasa mumbled, a little out of her stupor. Kagami smiled and walked out of the room. _She sure can eat fast… I'm barely halfway done…_ Tsukasa thought to herself. Kagami entered the bathroom.

* * *

**POV Tony**

"So what time is it?" Tony asked. Konata looked at the clock.

"About noon..." Konata said lazily.

"I should probably figure out where me and Tsukasa are going, huh?" Tony asked. Konata looked at Tony.

"What? You mean you haven't made reservations?" She asked.

"Reser... huh?" Tony asked.

"Reservations! Unless you two are going to McDonalds, you really need to get a table and all that stuff!" Konata said. Tony hummed.

"I don't know many restaurants around here..." Tony commented.

"You could go to Kaiseki Ryōri." Konata offered.

"Is it good?" Tony asked.

"It's one of the higher end restaurants and it's pretty close to their house. Tsukasa could probably walk there in five minutes from their house. But getting a reservation on such short notice is REALLY hard. Good luck." Konata tossed him the phone and told him the number. Tony was surprised she knew such a number, it didn't seem the type of thing she would just know off the top of her head.

"Hello?" Tony answered the phone. "Yes, I'd like to make a..." Tony paused. He looked at Konata.

"Reservation!" Konata whispered.

"A reservation." Tony said. He paused. "Tonight at six." He said. He paused again. "Impossible?... A month's notice if I was lucky?" Tony asked, bewildered. "How can you take a month to get a table ready?" He asked. "Come on man, I'm just trying to get my girlfriend an amazing first date, I lost my tournament winnings and I only have twenty thou-..." Tony paused again. He suddenly got a smirk on his face. "Yes, tournament winnings." He said. "Yes, this is Ryū Tora no Kami." Tony said. "Yes, the winner of the World Martial Arts Tournament." His smirk widened as there was another pause. "At six, please." He said. Konata's jaw dropped. "Under the name Otokonoko, please." Tony passed a smile at Konata. "Thank you very much my good sir." Tony said appreciatively. He hung up.

"Did you just get in because he was a fan?" Konata asked.

"Sure did." Tony smiled. Konata pouted.

"That's not fair, I won a tournament too!" She complained.

"Ah, but yours was national. Mine was international." Tony said.

"Still think I should get something..." Konata said.

"Want a hug?" Tony asked.

"Are you going to put money in my pocket like you did with Tsukasa?" Konata asked. Tony chuckled.

"How did you know I did that?" Tony asked.

"Well, first of all I saw you do it. Then Kagami told Tsukasa about it. I guess she realized that's what you meant by business." Konata said.

"Ah, she is a smart one." Tony complimented.

"That's why I copy her homework." Konata said. Tony chuckled.

"Don't work hard, work smart I guess." He said.

"Always." Konata catgrinned. "Hey Kan-kan, can I use your training room sometime?" Konata asked.

"Sure, for what?" Tony asked.

"Scuba diving." Konata answered.

"Ha ha. Yeah, just let me know if you need anything and when you want to use it." Tony said.

"Thanks..." Konata smiled.

"I better call Tsukasa, let her know where we're going." Tony said, taking out his phone. He dialed 1 on his speed dial.

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

Tsukasa finished her breakfast and leaned back in the chair. She sighed contently before she really began to think again. Right now, the only thing she was really aware of was that Kagami was still in the bath. After a moment, she realized a problem.

_Where are me and Kan-kun even going? Is he picking me up or are we meeting there?_ She wondered. Her cell phone began to ring. She picked it up. "Hello?" She asked.

"Heya Tsu-chan!" Tony said. Tsukasa smiled.

"Hi Kan-kun!" She greeted cheerfully.

"Listen, I've got where we're going!" Tony said.

"Really? I was just wondering where we were going!" Tsukasa said in surprise.

"Well that's convenient!" Tony chuckled. "Anyway, I was thinking Kaiseki Ryōri. What do you think?" Tony asked.

"Isn't that a really nice restaurant?" Tsukasa asked.

"I'm pretty sure. So, would you like to meet there at six?" Tony asked.

"Yeah!" Tsukasa cheered.

"Awesome! I'll see you there!" Tony cheered from his side, clearly happy.

"See you there Kan-kun!" Tsukasa said. She hung up. _Yay..._ She cheered lazily in her head. She heard a door open and close. After a moment, Kagami walked into the room, freshly dressed and out of the shower.

"Hey Tsukasa." She smiled. "Shall we prepare our makeup?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah!" Tsukasa asked excitedly. They both entered the nearest room with a mirror after grabbing the makeup they had borrowed from their sisters. The two set to work.

* * *

**POV Tony**

"You know Kon-kon..." Tony sighed contently.

"What's up?" Konata asked.

"I don't think I could be happier." He said.

"Why? 'Cause you're going on a date with Tsukasa?" Konata asked. She heard a chuckle.

"That too. But I don't think there are any other people in the world that I could get along with better. I mean, it's like a collection of four of the best possible people for me to know, and I was just... dropped into their laps. Not only that, you all accepted me from the moment you guys met me." Tony smiled. "You know what I mean." He added when he could almost sense Konata about to remind him of her behavior. "I mean... You know... I just don't think I could have found better people to meet. You, for example." Tony turned over on the couch and smiled at Konata. Konata turned and smiled at him.

'What about me?" She asked.

"You're my sister now. A lot of people say stuff like "He's my brothah!" and "She's my sistah!" and all that with people they aren't actually related to, but this is real... If someone were to make you cry, I'd kill them in an instant. If anyone hurt you..." Tony mumbled. He trailed off. "Of all the friends I've ever had... You're the firsts." Tony smiled. Konata chuckled.

"The feeling is very mutual." Konata said. The two sat there a moment, both by unspoken agreement letting the fuzzy moment pass. "So, think I should get something for Kagami?" Konata asked.

"Well, I saw that you gave her the ring. You can get her some flowers though. Or chocolate." Tony said.

"Hmm... Are you getting Tsukasa anything?" Konata asked. Without a word, Tony reached into his pocket and produced the lost necklace. "O-ho! Found the necklace, huh?" Konata smiled. "When did you do that? You've been around me almost since you promised to find it!" She asked.

"Well, I asked Hachiman for help with something, but he just gave me the end to what I hoped to achieve. He didn't have time to help." Tony said. "It was in the car on the way to the tournament in Lohan."

"Ah. And I didn't even notice." Konata chuckled.

"So where are you two going?" Tony asked.

"Probably just to a diner or something. We're getting comfortable around people, you know?" Konata turned to him.

"I understand, yeah." Tony nodded his head. He yawned and looked at the clock. "Still have a few hours to go..." He sighed.

"You could catch a nap before your date. Then you'll be fully prepared for anything that comes your way!" Konata said with a smile.

"Yeah... I think I'll do that." Tony seemed to get himself comfortable on the couch.

"And while you're doing that, I'll call Kagami to find out where she wants to go." Konata said, more to herself than anything. Tony tossed her the phone, which she caught.

"Alrighty then." Tony let his eyes close. His breathing became slow and rhythmic. Konata smiled. She dialed Kagami's number.

"Kona?" Kagami asked.

"Hey Kagamin~." Konata chimed.

"What's going on Kona?" Kagami asked sweetly.

"I just wanted to know where you wanted to go today?" Konata asked.

"Hmmm..." Kagami hummed. "You know that diner about half way between our houses?" Kagami asked.

"The one with the more western feel to it?" Konata asked.

"Yeah! It feels a bit more personal around there, you know? People actually talk to you there. I know a lot of people like the have their own physiological personal space, but I kinda like that you can talk to people." Kagami said.

"Then let's go there!" Konata said.

"Awesome! Thanks Kona..." Konata could almost hear Kagami smile.

"It's my pleasure Kagamin!" Konata said.

"Wanna meet up around six?" Kagami asked.

"Yup yup! Let's meet outside the diner!" Konata cheerfully agreed.

"Alright! Good bye Kona..." Kagami said wistfully. They both hung up. Konata sighed as she looked at the time. She set an alarm on her phone to go off fifteen minutes before six to let herself and Tony have enough time to wake up and travel at a luxurious pace. With that done, she let herself drift off.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Kagami hung up the phone. She sighed contently.

"Who was that Onee-chan?" Tsukasa asked, makeup half on.

"That was Kona, just wanted to see where we were going." Kagami smiled.

"Where are you going?" Tsukasa asked.

"To that diner near here!" Kagami said.

"Aw, don't you love that place?" Tsukasa chimed.

"Yeah!" Kagami cheered. "Let's finish up, alright? I'd like to be able to do something before we have to go." Kagami said.

"Like what Onee-chan?" Tsukasa asked.

"I dunno, maybe watch a movie or something?" Kagami asked.

"Sure!" Tsukasa said cheerfully. The two walked back in and set back to work. Twenty minutes afterwards, they walked back out. "Are you sure this is right Onee-chan..." Tsukasa asked.

"I... I'm not sure..." Kagami mumbled. They heard a door close from the down the hall. They both looked to see Matsuri. "Hey Matsuri, is this right?" Kagami asked. Matsuri yawned and looked at the two. She stiffened up.

"You..." Her cheeks started puffing out. "You... Serious...?" She asked.

"Then this isn't right..." Kagami started to ponder her mistake. Her queries were swiftly answered as Matsuri burst into laughter.

"No! That's not right at all!" She laughed, doubled over at this point. There was a slam of a door.

"Matsuri, I was trying to sleep!" Inori shouted. "Come on, what's the matter with you?" She asked. Matsuri, too engrossed in her laughter at the moment, merely pointed at the two younger twins. Inori looked over the two clowns before she lost it too. "I-I-I-Haha!" She couldn't speak.

"Stop laughing and help!" Kagami shouted. The two laughed until Matsuri found the strength to look up. She saw bits of makeup streaming down Tsukasa's face as tears ran down her cheeks. Matsuri, with quite a force of will, stopped laughing and knocked Inori on the head.

"That's enough Inori." Matsuri scolded. Inori made a face at Matsuri.

"Yeah, I guess. I'm sorry Tsukasa." Inori apologized.

"Me too Imoto." Matsuri smiled.

"I'll take Tsukasa, you take Kagami?" Inori asked her younger sister.

"Okay, I kinda wanted the cute one though..." Matsuri smiled. Kagami crossed her arms.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She shouted. She was ignored as Matsuri and Inori took their sisters into a room and began scrubbing their faces of the makeup. After five or ten minutes of washing, they finally got all of it off.

"See, now don't you feel ten pounds lighter?" Matsuri giggled. Kagami pouted.

"I guess... Could you help apply it so we don't look like we escaped from the circus this time?" Kagami asked.

"How fast did you do it last time?" Matsuri asked.

"Not long, about thirty or forty minutes." Kagami said.

"Only forty minutes? Wow, no wonder... it can take up to a few hours to apply makeup to its very fullest effect!" Matsuri said. Kagami's jaw dropped.

"A few hours?" She yelled.

"Yep! Even in your case..." Matsuri backed up a moment and looked at Kagami up an down. "Though it's the toughest case I've yet to face..." She smirked as Kagami made an annoyed look. "Don't worry! I'm determined to succeed! Follow my lead and let's get started!" Matsuri began applying the makeup, just as her older sister did to Tsukasa a moment earlier since they hadn't talked much. "Plus we need to get your clothes ready!" Kagami sighed.

**Several Hours Later**

"Finally~!" Matsuri cheered.

"We...We're done?" Kagami asked, thoroughly exhausted. One couldn't argue with her big sister's resolve though, at one point Matsuri had even run out and bought another dress. It was Kagami's money, but Kagami couldn't argue that this matched her much better than anything she had.

"Yep! There's nothing more I can do for ya Imoto." Matsuri said.

"From here on, your personality will be your makeup. We've done what we can, the rest is up to you." Inori smiled with crossed arms.

"Go get 'em Imoto." Matsuri smiled to her younger sisters. The twins looked at each other and found they looked a great deal better than they did when they had done their makeup themselves. They smiled to their elder sisters.

"Thanks a lot Matsuri." Kagami bowed.

"Yeah, thanks Onee-san." Tsukasa bowed.

"It's no problem. I just hope this is real for you two." Matsuri put her hands on her hips and sighed with a smile.

"It's as real as it's gonna get." Kagami said with certainty.

"Well good luck. Knock 'em dead." Inori smiled. With that, and a good bye, the twins walked to the living room to see what time it was. "So what's with the sudden sister complex with Tsukasa?" Inori turned to Matsuri now that the two twins were gone. Matsuri jumped.

"What are you talking about?" She asked.

"Oh come on, you haven't gone three sentences without telling Tsukasa she's cute for the past few days! Plus, you got jealous when I did her makeup. Now, don't try and deceive me Matsuri, you know I'm majoring in psychology. You're totally developing a big sister complex." Inori said. "I've also noticed that you tend to try and help Mom more than you used to." Inori stated. Matsuri sighed.

"Mom and Tsukasa almost died, Inori. Isn't it normal that I would get closer to them, to start noticing more about them, all that stuff?" Matsuri asked somberly. Inori crossed her arms, understanding where her younger sibling was coming from. "And besides..." Matsuri trailed off.

"Besides...?" Inori urged her sister to continue.

"Can you honestly, with a straight face, look me in the eye and tell me that Imoto isn't cute as hell?" Matsuri asked with a smile. Inori sighed and smiled.

"No, I really can't." She admitted.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

"What timing..." Kagami mumbled. It was quarter to six.

"We didn't get to watch a movie though Onee-chan..." Tsukasa sighed.

"Yeah, but that's okay. We can probably watch one once we both get home!" Kagami said cheerfully. Tsukasa perked up.

"Yeah... I hope everything goes great with Kona-chan, Onee-chan." Tsukasa smiled.

"I hope you have a wonderful time with Tony." Kagami smiled.

"You two heading out or what?" Miki asked teasingly. Kagami and Tsukasa started as they looked over to see their sisters had joined their mother and father at the table.

"Do you two need a ride?" Tadao asked.

"No thanks." Kagami smiled. The two walked to the front door, but Tsukasa hesitated. Kagami looked over at her to see she looked terrified. "You're gonna be fine Tsukasa." She said, walking behind Tsukasa. She began giving her little sister a massage. Kagami had always given her little sister massages to relax her, over time she got better and better until she could put any professional to shame.

"Thanks Onee-chan, I feel a lot better now." Tsukasa said with a genuine little smile after her sister stopped the back rub.

"No problem Tsukasa." Kagami smiled.

"Let's go!" Tsukasa urged.

"Alright... Let's go!" Kagami cheered as they made their way out of the house.

* * *

**POV Konata**

Konata was slumbering. Her eyes opened as she looked at her phone.

*Alarm silenced after ten minutes.* Flashed across the screen. Konata's face paled.

"KAN-KAN WAKE UP!" She shouted, throwing the closest object at him. It hit his head, causing him to jump up. Suddenly, Konata found herself behind him as he took a stance, a wave a dizziness overtaking her.

"What, what, wh-..." He breathed heavily.

"We've gotta meet Kagami and Tsukasa in five minutes!" Konata shouted. Tony turned around.

"What? We gotta go!" He shouted.

"I know!" Konata and Tony headed to the door, opened it, and were gone the next instant. "Could you teleport us?" Konata asked against the wind.

"Used too much energy when you woke me up! I thought we were under attack, I let my instinct take over and it forcefully teleported you behind me!" Tony said. "Besides, I don't know where we're supposed to go!" Tony said. "I'm following you!"

"Alright, you get to the Kaiseki by..." Konata gave him directions from where they would be meeting Kagami outside the diner.

"Gotcha, thanks!" Tony smiled as Kagami came into view, having separated from Tsukasa when their paths diverged from each other. Kagami waved.

"Hey Kona! Hey Tony!" She waved widely, a smile prominent on her face.

"Hey Kagamin~!" Konata waved back as the two slowed down and looked Kagami up and down. "That dress really does something for you. It does something for me too..."

"Pervert!" Kagami blushed fiercely.

"Hey, I'm just a growing girl with active glands..." Konata giggled. She came to a stop in front of Kagami, but Tony caught the Tsundere by the arm and started walking a bit farther rather roughly.

"Gotta talk to you." Tony said seriously. Kagami, basically being dragged at this point, turned around.

"Wh-who-uh. Okay!" Kagami said as Tony turned into a corner. He let her go and turned around. "What's up Tony?" She asked.

"Make my sister happy Kagami." Tony said. "I don't want a repeat of what happened last time." He said, suddenly very serious.

"Don't worry, I won't let you down Tony." Kagami chuckled.

"You won't. I know you won't. As a matter of fact, I know you're going to be perfect!" Tony said. Kagami opened her mouth to answer to the affirmative, but Tony continued... "Do you know how I know all these things? I know them because if you're **not** perfect, never mind the yelling and the anger. If anything goes wrong, for any reason, I'm going to kill you." Kagami smiled at Tony's protectiveness over Konata. She opened her mouth again, but again, Tony continued. "And I don't mean that as a euphemism, I am going to literally kill you. I'm going to strangle you and choke off your air supply until you pass away." Tony went through the motions of strangling someone. Kagami gulped. Then she breathed, and smiled.

"I'm glad to hear that Tony." She said. "That just shows how protective you are of my Kona. It makes me feel happy and I don't have to feel concerned over Kona's safety." She said. Tony smiled.

"You better believe it mister, or you're dead where you stand." Tony said.

"I think of you and Kona as crayons..." Kagami said. Tony got a confused look.

"Eh... What? Where did that come from? What does that mean?" He asked. Kagami smiled.

"Well, like you. You may not be my favorite color, but someday... I'm gonna need you to complete the picture." Kagami said. Tony, though confused at the seemingly random topic, smiled at Kagami's statement. "And Kona..." Kagami giggled happily. "She may not be the sharpest crayon in the box, but she's my favorite color." Kagami said. Tony thought for a moment.

"Would suck if you used colored pencils though..." He commented. Kagami didn't seem to notice as she smiled up at him.

"Kagamin! What are you doing?" They heard Konata shout.

"I guess you should be getting back, huh?" Tony asked Kagami.

"Yeah..." Kagami smiled as the two walked around the corner back to Konata.

"Shouldn't you be getting to see Tsukasa?" Konata smiled at Tony.

"Yep!" He said. "..."

"Well? Are you gonna go or just stand there with your thumb up your butt?" Kagami asked with a smile.

"Thumb up my butt sounds better..." Tony muttered.

"You'll do fine Kan-kan." Konata smiled. Tony breathed deeply.

"Yeah... I'll see you later Konata!" Tony waved.

"See ya Tony! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Konata waved.

"What don't you do?" Tony asked. Konata seemed to think. She shrugged.

"I'll think of something." She giggled. She turned to Kagami, put an arm around her waist, and pulled her close. "I shall strangle your lips! Gnash on your neck! Chew on your ears!" She shouted. "And then we'll have some fun!" She giggled as she pulled a blushing Kagami into the diner. Tony sweatdropped. He shrugged and started running almost fast enough to work up a sweat. After a moment of running, he finally got to the restaurant. He sighed.

"Here goes..." He breathed deeply, walked into the restaurant, and walked up to the person at the desk.

"Name please?" He asked without looking up.

"Kanpeki Otokonoko." Tony said.

"Ah, yes. Your date has already arrived. Right this way sir." The man walked out from behind the desk and led Tony into the restaurant. He soon spotted Tsukasa in a dress and felt a smile come across his face. She looked quite nervous. Looking at Tsukasa in this light, she looked an angel. This, Tony thought, was easily the most beautiful woman on Earth. That all of the men in the restaurant didn't fall to her feet and beg for her to be theirs boggled his mind. Tony was soon at the table and sat down, surprising Tsukasa, who had been staring almost intently at the table top.

"Kan-kun!" She cheered.

"Hey Tsuka- Tsukasa, are you okay? Your lips look like they're bleeding!" Tony almost shouted in alarm. Tsukasa jumped in surprise and, a small blush decorating her cheeks, she picked up the nearest metallic object and examined herself. She didn't find anything out of the ordinary. Until...

"Kan-kun, do you mean my lipstick?" Tsukasa asked. Tony took his turn to jump and blush.

"Um... what's that?" He asked meekly, extremely embarrassed.

"You mean you don't know what lipstick is?" Tsukasa's eyes widened. She had assumed Tony just knew everything there was to know about everything.

"Well... I mean, it's not like I've had much experience in that area!" Tony said defensively. "How should I know what 'lipstick' is?" He asked. Tsukasa giggled.

"It's okay Kan-kun, I understand. I guess it's just a little silly to me that you didn't know something like that." She smiled. Though Tony knew he should feel a bit insulted, he simply couldn't while Tsukasa looked that cute. He had to think of something to say though. While he tried to think of a retort that wouldn't insult Tsukasa, she gasped sharply and put a hand to her head.

"Tsukasa, are you alright?" Tony got up and was at Tsukasa's side in an instant.

"I'm okay Kan-kun..." Tsukasa smiled through the worsening pain in her head. It was a blaring, mind numbing pain. Tony smiled and walked back to his chair. While his back was turned, Tsukasa took out the packet of medicine the doctor had given her for pain. She hadn't needed it until now, but her head SERIOUSLY hurt. She put the pill in her mouth before Tony saw. She took a very quick sip of water to get it down. The relief was instantaneous as coherent thought became easier. Tony sat down and smiled at Tsukasa. He got a bit of a confused look on his face when he saw her with her glass held in the air since she wasn't moving it or drinking out of it. Tsukasa noticed and looked at her hovering glass. "We should make a toast!" Tsukasa smiled. Tony smiled back and grabbed his.

"To the beginning." He held it up. Tsukasa didn't immediately respond, but sat for a moment. She looked extremely nervous about something.

"And the middle? ... And the end?" She asked nervously. Tony blinked a time or two.

"Wow, when you make a toast, you don't fool around." Tony chuckled. He smiled warmly. "No. Not till the end." He said. Tsukasa shrunk a bit and seemed sad.

"What?" She asked.

"Always." Tony's smile got warmer as he held his drink a bit higher. Tsukasa smiled as a blush spread across her face. Her heart began to warm again.

"Always." She clinked her glass against his.

* * *

**POV Konata**

Konata and Kagami walked into the diner and looked around.

"I hope he has a good date." Konata commented.

"What do you consider a good date?" Kagami asked.

"A good date end with a nice dinner." Konata said. Kagami smiled.

"You think we'll have a good date?" She asked.

"I hope we'll have an excellent date!" Konata said.

"And what do you consider an excellent date?" Kagami asked. Konata catgrinned.

"An excellent date ends with breakfast the next day~..." Konata looked up at Kagami, who was blushing. Konata chuckled. "How would you like your eggs in the morning Kagamin~?" She chimed. Kagami shook her head quickly and smiled down at Konata.

"Unfertilized please." She bonked Konata on the nose. Konata blushed as one of the staff, a teenager with long rose-colored hair that fell to the middle of her back, stopped a moment and looked at them.

"Hey Kagami, welcome back!" She smiled.

"Hey Akari, how's it going?" Kagami responded. Konata looked up at her.

"It's good, same old same old, ya know?" Akari said. "I've gotta get back to work, but maybe you can take a seat in my section!" She suggested.

"Will do!" Kagami smiled. Akari walked back into the kitchen.

"Who was that Kagamin?" Konata asked. Kagami's cheeks turned slightly pink.

"One of the waitresses here." She answered.

"Oh~, and you come here often enough that she calls you by your first name then?" Konata chimed teasingly as the two took a seat across from each other in a booth picked out by Kagami.

"Well, she was nice..." Kagami mumbled. Konata giggled.

"I didn't know you liked this place so much. Maybe I'll get to know a few people here and we can come back more often!" Konata suggested. Kagami smiled widely as she lit up.

"Really? You mean it?" She asked. Konata nodded.

"Of course Kagamin. It's your favorite place. It's just that no one here knows me, I was really relying on meeting you outside 'cause I didn't know where you were talking about..." Konata scratched the back of her head. Akari walked back, interrupting the two.

"Hello, my name is Akari, and I'll be your waitress today." She smiled widely. "So I know Kagami, what's your name miss?" She turned to Konata.

"Konata Izumi, it's nice to meet you." Konata smiled. Akari gasped.

"Oh~, so THIS is the infamous Konata Izumi." She giggled. Konata blinked a couple times, turned to Kagami, who was averting her gaze, then turned back to Akari.

"You know me?" Konata asked.

"Of course, with how much Kagami talks about you? Practically the whole place knows about you!" Akari laughed. Konata waited a beat for it to sink it. Kagami kept looking away for a moment, but let her eyes creep over to look at Konata...

_Yep. _She thought to herself as she saw Konata's super wide, super cute little catgrin. That and her half-lidded eyes were clearly expressions of mischief along with joy.

"Ka~gamin~..." Konata cooed.

"And might I just say that you're every bit as cute as Kagami describes you." Akari interrupted Konata. Konata blushed a bit, but Kagami got out of her embarrassed stupor.

"Hey, stop hitting on my girlfriend!" She almost shouted loudly enough for other people to hear her. The world seemed to stop for a moment as if time was giving her head time to compute what she had just said. Her face exploded in red as Konata and Akari stared at her. One could imagine rain-like sweat pouring down Kagami's face. Suddenly, Akari cocked her head to the side, smiled, closed her eyes, and giggled a bit.

"So you finally came out of the closet, did you Kagami?" Akari asked. There was another frozen moment.

"Pardon me?" Kagami deadpanned.

"Hm? Didn't you say girlfriend?" Akari asked. She gasped. "Oh! Unless you didn't mean it romantically!" She panicked. "I'm so sor-"

"No no, I did." Kagami said. "Just... What's "finally" supposed to mean?" She asked. Akari sighed in relief.

"It's the way you talk about her! You basically obsess over her! It was only a matter of time!" Akari laughed. After she calmed down, she saw that both of the girls were now thoroughly embarrassed. "I guess I better actually do my job, huh?" She asked. "What would you two like to eat?" She asked. When she got no response, she giggled again. "I'll just leave you two alone for a moment." She walked to another table and began waiting on them.

"So... You obsessed over me Kagamin?" Konata smiled at Kagami. The Tsundere glanced back to see Konata's rare smile, one that only held happiness. Kagami turned so she could look at Konata fully now. The smile on the Otaku's face brought a smile to her own.

"How could I not?" She asked. "I mean, you're the cutest girl I know. And that smile..." Kagami trailed off dreamily. Konata's smile widened.

"Thanks Kagamin. But you're a lot cuter than I am. That deredere~..." Konata chimed quietly.

"How am I cuter than you Kona? You're small, you'r-" Kagami was cut off by giggling.

"Kagamin's~ a lolicon~..." Konata giggled. Kagami blushed, but now she was determined not to be cut to the quip.

"Is that a problem?" She said, her best attempt at a seductive voice. Konata's face turned to surprise a little bit, then turned deep red.

"No..." She averted her gaze. Kagami squealed in her head.

_She's so CUTE when she's embarrassed!_ She squealed in sheer and utter delight. She decided in her head that she would, from now on, make a point of getting at Konata's soft underbelly more often. _Konata's soft underbelly..._ Kagami thought dreamily, now imagining exactly what Konata's stomach would look and feel like...

"Are you two ready yet?" Akari came back. She looked to see Konata was entirely too embarrassed to speak without further embarrassing herself, and Kagami was in dream-like trance. She had gotten into these on occasion, but this one seemed so much deeper than the others that she usually would have gotten in. "I'll come back in another minute." Akari giggled as she went to wait on another table again.

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

"So Kan-kun, tell me about yourself!" Tsukasa smiled as the waiter delivered their food. Tsukasa had only gotten a small bowl of miso soup to start, while Tony had gotten a large tonjiru soup. The two began eating.

"About myself?" Tony asked. "There's really not all that much to tell anymore, you know all about me! What did you have in mind?" He asked. Tsukasa hummed.

"Um... I dunno, just something I didn't know about you I guess..." Tsukasa shrugged. Tony sighed.

"That narrows it down..." Tony put a finger to his chin as if this action would help to bring his thoughts to order. "Hmmmm..." He hummed.

"It's alright Kan-kun. I understand." Tsukasa smiled. Tony snapped his fingers.

"Alright, I've got one for ya." Tony said. There was a blush coming across his face... "I expect you to tell me something in return Tsukasa..." He said cautiously. Tsukasa smiled.

"Of course, I was hoping you would ask!" She chimed. Tony breathed.

"Okay... This is totally embarrassing, but... You remember right before the tournament when Konata asked if I was a merman because of my fear of cats and super strong voice, but I quickly said it was just a coincidence?" Tony asked. Tsukasa thought a moment.

"Yeah, I remember." She nodded.

"Well, the reason that's so farfetched is... well... I'm also afraid of water..." Tony mumbled. Tsukasa blinked.

"But... you're drinking water..." Tsukasa commented, a question mark appearing above her head.

"I mean in large quantities, I can't swim." Tony admitted. Tsukasa blinked again and started giggling.

"Come on, be serious Kan-kun!" Tsukasa smiled. Tony crossed his arms.

"I am serious, don't laugh!" He protested. Tsukasa stopped quite quickly, eyes widening.

"I'm sorry Kan-kun, but it seemed so silly considering you were trained to be a seal! Seals swim, right?" Tsukasa asked, confused.

"Well, this one doesn't." Tony sighed. "If I can't touch the floor, I'm gonna drown in it." He said. He waved a hand. "Enough of that! Tell me about YOURself Tsukasa!" Tony requested. Tsukasa hummed in thought.

"I once had a stuffed owl!" Tsukasa chimed.

"A very true and loyal bird." Tony smiled. "A little cotton and they're yours for life. But, come on, I told you a totally embarrassing secret and you come back with a stuffed owl? Nuh-uh Tsu-chan, you don't get off that easy. Embarrass yourself." Tony laid back in his chair and looked at Tsukasa quizzically. Tsukasa pouted, something rarely seen. She began thinking, Tony being unable to think of anything but how cute Tsukasa was. She thought.

"Once, I walked into a glass door that I thought was open..." Tsukasa mumbled. Tony smiled.

"Why can I picture that perfectly." Tony closed his eyes and proceeded to see Tsukasa absent-mindedly walking into a closed glass door. Tsukasa blushed.

"Kan-kun~! Don't imagine it!" She whined. Tony chuckled.

"You like it." He said.

"No I don't!" Tsukasa protested.

"You love it." Tony insisted.

"Wh-No! I don't!" Tsukasa protested further.

"You want some more of it!" Tony insisted further.

"Kan-kun~!" Tsukasa whined cutely. Tony couldn't help it. A giggle erupted from his throat, but he quickly killed it. Tsukasa blinked just as Tony did. "... Kan-kun, did you just-"

"That's one more embarrassing thing to add to the list..." Tony commented. The waiter interrupted their conversation.

"Are you finished?" He asked, referring to the empty plates of salad.

"Yeah, sure..." Tony mumbled. The waiter took the plates and left. "Tsukasa-"

"That never happened?" Tsukasa smiled. Tony stopped and smiled too.

"Thank you." He chuckled.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

_I wonder if Kona would squeak if I poked her underbelly button..._ Kagami wondered. A sudden pain in her stomach brought her from the train of thought she had been riding for the past five minutes. She looked around to see Konata grinning.

"Somebodies~ hungry~!" Konata chimed. Kagami grinned.

"Oh quiet you." She giggled. Konata squinted her eyes at Kagami for a moment, but the Tsundere knew what was running through her Otaku's mind. "That's right Kona, I'm not gonna get as flustered as easily as before. You're gonna have to try from now on!" Kagami pointed accusingly at her girlfriend. Konata giggled.

"You underestimate my power!" Konata boasted, putting her fist to her chest proudly.

"You think you can get me flustered?" Kagami smirked. Konata crossed her arms, squinted, and looked Kagami.

"Challenge accepted." She said. "That's a pretty outfit you've got on." Konata smiled. Kagami smiled too.

_You're gonna have to try way harder than that..._ She snickered in her head. "Why, thank you. I got new clothes so I would look attractive to you." Kagami said.

"You didn't have to do that! I would find you attractive if you were naked." Konata catgrinned. Kagami jumped and blushed.

"Pervert..." She mumbled. Konata laughed.

"I win!" She cheered.

"Alright guys, you've gotta order SOMETHING! You're gonna get me in trouble!" Akari requested.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I'll have..." Kagami looked at the menu. She didn't have much money at all, now that she thought about it. "I'll have a chicken sandwich!" Kagami put the menu down. It was one of the cheapest things on there.

"Chicken sandwich, coming up! And you?" She turned to Konata.

"Ummm... I'll have what she's having." Konata folded the menu. Akari picked both up.

"Okay two chicken sandwiches, coming up! I took the liberty of getting you two a couple of drinks by the way." Akari set down a couple of glass cups of soda.

"Thanks, but... why?" Konata asked.

"'Cause I had to tell them you ordered something or they might have asked you to leave! They woulda done it five minutes ago if it had been strangers though." Akari said as Konata and Kagami took a drink.

"Wow, you guessed pretty good!" Konata smiled. What was in her glass was probably her second favorite soda.

"Yeah, she's good at that." Kagami smiled. "Hey Akari!" Kagami beckoned before her friend left to fulfill their orders.

"Yeah?" She turned and smiled.

"Could you bring a little jelly container do you think?" Kagami asked. Konata made a face.

"Um... Sure, I might be able to sneak a container and a knife out!" Akari smiled. _She's gonna get me in trouble..._ She thought to herself. She bustled off into the kitchen.

"Jelly on chicken?" Konata asked.

"Hey, don't knock it 'til you try it Kona! It's actually really good!" Kagami said defensively. Konata crossed her arms disapprovingly.

"I dunno, it sounds nasty..." She sighed.

"If I took biscuit and dipped it in chocolate, does that sound good?" Kagami asked. Konata made a confused look.

"Duh, chocolate." Konata said as if chocolate made everything universally better. Which is true in most cases.

"But some people wouldn't think so! But someone did it and now we have pocky!" Kagami defended her sandwich. Konata sighed.

"I guess I can give it a try." Konata decided. Kagami cheered.

"Woohoo! Thanks Kona!" She smiled.

"Hehe, I just hope this doesn't rueen my sandwich." Konata said.

"Don't worry, it won't-... what?" Kagami asked.

"What? I just said I don't want this to rueen my sandwich." Konata said.

"...Ruin?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah, rueen. I don't want my sandwich rueened." Konata said innocently.

"... What is the Toro civilization in?" Kagami asked.

"Ruins, of course." Konata said, barely suppressing a smile.

"And how would you describe your sandwich if you don't like it with jelly?" Kagami asked.

"Rueened. What's wrong Kagamin?" Konata asked.

"Why are you pronouncing it so weird?" She asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about Kagamin!" Konata giggled.

"Ah-HA! Caught you, you DO know what I'm talking about, don't you?" Kagami pointed at Konata accusingly. Konata giggled harder.

"That was funny... But I still didn't get a rise out of ya!" Konata complained.

"I'm gonna be harder from now on, Kona~." Kagami chimed.

"..." Konata was silent a moment.

"Kona?" Kagami asked. Konata seemed to be at war in her head. She was debating on if she should say it. Eventually, it slipped out.

"That's what she said." Konata giggled even harder as Kagami blushed.

* * *

**POV Tony**

"Okay, I've got one for you." Tony smiled as the waiter came back with their food. The two had gotten a large order of Yakitori for them both to share while getting smaller items for the two to eat individually. It was weird, Tony noticed that Tsukasa's cheeks were growing faintly red, even though he hadn't said anything or done anything to embarrass her. Her actions were getting a bit more sloppy as well...

"Alright, what would you like to know?" Tsukasa smiled. Tony pulled a piece of chicken off the skewer and ate it, giving himself a bit of time to think and find out how to word his query.

"Well..." He started. "Over the past while, I'd like to think that I'd gotten to know the four of you well." Tony said. Tsukasa nodded with a smile.

"Mhm!" She confirmed cheerfully.

"My question is this... Kagami doesn't seem too outgoing, that seems to be more your and Kon-kon's trait. I was kind of wondering why it was Kagami who asked me to join you guys and not you or Konata?" Tony asked. Honestly, he knew that Konata didn't want to competition for Kagami and Tsukasa had a past with boys, but he wanted to know if there was anything else. Tsukasa paused half way through putting a piece of chicken in her mouth. She thought for a moment and sighed.

"You certainly did get one..." She said. She looked into his eyes. "Kan-kun, I can't speak for Onee-chan or Kona-chan. But... When I saw you, I was afraid to meet you. When I met you, I was afraid to get to know you. When I got to know you, I was afraid to like you. When I liked you, I was afraid to kiss you. Now though... Now I'm afraid I'll lose you..." Tsukasa said, her voice getting quieter and quieter as her throat choked up. Tony smiled and reached across the table, rubbing Tsukasa's cheek comfortingly.

"You'll never lose me Tsukasa." He said. He could see she was getting melancholy quick. He kind of wished he hadn't asked in the first place. _I've gotta do something..._ He thought, as even though Tsukasa was leaning into his hand, he could still tell her emotions were building. He smiled. "Thank you for answering me honestly Tsukasa." He said. Tsukasa looked up at him.

"It's no problem." She said. "I mean, that's what two people who're dating do, right? They tell the truth to each other?" She asked with a small smile.

"Yep..." He felt his heart warm. Suddenly, he changed his disposition. "And for answering all questions satisfactorily, tell her what she's won!" He said in an announcer voice. Tsukasa giggled. "It's~ a brand old NECKLACE!" He got the amulet Tsukasa had lost out from his pocket. Tsukasa gasped as she brightened up considerably.

"My necklace! You found it!" She grabbed it and started attempting to put it on. Tony chuckled and got up from his seat. He walked over and lightly grabbed her hands. He guided them gently to each other so that the clasp on the necklace snapped together. He walked back as Tsukasa's blush settled. "So~? How do I look~?" She asked as she turned her head to the side slightly, showing off her new amulet. Tony smiled.

"Absolutely, positively, fan-damn-tastic!" Tony said. Tsukasa smiled.

"Thanks." She sighed contently. She reached for her water, but knocked it over by accident. "Oh!" She panicked a bit. "I'm sorry!" She grabbed the cloth her silverware came in and started to wipe it up. Tony smiled and did the same.

"It's no problem Tsukasa, but are you feeling okay?" He asked. "You're not catching a cold or anything, are you? 'Cause I can totally see that happening and forcing me to take you home early." Tony said. Tsukasa gave a smile to Tony.

"I'm okay Kan-kun. Thanks for worrying about me..." She had her eyes closed, head tilted to the side as one would imagine a puppy listening to a person speak. Tony blushed a deep red.

_I blush a lot more than I used to..._ He observed in his head. "How could I not worry about you? It seems whenever I take my eyes off you for an instant, you get into danger." Tony chuckled. "I turned my back at the beginning of the date, maybe something happened to you then." He laughed.

"That's not true, something doesn't happen every time you turn your back!" Tsukasa protested. "Things happen to us, yeah, but still!"

"No, things happen to you! I cause things to happen." Tony clarified.

"Hmph..." Tsukasa sat back and pouted. Tony gulped as she stared at him. And stared... and stared... and stared...

"Alright, I'm sorry!" Tony bowed his head in defeat. "You're just too cute, it isn't fair!" He said. Tsukasa smiled.

"That's better." She chimed as she ate the last piece of chicken from the Yakitori.

_I'll get you, even if I have to sing!_ Tony shouted in his head. He remembered something he had been meaning to ask Tsukasa. "Hey Tsu-chan, may I see that stone you got from Amaterasu?" Tony asked. Tsukasa smiled.

"Sure thing!" She fished it from her pocket. She had begun carrying it around with her as sort of a lucky charm, being a gift from a goddess and all. Tony took out his own red one. They both started to glow brightly as they neared each other. "Oooo~..." Tsukasa cooed.

"Weird... Mind if I hold onto this for a little bit, I'd like to look these two over and see if there's any real difference between them. If not, I'd like to know what this red stone is." Tony said. Tsukasa nodded.

"I understand. Take all the time you want." Tsukasa smiled.

"Thanks." Tony smiled. _I'm still gonna get you though..._

* * *

**POV Kagami**

There was a ring at the door as two new people entered the diner. Konata turned around to see two familiar faces were walking very close to them.

"Miyuki, Masutā! What are you two doing here, this is our date!" Konata said. "Are guys trying to steal our date scene?" Miyuki and Masutā looked at each other, then back at Konata and Kagami.

"You two are on a date?" Miyuki asked, a spark in her eye.

"Yep." Kagami nodded happily. Masutā looked in between the two several times.

"Well it's about damn time!" He cheered.

"... What, did everyone know? First Tony and Tsukasa, then Akari, now you two?" Kagami asked desperately.

"You two are so obvious for each other!" Masutā said.

"Indeed, I believe I could write a fairly large story about the two of you and your growing feelings." Miyuki smiled. Konata chuckled.

"Yeah, but who would read it?" She asked.

"The target audience may be a rather small group, but they're still there Konata-san." Miyuki smiled. Konata suddenly glanced quickly at them, then resumed like nothing had happened.

"So what brings you two here?" Kagami asked.

"Me and Masutā are celebrating that my family is officially out of debt and that we'll be able to pay our bills." Miyuki eyesmiled. Konata grinned.

"What? You couldn't pay your bills? Why not?" Kagami asked.

"I'll explain later Kagami. So basically, you two are on a date?" Konata smirked at the two. Both blushed.

"What? No! What gave you that idea..." Miyuki mumbled.

"Konata-san. Masutā." Konata held up a finger on each hand symbolizing each party in question. "You've known me for years, you still call me Konata"-san"." Konata swirled her hand as she elongated the "san", signifying that her left hand was her. "Here, you've know Masutā for maybe a week or two, and you call him "Masuta"." Konata waved her right hand. She looked up into their eyes. "See what I'm getting at here?" She grinned wider. Miyuki and Masutā blushed.

"It's not like that!" They both said together. Kagami smiled and rested her head on her hand as she looked at the two.

"Right. Just like it wasn't like that with me and Kona." She said sarcastically.

"Come on Miyuki. Let's get something to eat." Masutā turned towards the bar. Miyuki turned as well.

"Very well." She smiled as the two walked and sat down. Kagami giggled.

"Those two have the hots for each other." She said.

"That's a bit obvious, isn't it Kagamin?" Konata giggled.

"What's all of this about Miyuki being in debt though?" Kagami asked.

"Kan-kan told me that her mom stopped getting alimony and her credit card got stolen, so they lost a bunch of money too. So Masutā got a super demanding, high paying job." Konata said.

"Oh~... What does he do?" Kagami asked.

"He works in construction where there's not enough room to use machines. Since he does the job of several people, and because he was working for a noble cause, they agreed to give him a higher pay." Konata said.

"Ah, that sounds good. I'm glad she's gonna be alright." Kagami smiled. "But now we've gotta get back to our date!" She insisted.

"Of course!" Konata smiled. "So, any chance of me getting a kiss after this date?" Konata asked.

"Your chances are looking good Kona." Kagami giggled.

"Awesome!" She cheered. Their food came along with the jelly.

"Here, they said you could have some jelly, but you had to pay for it." Akari said. "Don't worry though, it's only about ten extra yen." She smiled.

"Thanks a lot Akari." Kagami smiled back.

"It's no problem Kagami, I'll be right back with a refill for your drinks." Akari shuffled off into the kitchen again. Kagami took the top bun off of her sandwich and spread half the jelly on.

"Here ya go Kona, try a bite of mine." Kagami held her sandwich over to Konata. Konata blinked.

"You just want me to... take a bite?" She asked. Kagami smiled.

"Is that a problem Kona?" She asked. Konata's face took a red hue as she leaned over and took a bite out of the sandwich. "Well~? What do you think Kona?" Kagami asked after Konata was finished. The Otaku hummed. Suddenly, she clutched her throat.

"AAAAHG!" She collapsed into her booth. Kagami rolled her eyes and giggled as Konata twitched her leg.

"Come on Kona, you know you didn't die." She said. Konata giggled as she got back up.

"It was okay. I would eat it if I WAS dying, but I wouldn't order it specifically or anything." Konata critiqued her girlfriend's dinner.

"Well, I guess that's fair." Kagami sighed. She smiled after a moment as she took the rest of the jelly. "That means more for me." She spread the other half on her sandwich and took a bite. She giggled as Konata blushed from the indirect kiss. _Soft underbelly: hit._ Kagami thought to herself.

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

Tsukasa's cheeks were still a bit redder than before. It confused Tony to no end, her actions continued to get looser, more accidents like earlier continued to happen. Tsukasa giggled.

"Kan-kun, do you know when I first started 'liking' you?" Tsukasa asked, putting emphasis on the word like. Tony raised an eyebrow, as this topic was entirely random.

"I can't say that I do." Tony smiled. He had wondered before, but never thought to actually ask.

"From the moment you complimented my singing after the bar that day, my feelings started." She said dismissedly. "Speaking of that time." She seemed to get down to business. Tony gulped. "Why DID you come to the bar that day?" She asked Tony. Tony gasped sharply. He scratched his head.

"Tsukasa..." He mumbled. "Could we... not talk about that right now?" Tony asked. Tsukasa folded her arms and stared at him.

"You told me that we were basically your only friends. You and Onee-chan were the only ones who weren't with us. I didn't think about it until now though!" Tsukasa insisted. "What's up with that?" She demanded. There was an uncommon fire in her voice, one that seemed very out of character for her. It set Tony on edge with caution. At this point, it was anyone's guess how Tsukasa would react to anything Tony said.

"Tsukasa..." Tony sighed. "I'm going to tell you the truth. That's what two people who are dating do." He bowed his head. Tsukasa shifted forward a bit.

"What ever it is, I promise I won't get mad." Tsukasa said. Tony chuckled humorlessly.

"You might not want to make promises I don't know that you can keep." He said. "Alright then. The truth is this..." Tony stopped for a moment. He looked around. _Anything gonna interrupt this dramatic moment? This is usually the part where something interrupts me so that I don't have to confess this._ He continued to look around.

"Stop stalling!" Tsukasa shouted. Tony shrunk a bit as if struck, eyes closed.

"Alright!" He said. "Look, before I tell you, nothing came of it!" Tony said.

"Tell me!" Tsukasa yelled.

"I went on a date with Kagami!" Tony held his eyes closed for a moment. He let one open a crack to see her reaction.

"What happened." Tsukasa said. She looked oddly calm, but the tone of her voice suggested something entirely different. Tony sighed.

"Nothing." He said. Tsukasa seemed angry at this answer.

"What do you mean "nothing"? I want to know what happened between you two!" Tsukasa shouted. Tony looked around at the people looking at them. He woven a spell that drained a bubble around them of any gas. Without the median in between, sound would find it much more difficult to get outside.

"Nothing happened Tsukasa, I brought her to Club Harie. I told her I liked her as more than a friend, but please... It was a long before I really knew you. She was in a daze the entire time, I don't think we even touched the entire time. When I say nothing, I meant nothing Tsukasa. I love you." He said. Tsukasa sniffed as Tony noticed, on further inspection, that there was a small tear trailing down her cheek.

"If... if you say nothing happened..." She cried a bit.

"Nothing happened." Tony said. _How can I make her see?_ Tony wondered. He got up and walked over. Tsukasa backed up a bit, as if scared of Tony now. It broke his heart. He put his hand to her head, causing her to flinch. "Tsukasa, trust me." He said, bending until he was looking into her eyes. She opened her eyes and looked into his. Tony breathed and began to recall the events of that day, transmitting his own thoughts to her mind. She panicked for a moment as memories not her own invaded her mind. Tony cut the link when he walked into the bar that Tsukasa had been in. Tsukasa blinked as she began making sense of what she had just seen. Her head took about twenty seconds to finally put everything in order, though it felt like twenty years to Tony. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"Kan-kun..." She said quietly.

"Tsu-chan..." Tony repeated as he lifted the spell keeping their conversation from being overheard, unable to take the stress on his mind from keeping the spell active along with what he was feeling from the drama.

"Kan-kun!" She hugged onto Tony around the neck and started crying. Tony, surprised by the sudden burst of emotions, hugged her back. Tony felt a warmth, mostly in the cheek Tsukasa was pressed against. He suddenly realized that they were again causing a scene in the middle of the restaurant. There was a large applause coming from around them after a moment of the two hugging, Tsukasa crying while Tony rubbed her back and spoke comforting words to her.

"I told you that I love you Tsukasa." Tony said. Tsukasa sniffed and back up a bit so she could look in his eyes.

"I love you too." She kissed him. The applause grew.

* * *

**POV Konata**

"Oh man, I'm SO full!" Konata patted her stomach and leaned sideways into the booth. Kagami giggled.

"Oh, you know you're not Kona." She rolled her eyes with a smile. Konata sat back up and smiled.

"Yeah, but it was still good." She smiled. They were interrupted as a man came over to the table.

"Hey babe, haven't I seen you some place before?" He asked, addressing Kagami. The Tsundere looked up at him.

"Yeah, that's why I don't go there anymore." She said, though not recognizing him. He scoffed and walked off to a group of guys. Kagami looked at Konata and smiled.

"That was awesome Kagamin." Konata giggled.

"Why thank you Kona." Kagami said. Suddenly, another boy was on them. He turned to Konata.

"Hey, is this seat empty?" He asked. Konata sighed.

"Yes, and this one will be too if you sit down." She said. He growled.

"Hey, what's your problem? We just want to show you girls a good time! We know how to please a girl." He said.

"Then please leave us alone." Kagami said, clearly annoyed by now. Konata could see this.

"And if I don't want to?" He asked, now annoying Konata. She stood up.

"Hey, you gamble?" She asked. The boy squinted his eyes.

"Yeah... why?" He asked.

"How about a little wager?" Konata asked. The boy raised an eyebrow.

"What kind of wager?" He asked.

"10,000 yen. Am I left handed or right handed?" Konata held both her hands out. The boy got a confused look.

"Well how am I supposed to know that?" He asked. Konata smirked.

"I'll give you a hint." She punched him in the stomach, then uppercut him. He was sent on his back.

"Akihiko!" The other boys shouted as they started running over. Konata glanced over to see they were tensed as people normally become when they attack someone. She took her stance, but the lot of them stopped cold in their tracks, shivering in fear of something. Konata smiled and got out of her stance. She looked back and nodded at Kagami, but Kagami wasn't looking at the Otaku. She looked just as scared as the boys. Konata followed the Tsundere's gaze to see Masutā, revolver drawn, hammer back, and pointed at the boys.

"Think before you try and attack people, _boys_." He said in a demeaning, yet authoritative tone. To the ones it was directed at, the tone completely uprooted any sense that this man was bluffing or that they could really do anything that would threaten him. "If I think for a second you're gonna hurt these girls, I won't hesitate to pull this trigger." He said. By the sound of his voice, all three of the girls could tell he was obviously not bluffing. The boys all held up their hands.

"C-calm down man... W-we just wanted to pick up our friend and leave..." One of them said. Masutā scoffed at the boys.

"Like hell. I know what it looks like to tense muscles in preparation. Now, it wouldn't take all of you to carry him, why would all of you tense your muscles?" Masutā asked rhetorically. "Besides, I saw three of you looking at her with a vengeful gleam in your eye." He gestured at three of the boys with his gun. "Now, come pick up your friend and get out of here." He said. The boys approached slowly and picked up their fallen friend. They left. Masutā put his gun near his waist after lowering the hammer, and it was gone. No one saw where, but it was gone. There was a collective sigh of relief. Konata walked over to him as Miyuki sighed.

"Hey, I could have taken care of them you know." She said.

"How did you even get a gun anyway?" Kagami asked.

"Excuse me, do you have a computer I can use?" Miyuki asked one of the staff. They seemed to think and sighed.

"There's one in the back, I'll show it to you." He led her to the computer she more than likely wasn't supposed to be using. She was just too polite and cute to refuse. She started clicking away.

"Answer me! What you just did was illegal!" Kagami walked over and confronted Masutā. He chuckled.

"I'm a veteran. Nobody's going to catch me without a gun. Me and this revolver have been through hell and back. When I went through, hell hadn't frozen over, so I'm not leaving my friend." He said. "Besides, they're not gonna find it." He smiled. Konata looked at him and began mentally scanning him. There were no disturbances in his clothes or any other things that would suggest he had a concealed weapon.

"Thank you." Miyuki bowed.

"No problem, just don't tell anyone I let ya use it." The staff member chuckled.

"I won't tell anyone." Miyuki smiled as she walked back to her place beside Masutā. Konata and Kagami looked at each other and shrugged. They walked back to their booth.

"I guess we should get back to our date." Konata smiled.

"Of course. We've had enough distractions." Kagami said.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tsukasa's face was the color of beetroot. Still, Tony had not said anything to make her blush.

"Tsukasa, are you okay? Your face is all flushed." Tony asked. Tsukasa giggled oddly.

"I'm fine Kan-kun! Ask me how do I feel." Tsukasa stood up. Tony got VERY alarmed as to why she was asking this and why she was walking over to him. She had been acting growingly different since the toast they had made earlier.

"How do you feel?" He asked. She sat in his lap.

"Ask me now that we're cozy and clinging~!" She put her hands around his neck. "Well sir!" She let go and stood up. "All I can say is if I were a bell I'd be ringing!" She twirled around on one foot rather haphazardly. She stopped herself so that she was looking at Tony. "From the moment we kissed "Good Night!", that's the way I just got to behave boy!" She approached Tony and turned to the side. Tony noticed her movements were very sloppy... "If I were a lamp, I'd light!" She swung her arm out as if to stretch it, but swung too low and punched Tony in the face. "And if I were a banner, I'd wave~!" She spun again. "Ask me how do I feel, little me with my quiet upbringing!" She pranced away a few steps near an empty table. She spun yet again to see Tony. "Well sir!" She reached up and grabbed the hanging light above the table. "All I can say is if I were a gate, I'd be swinging!" She let herself swing around, supported only by the one precariously placed foot and the wire of the light. Tony, alarmed by Tsukasa's erratic behavior, rushed over and caught her before her swing took her into the table. He placed her back on her feet. "And if I were a watch, I'd start~ POPPING my springs!" On popping, she swung her arms from in front of her to her sides, Tony barely catching the hand before it struck him again. She used his grip to swing her other hand around and grasp his hand with both of hers. "Or! If I were a bell, I'd go ding dong, ding dong, ding!" She swung their hands around. She pranced over and jumped onto a table occupied by another couple. Panicking slightly since he didn't know what to do, or even if this was maybe appropriate dating etiquette for a first date since it was so unlike her to act like this, Tony rushed over and barely propped his hands onto her back before she lost her balance. "Ask me how do I feel from this chemistry lesson I'm learning!" Tsukasa managed to right herself.

"Chemistry?" Tony asked, a confused look on his face.

"Yeah, chemistry!" Tsukasa asserted before she spun. While she spun, Tony mouthed a panicked apology to the patrons. They seemed as confused as he did. "All I can say is if I were a bridge, I'd be burning!" Tsukasa shouted and let herself begin to fall forward. Tony made to catch her, but she jumped and stuck the landing. She started approaching Tony with a very odd gleam in her eye. It sent an uncomfortable shiver down Tony's spine. "Yes, I knew my morale would CRACK!" She held her hands up grabbed Tony's outfit forcefully. "From the wonderful way that you looked!" She let go. "Boy~, if I were a duck, I'd quack!" Tsukasa took her hand and opened and closed it to simulate a duck's quack. While the gesture was exceedingly cute, Tony was still alarmed. "Or if I were a goose, I'd be cooked!" She danced a bit before letting herself fall. Tony ran over and caught her. "Ask me how do I feel, ask me now that we're fondly caressing..." Tsukasa wrapped her arms around Tony's neck and rubbed his cheek. "How?" She smacked him on the chest and walked away for a moment. "If I were a salad, I KNOW I'd be splashing my dressing!" Tsukasa took the edge of her dress and waved it a bit. She pranced back to Tony's side. "Ask me how to describe this whole, beautiful thing!" She swung her arms out again and caught Tony against the chest. She put her arms on his shoulders and he on her sides. Deciding to just go along with who he felt knew more about this kind of thing than him, he raised her onto their table. "Well, if I were a bell, I'd go ding! Dong! Ding! Dong! DING!" She shouted, throwing her arms out and started to fall back. Tony caught her and brought her into his arms. She was giggling giddily.

"Hey you two, you have to leave immediately! Don't you ever come back here!" The owner of the restaurant came out and shouted at the two. Tony, seeing Tsukasa seemed quite done, could feel heat radiating from the girl. Paying no attention to the man yelling for security, Tony felt her forehead.

"Tsukasa, you're burning up!" Tony shouted in alarm. _I knew it! Totally called it!_ Tony shouted in frustration in his head.

"You're pretty hot yourself Kan-kun..." Tsukasa giggled. As the security came to escort the two out, Tony took the initiative and apparated the two to Tsukasa's house, where there was an experienced mother who could take care of his lover.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

"Kona, we keep getting side tracked!" Kagami complained.

"I know Kagamin, but-" The door opened. A couple of men that Konata recognized walked in. "Hey, I know them!" Konata said. Kagami sighed.

_More distractions... I guess that's the norm though._ Kagami smiled.

"I bumped into him at the tournament." Konata clarified. Kagami looked over at the two men. One of the men pointed at the couple. The other one sighed.

"Wattono you bastard, how are ya?" Masutā shouted. The man who pointed walked over to Masutā.

"Man, what's the chance of meeting you here?" Wattono asked.

"You know each other?" Miyuki asked.

"Yeah, we went into the Jieitai together, though he became a doctor. I went into the Special Forces." Masutā explained to Miyuki. She nodded, but was now a bit distracted as Kanarazu walked up to the girls. Kagami smiled and held out a hand, which he shook. He looked her over for an instant.

"When's the first date?" Kanarazu asked. Kagami blushed and widened her eyes.

"What?" She asked. Kanarazu looked to Konata and back to Kagami.

"When's the first date?" He asked again. Kagami turned to Konata.

"You told this stranger about us?" Kagami shouted. Konata looked confused.

"Nothing. I never told him anything..." Konata said. Kagami looked back at Kanarazu in disbelief.

"Then... how?" She asked. Kanarazu took a breath and started explaining at almost super sonic speeds.

"The way you hold yourself. You're obviously a Tsundere. You're type A, using Tsuntsun as a default setting, you yelled at the first provocation. You approached me first, however, a trait not common among type A's. You approached me from your right side, but you're left handed, right is the side the girl is on." Kanarazu started.

"How do you know I'm left handed?" Kagami asked. Kanarazu rolled his eyes as if this was easy and a waste of time.

"Everything in the room points to left handedness, on the glass, the condensation is disturbed on the left hand side, knife with jelly on the right side because you spread it with your left hand, silverware on the left hand side, now may I continue?" Kanarazu asked impatiently. Kagami blinked a few times and nodded. "However, you're still relatively awkward about a lesbian relationship in public, hence why you yelled, signifying you're still new to the relationship. I'd say one-no, half a week at most. You're the dominant one in the relationship, or you will be, you stepped forward first and besides that's the kind of girl she would attract. Your blood type is AB, you're cool, rational, but your personality is a split. The ring on your left hand, obviously cleaned regularly, last was just this morni-at noon. Your ring finger on your left hand is slightly smaller than the rest, you've taken that ring off quite often, more than likely to clean it. The gem stone is a... Burmese ruby, something the girl bought for you. You obviously care about that ring a great deal, it drew you the very moment you set eyes on it. Your birthday is in... early July, the month that ruby is the stone for, so you naturally would be drawn to it. I'd say on Tanabata. You live in Washimiya, far from your girlfriend, with-" He looked at Kagami's sleeves. "two-three-four sisters, or three sisters and a mother who's like a sister. You're used to having to fight for what you get, being the older of fraternal twins, you must have felt it natural, so naturally when you were given something with such value, you accepted it with zeal." Kanarazu had said all of this with a very fast pace that made it almost difficult to follow. He paused to take a breath.

"Ho... Fraternal twins. How?" Kagami asked, speechless as this man picked apart her life from a handshake. Kanarazu used his free hand to pick a lilac hair off of Kagami's shoulder. Honestly, it had blended in with the outfit, Kagami hadn't even seen it.

"The hair, same color as yours, but much shorter. Your hair and eye colors are almost exactly the same, however you're insecure about your age already, which means you're the older of the two. Your hair is long and in pigtails, both signs that you wish for youth, while your younger sister has short hair, almost a bob cut you could say." Kanarazu said. Kagami was still bewildered at how he knew all of this about her sister by a hair... Here, Kanarazu used the grip he still had on her hand to turn it over palm side up. "Your hands are very smooth, though you have light, almost undetectable scars. Obviously you don't do much, if any housework, though you try, your cooking is far from par, you cut yourself often. You still have several cuts that haven't fully healed." He traced four lines on her hand. "Cutting vegetables I'd guess, you cut yourself four times, the knife went askew because the vegetables were harder than you thought. The angle of entry. Too random." He answered before she could ask how he knew, and retraced them in different angles, the exact angle that Kagami had cut herself while she had been at Konata's house the day before the festival. "Luckily, this one-" He pointed out one of the cuts. "- is the only one that will scar, and it will be faint. However..." He took her hand and pointed at the index finger. "You're either a guitar player, or an avid reader. You do not play the guitar, you read, your pupils are slightly dilated, they're trying to gather as much light as possible, your eyesight is slightly less than 20/20, none of your other fingers have that same type of mark either, the kind you get from turning thousands on thousands of pages. That girl-" He pointed at Konata. "-is the only person who can relate to what you read." He said. "When's the first date?" He asked again. Kagami blinked.

"We-we're kind of on it..." She mumbled.

"Excellent..." Miyuki mumbled. Kanarazu looked over at her.

"Elementary." He said.

"Who...What did you say your name was again?" Miyuki asked.

"Kanarazu Joumae." Kanarazu said. Miyuki gasped.

"THE Kanarazu Joumae? Writer of The Science of Deduction?" Miyuki asked.

"Yes." He answered.

"I must have read that book a thousand times, I could recite it in its entirety by heart! You're a genius, you're an inspiration!" Miyuki said, an uncommon fire in her eyes.

"And you're observant." Kanarazu replied. Miyuki looked giddy. Everyone who knew her was a bit confounded, as this was NOT a common sight at all.

"Thank you so much. May I just say that it is an honor to meet you." Miyuki bowed to such a degree, her hair would have fallen mostly on the ground had she not caught it beforehand.

"Hey Kona?" Kagami turned to Konata.

"What's up Kagamin?" Konata asked.

"Well, this diner is apparently a pretty common place. I really kind of wanted it to be just us, you know?" Kagami asked, sighing. Konata smiled and nodded.

"I understand. Want to pay for our meal and go?" She asked. Kagami smiled.

"Yeah. Thanks Kona." Kagami smiled as the two paid their bill. They walked to the door and turned to see their friends one last time before leaving. Kanarazu was looking intently at Masutā.

"You were in Pakistan." Kanarazu said. Masutā looked alarmed, the same way he did when he first met the girls.

"And you're not supposed to know about that." He said. Konata and Kagami exchanged one final confused glance before they walked out.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony paced in the hallway, anxiously awaiting a status report on his girlfriend while Matsuri and Inori watched him. Miki came out of Tsukasa's room.

"She has a high fever, but she's sleeping now. Don't worry." Miki said.

"You think a doctor is necessary?" Tony asked.

"Dr. Zimmerman is already on his way." Miki said.

"Thank you Mom." Tony smiled.

"It's no problem." Miki smiled. "If I'm right though, she should be okay in a few days and you can see her then." She said, breaking bad news gently. Tony paused a beat.

"Okay, no." He said. "I'm healing her soon as Dr. Zimmerman gets here to diagnose it. That way, if it's something big, I won't accidentally kill myself trying to heal it." Tony said.

"Didn't you bring her out of a coma?" Miki asked.

"Yeah, with energy from the environment in every room of the hospital and the surrounding atmosphere helping, a very dangerous thing to attempt mid-spell. Besides that, I still had to continue drawing energy from who knows where." Tony sighed. "It felt like my life was being forcefully, slowly drained out of me." Tony shuddered as he remembered the sensation.

"Oh, okay then." Miki smiled. There was a knock at the door. "Here he is." She bustled over to the door.

"You seem worried." Matsuri smiled.

"Of course I'm worried! My girlfriend has a high fever and we don't even know what caused it! Geez, every damn time we have a good time, one of us ends up sick or in the hospital." Tony complained.

"Don't worry. You're gonna be alright." Matsuri put a hand on his shoulder. He looked over into her eyes and felt oddly reassured.

"... Thanks." He smiled. Dr. Zimmerman walked by.

"No kiss today Mr. Otokonoko? You must be losing your magic touch." He said.

"I was just waiting for you to diagnose it so that we know what caused it. One does not simply "catch" a fever with no other symptoms of illness." Tony said. Zimmerman nodded.

"Very true. I'll see for myself." Zimmerman entered the room. Tony sighed.

"And now we play the waiting game..." He said. He sighed and continued pacing.

"Come on worrywart, you're gonna heal her." Inori put her hand on Tony's shoulder, as did Matsuri.

"Come into the living room." Matsuri said forcefully as they guided him into the living room with Miki and Tadao. Tony sighed.

"Alright..." He said.

"You should try and get your mind off it. Her fever isn't life threatening, so as long as you'll be able to heal her, there's nothing to worry about, right?" Miki asked reassuringly. Tony smiled.

"... Yeah! Hey, that does bring a question to mind though. Zimmerman... Is he a family doctor or something?" Tony asked.

"Kind of. He's actually American. Dr. Zimmerman studied overseas and we were his first patients after coming to Saitama." Miki explained.

"Ah, gotcha... Not much of a bedside manner though, huh?" Tony chuckled. Tadao chuckled.

"No, but you can trust that if he tells you something, it's absolutely true." He said.

"Alrighty then." Tony sighed.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

"Kagamin, wanna go for a walk in the park?" Konata asked. Kagami smiled.

"I'd love to Kona." She said. Konata grabbed Kagami's hand as they walked. "What do you think our siblings are doing about now?" Kagami asked. She was starting to get a bit of a sick feeling in her stomach, but she was absolutely determined not to let it get in the way of her date. She was going to have a good time with the girl she loved if it killed her.

"Hmmm..." Konata put a finger to her lip. "Throes of passion in his bed?" She looked up to her Tsundere. Kagami's face burst into a deep blush of red.

"That's..." She muttered.

"Not too absurd considering how fast those two fell for each other, huh?" Konata was giving a catgrin under a couple lazy eyes. Kagami waited a beat.

"Um... I don't know that I should be thinking about Tsukasa that way..." Kagami mumbled as the two arrived at the park. The two just began walking slower. Konata leaned on Kagami's shoulder, never letting go of her hand. Kagami sighed in pure joy as she leaned on Konata's head. They walked for a while, barely paying attention to their surroundings. The two were content to just walk and enjoy each other's company. Kagami loved the solitude the two shared at the moment, but she knew it was fleeting. Sure enough, Konata had her eyes on something after about ten minutes. Kagami followed her little love's line of sight to see there was a small group of people, presumably friends considering how they were hanging out and talking.

"Kagamin..." Konata said.

"What's got you so intrigued about those people?" Kagami asked. Konata giggled softly.

"It's not the people. I had an idea." She smiled up at Kagami, who looked confusedly back. Konata let go of Kagami's hand reluctantly and looked over. Kagami looked again to see two ducks waddling around. "Ready to see something hopefully hilarious?" Konata asked. Kagami raised an eyebrow.

"Go for it." She gave Konata permission. Konata smiled as she started running. She ran fast enough that she caught up to the ducks quickly. She bent over and picked one of them up. The group of people looked over and snickered as Kagami raised her eyebrow again.

"No time to explain! Get the other duck!" Konata shouted to the group. They all looked at each other and chuckled as one of the males ran over and picked up the other duck. The group began running after the male as he followed Konata, who was currently running away with the first duck. She ducked into a small forest near them, the group quickly following. Kagami was currently doubled over laughing. She looked up through her tears of laughter to see the last of the group disappearing into the woods. She calmed down a bit and waited for a moment. A pang of worry ran through her as time marched by at a painfully slow pace. Finally, Konata walked back out of the forest with empty hands. Kagami got a confused look as Konata walked up with a smile.

"Kona? What happened?" Kagami asked. "Where's the duck? Where are the people?"

"I dunno where they went, but I dropped the duck off at that small pond in there." Konata pointed her thumb at the woods. She giggled.

"Aren't you worried about them?" Kagami asked.

"Nah, I'm sure that duck knows it's way back if it wants." She grabbed Kagami's hand and began walking again, laying her head on Kagami's shoulder.

"You know that's not what I meant Kona." Kagami said softly. Konata giggled softly.

"I'm sure they wouldn't have followed me if they didn't know their way back. Besides, if worst comes to worst, they can always eat each other." She said as if there was nothing wrong with her statement. Finished with their walk, they came to an unspoken decision by the dark sky that it was sufficiently late. They also mutually understood that Konata, being the much more athletic one of the two, would be the one to drop off the other. They both set out towards Kagami's house.

"That's..." Kagami trailed off again. "You're lucky you're cute." Kagami decided she would say instead of whatever else she was going to say. Konata giggled lazily, but otherwise seemed to deem no response fit. There was a moment where neither said anything, again simply being so close to each other was enough to satisfy them.

"Kagamin..." Konata said.

"Yeah?" Kagami asked.

"Five hundred yen says we get attacked by thugs again." Konata said. Kagami giggled lazily.

"Sometimes I wonder if you can be serious for once..." Kagami said.

"I tried it once. Everyone laughed." Konata said.

"Sounds about right..." Kagami mumbled. The two arrived, the park being not entirely too far from the Hiiragi house. Kagami and Konata put air between the two and held each other's hands, looking into each other's eyes.

"...Kagamin?" Konata asked. Kagami smiled.

"I love you Kona." Kagami started to lean in.

"I love you too Kagamin." Konata leaned up. The two softly, but passionately kissed, fully on the lips. The same feeling of ecstasy that enraptured Kagami the first time came back with almost overwhelming force. The two stayed connected for a minute before they needed to break for air. They looked into each other's eyes once again, neither willing to separate for a moment, let alone the rest of the night. Finally, Kagami realized they would be there all night.

"Good night Kona..." Kagami said lovingly. She let go, but moved a hand to run it through the Otaku's hair. Konata smiled and closed her eyes.

"Good night Kagamin." Konata sighed as she let go and backed up so she could look at her girlfriend as she headed home. Kagami stayed watching outside until well after Konata was out of sight. Konata turned around and smiled. "YES!" She shouted at the top of her lungs as she began sprinting home at abnormal speeds. Not only that, she found that she wasn't close to fatigued, as if Kagami's kiss gave her power that surpassed Hachiman's. She was home in short order, still not even breathing heavy. She looked over at Tony's house. _He must still be out..._ She thought as there were no lights on. Then a thought occurred to her. _That or those two really ARE in the throes of passion. _She giggled as she entered her house. She didn't even stop to say anything to anyone that may or may not be awake. She ran into her room and immediately plopped on her bed. _That was so much fun. Kagami loves me..._ She thought in disbelief at how amazing her life had gotten. _Kagami loves me..._ She repeated one last time before she sighed contently and dozed off.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

"Hey guys, I'm back." Kagami entered her house.

"Hey Imoto! Welcome back!" Matsuri shouted from the living room. Kagami smiled as she entered. Seeing Tony sitting with her family watching TV sent her through a bit of a loop.

"Tony? What's up?" She asked.

"Tsukasa got a fever. We're waiting on Dr. Zimmerman to diagnose it so I know what I'm up against healing wise." Tony said. Kagami nodded.

"Gotcha. How did it go otherwise?" Kagami asked. Tony smiled and looked at Kagami.

"Amazing, but the fever did affect some of our date. And..." He said.

"Go on." Kagami urged. Tony sighed.

"Sabe que nos fuimos a una cita." He said. Kagami's face paled.  
(She knows that we went on a date.)

"Cómo lo ha tomado?" She asked, walking over and taking a seat as well.  
(How did she take it?)

"Tuve que mostrarle mis recuerdos de convencerla de que nada pasó entre nosotros." Tony said. Kagami raised an eyebrow.  
(I ended up having to show her my memories to convince her that nothing happened between us.)

"Usted puede hacer eso?" Kagami asked. Tony nodded his head.  
(You can do that?)

"Other than that, mine and Tsukasa's date was fantastic. I loved just about every minute of it." He said.

"Well that's cool. Me and Kona had the most wonderful time... But your brother might be getting arrested." Kagami said. Tony did a double take.

"What? Why?" He asked.

"I'll explain later, I just thought you would want to know for now." Kagami said. Tony sighed.

"Fine then. So what did you two d-" The close of a door interrupted him. He looked hopefully to see Dr. Zimmerman.

"She's resting. Apparently, she had an allergic reaction to the medicine I gave to her." Dr. Zimmerman said. "You may go heal her now Mr. Otokonoko." He said to Tony.

"Thanks a lot Doc. You have no idea how much I wanted to hear those words." Tony got up. He walked a step or two before turning around. "Please excuse me." He bowed as he left to go heal Tsukasa. Matsuri leaned over close to Kagami.

"Así que ustedes dos fue a una cita, ¿eh?" She asked. Kagami blushed.  
(So you two went on a date, huh?)

"You speak Spanish?" Kagami asked. Matsuri nodded her head.

"A little. I got enough information to assume from what I understood." Matsuri smiled. Kagami pouted.

"Hmph." She looked away. Matsuri giggled.

"You can pretty cute just like Imoto..." She told Kagami. "But still... You and him?" She asked seriously.

"Can we talk about this later Matsuri?" Kagami hid her eyes in her bangs.

"Okay then Imoto..." Matsuri said. Inori tapped Matsuri on the shoulder.

"What are you two talking about?" She asked.

"Nothing, don't worry about it." Matsuri answered.

"Alright." Inori turned back to the television. Tony came back out.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony opened the door to see a half asleep Tsukasa. She looked tired enough as to make it look as though the simplest movements took a great deal of effort. She turned her head towards Tony.

"Don't come in Kan-kun... I'm sick..." She mumbled quietly.

"No you're not, you're just having an allergic reaction to some medicine you took?" Tony asked. "You needed medicine?" He asked.

"For migraines that happen when people come out of comas." She mumbled in as lethargic a tone as before.

"I'm surprised he wouldn't have checked that you're allergic to the medication." Tony said, walking over and sitting down.

"He did... I guess they just didn't have records of this allergy..." Tsukasa mumbled quieter now that Tony was closer.

"Well, I'd like to see if I can heal you. May I?" Tony asked permission. Tsukasa smiled.

"Thanks. Sure." Tsukasa nodded her approval. Tony walked over and put a hand on her arm.

_Hm..._ He felt with his mind. He could feel abnormalities he assumed was the medicine that was having the bad effect on her system. Currently, most of the medicine particles were in heated battle with her immune system. He bit his lip. He didn't feel comfortable eliminating particles so close to the antibodies keeping Tsukasa well. He thought for a moment. "Alright Tsukasa, this is gonna make you sleepy." He said.

"Kan-kun, wait." Tsukasa requested. Tony stopped short of beginning the new spell he was going to cast.

"Tsukasa?" He looked up into her eyes. They were streaming small trails of tears into her pillow.

"I'm sorry I ruined our date." She apologized. Tony felt cut to the soul.

"You didn't ruin the date Tsu-chan." Tony smiled reassuringly to his ill girlfriend.

"I did, you had to take me home." Tsukasa continued to cry.

"I was getting tired anyway. Don't worry your cute little head about a thing." Tony patted her head.

"Stop trying to make me feel better! It was our first date and I ruined it!" Tsukasa cried. Tony sighed.

"Tsukasa, I spent a wonderful time with the girl I love more than anything else in the world. If you call that a ruined date, please ruin them all." Tony said. Tsukasa sniffed.

"Do... do you mean that?" She asked. Tony smiled.

"Of course. Tsu-chan, when you cry, you bring on the rain. So stop your sighing, be happy again!" Tony smiled. "'Cause when you're smiling, the whole world smiles with you." He said. Tsukasa's lips curled into a small smile despite her discomfort.

"Thanks Kan-kun." She smiled.

"I love you Tsukasa." Tony said.

"I love you too." She laid back in the bed and closed her eyes. "I'm ready." She said. Tony smiled.

"How about you make it easier on me." He said. Tsukasa opened her eyes.

"How?" She asked. Tony took a breath and leaned down. He kissed her, pouring energy to fuel the spell he cast. He didn't cast a spell that would eradicate the medicine, but instead strengthened Tsukasa's immune system until the medicine was gone. Seeing the abundance of energy he had left even after teleporting to the Hiiragi house and his previous spell, he decided to include a spell that would numb a migraine should it return, sanctioning off half his energy for that specific use. Finally, he made the spell make her sleepy until she fell asleep. He broke the kiss and saw her smiling. She yawned.

"Kissing while casting is more effective." Tony winked. Tsukasa giggled sleepily.

"You'll have to cast stuff on me more often..." She said before she dozed off. Tony yawned. The spell had ended up taking a lot out of him. He shook his head to wake himself up and stood up. He walked out of the room after giving one last loving look at his sleeping girlfriend. He walked out to the living room.

"Tsukasa's asleep. She should be well by tomorrow, but please don't wake her up. It would only cause her discomfort." Tony said.

"Thank you very much. We can never thank you for everything you've done for us." Tadao said. Tony smiled.

"You accepting Kagami was thanks enough for me." He said. "Besides, you all are like family to me now. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you guys."

"If you ever need anything, just let us know!" Matsuri shouted after him as he began to leave. He smiled over his shoulder.

"Will do. Thank you." He said appreciatively. He walked out of the house.

"I think I'm gonna go to bed guys." Kagami smiled and got up.

"Good night Imoto." Matsuri smiled.

"Glad you had a good time with Konata!" Inori said.

"Thanks. Good night everyone!" Kagami bade as she walked into her room. She looked at her bed and smiled widely. She sighed happily and plopped into her bed. _My life is brilliant... My love is pure... I saw an angel... Of that, I'm sure..._ She thought to herself. _Kona loves me..._ The thought filled her with joy. _Kona loves me..._ She thought one last time before letting sleep take her.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony, even with the exhaustion from the spell he had cast, felt absolutely amazing. He didn't have the energy to apparate home, but he could walk home just as easily. He was currently going back over his and Tsukasa's date in his mind. Once he got to the point he gave her the amulet back, it gave him an idea. A fantastic idea.

_What if I enchanted more things for summoning, but at will and not triggered by a specific event like danger? Something I could use for faster travel, maybe even combat use! Hm..._ He began thinking. His first idea was bullets. However, he dismissed the idea once he realized bullets could only be used once. His next thought was arrows. He dismissed THAT thought once he thought about how difficult it would be to carry a bow with him. _Throwing knives._ He smiled. Perfect. He could enchant throwing knives to make him able to teleport to them at will. If he hit someone with them and it stuck, he'd also be able to teleport to his opponent at any point it was still on them. Conveniently, he still had some of his old training knives at his house. He would only have to sharpen his skills with them so he could use them effectively. _Hehe. Sharpen._ He snickered at his pun. _This will be fun. I'll have to wake up early and work on my skill with throwing them. That way, I'll be able to use them in fights._ Tony smiled. That also took care of the problem of if he misjudged distances between two visible points. He could simply throw the blade, then teleport to it. He liked that idea. He arrived home and walked in.

"Hey Otōto." Masutā said.

"Hey Aniki, what's up?" Tony asked.

"Not much, I saw Konata and Kagami on their date." Masutā smirked.

"Really? How did that go?" Tony asked excitedly.

"I think it went very, very well for them, but me and Miyuki kinda distracted them and they ended up leaving..." Masutā chuckled.

"You and Miyuki? You two go on a date too?" Tony asked.

"What? No!" Masutā said defensively. "We were just celebrating because we did the math and my job will keep them out of debt!" He said.

"Well what else happened?" Tony asked.

"A couple of guys were going to come attack Konata, so I stopped them if that counts as something." Masutā chuckled. Tony blinked.

"What? Was she overwhelmed or something? They must have been skilled fighters..." Tony commented. Masutā got a confused look.

"Why?" He asked.

"Konata is a master martial artist. She beat up fifteen other martial artists by herself, she even accidentally almost killed one of them!" Tony said.

"Oh. Well..." Masutā scratched his head.

"Did you beat them up?" Tony chuckled.

"No, people here are very scared when you point a gun at them." Masutā chuckled, his revolver suddenly in his hand. Tony's eyes widened.

"Hey, I don't know much about the law, but I do know that Japan has a VERY strict gun policy. That diner you guys went to most likely had cameras and surveillance systems. They can arrest you, man!" Tony said. Masutā chuckled again as his gun disappeared into nowhere.

"Actually, they do have a surveillance. Their video is digitally saved." Masutā said.

"And? That means they have you on record!" Tony said.

"No they don't. Miyuki hacked into their system and set in a bug that would erase that day's surveillance the next time the files were accessed. It would look like a computer error." Masutā chuckled.

"She... She can do that?" Tony asked.

"Miyuki is extremely smart. To be honest, I wouldn't have thought that was something she could do, or even would do if she could! But she did to help me out." Masutā smiled.

"Dude, she likes you. She could get in major trouble if she were caught." Tony said.

"Well..." Masutā mumbled. Tony perked up even more.

"Yes? Go on! Well what?" Tony asked. Masutā sighed.

"She said that since I was helping out so much and contributing so much to their rent, I was free to go live with them. She even had asked her mother before hand and her mother approved." Masutā said.

"What? Holy crap! She asked you to move in with them?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, and blushing pretty heavily while doing it. What do you think? I hate to make you think I don't like living here, or that I don't appreciate you letting me live here, but-"

"Go ahead Aniki. This isn't an issue, I know how much you and Miyuki enjoy each other's company." Tony smiled. Masutā did too.

"Thanks Otōto." He said.

"The only condition is that I could use some more dengen." Tony laughed.

"Done and done! And maybe I could get some of Tsukasa's cooking sometime!" Masutā laughed. "I know what you mean when you compliment her. She made chicken and rice taste heavenly!"

"I know, right?" Tony laughed. "Alrighty... So now all that's left is for you to pack then, huh?" Tony asked. Masutā sighed.

"I guess... I told her I'd see if I could..." Masutā said.

"Oh, one thing Aniki!" Tony said.

"What's up?" Masutā asked.

"Do you have any throwing knives I could have? I had a great idea for a way I can drastically increase my fighting with them!" Tony said.

"Sure thing, I prefer a gun or bow anyway." Masutā smiled. He walked over to his bag and went through it so long, Tony would have thought it had formerly belonged to Mary Poppins had Masutā not finally found the throwing knives. He handed them to Tony. "Here ya go Otōto. I'm guess this brilliant strategy involves throwing them?" Masutā laughed.

"Yep! I won't bore you with the details, but it's pretty epic. In any case, I think I'm gonna go to bed. Thank you Aniki." Tony said.

"It's no problem Otōto." Masutā smiled. "Have a good night."

"Good night Aniki." Tony walked into his room. He laid into his bed after putting the knives on a table nearby. He smiled to himself. _I don't think I did too bad for my first real date! Especially with the cutest girl in existence... _Tony thought as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya Luckies! I'm Akira Kogami, your navigator!"

"And I'm Minoru Shiraishi, the assistant!"

"Guys! This is a mostly unrestrained chapter! Did you know, the first time that the writer wrote a full day in one chapter, it was only 3,516 words long? Look how long it is now that the gloves are off!" Akira shouted.

"That's incredible Akira!" Minoru said.

"Right? This scaled all the way up to 22,000! And still there were a couple scenes not completely gone into because it was taking over a month to get this chapter out! It's alright though, I saw those sections, they were boring." Akira sa- Hey!

"What were they Akira?" Minoru asked.

"Oh, just stuff about all of their innermost, precious feelings. Did you know there was originally a fight scene where Konata beat up those guys?" Akira asked.

"Really?" Minoru asked.

"Nope! Everything happened exactly as planned!" Akira took a "fooled you" kind of looked.

*Music Tone*

"Uh-oh~, I guess that's all the time we have for today! I wonder what you all thought about this chapter, the first dates! I'll see you all next time! Bye nii~!"

"..."

"Minoru, do you like the new chapter length?"

"Sure, if it's more comfortable for the writer, I think it's alright."

"Awesome! 'Cause these are crazy long nowwa days..."

"Yeah, right?"

"Remember when they kept us on for an extra amount of time just to make the chapter as long as the others?"

"Haha, yeah! Wait... Is the camera still rolling?"

"Hmmm. Hey, is the camera still rolling?" Akira asked the camera man.

"The power switch is stuck!" He shouted back.

"Oh, um... Unplug it! It doesn't have a battery, so it should wo-"

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

Whew! That was crazy. Was this chapter worth the wait? It was most certainly fun to write for the most part. Sorry this took so long. Honestly, a week or two ago, I was in the mid 3000 word range. I hit a bit of a block, also got angry over something else and had to take a few days to calm down from it. Meh. Again, sorry for being out so long. By the way, I'd like to thank Flygon Master, not only for reading all of these chapters beforehand, but also for not giving up on the fandom! That's right, Lucky Life is getting revised! WOOHOO! May the almighty lord be praised! One last thing directed at one specific reader. One I discovered quite recently read my story! Was this chapter worth looking forward to and was it entertaining enough? Please review everyone!


	40. Chapter 39 and 40: A New Threat

Chapter 39/40: A New Threat, to Mind and Body

Hey, been a while, huh? My computer is having some problems, I eventually had to use the "Edit/Preview Document" function to type this out. Ain't that peachy? So, I'm scared out of my god damn mind. I have an old English teacher that's going to be reading this story. An English teacher who has a very high degree in English studies (Don't ask why she was teaching as low as she was). But wait, there's more! She also said she's going to run a fine toothed comb through this story, looking for literary techniques and symbolism and such. Like, with the kind of comb she would use on a story like Heart of Darkness or Shakespeare. Now, and this may just be my opinion, but I'm no Shakespeare. I'm no Joseph Conrad. This is making my stomach have more knots than the Atlantic... At least she likes Lucky Star and is a Konami fan... Anyway... Holyriot, I enjoy responding to reviews! Glad to hear you almost freaked out lol. Ah Sqweebs, Tony may have heard Kagami requesting Konata to invite him, eh? One thing though... low point? In my opinion, we're the HIGH point of society! I enjoy you guys and those who PM me much more than... well, most of the people I know! And you may have a vague conception of where I'm going, but you have no idea. I've got some twists yet! And I didn't drug Tsukasa! Doctor Zimmerman did, and that was accidental! And I restate my rule. No threats without a story at least half the length of mine in chapters or words! HELLO THERE DEFINITIONOFUNSTABLE IT IS I ACSUPERMAN! Serious expectations? Challenge accepted. EdgeMavrick, I didn't forget it, remember that he used it against Dart? Besides, technically, his powers are an inborn ability so they wouldn't be cheating either. Still, it's kind of like a cop out against people who don't have an ability like that. I'm glad you liked it so much! Xroyal, every review counts to me! Keep reviewin'! Riverdan, thanks for the long reviews! I love 'em! I'm glad you found my answers satisfactory! Cricevin, to answer YOUR questions, perhaps he had Tivo elsewhere and decided to move it with him to Saitama? As for your queries about chapter 15, what you said is actually exactly what I pictured :P Don't worry so much about if you think the questions are stupid, if there's a question as to the continuity or logic of my story, I'd like to know so that I can explain it to ya! I'm glad you're enjoying it! Nafo, I do have one question about your dislike of Masuta's past. Have you ever met a veteran of the Green Berets or the Navy Seals or any of the other Special Forces? From what I've heard from a few of the ones I know (whom I allow to read those specific bits to see if they're accurate, they don't care much for Lucky Star), the way I write his past is actually tame in comparison. And don't worry about not getting some references. I don't know if there's anyone who can possibly get all of the references I make. I've been in that business for quite a while lol but thank you so much for the praise. It's always nice to read someone new who's enjoying my story along with my old readers :D Silvia, that was, in fact, a reference to Lucky Life. Thanks for the compliments! I love reviews so much... In any case, I better get to the chapter, huh? By the way, I'm skipping chapter 39. I loved doing the OVA, but it messed up all of the chapter numbers now... So, here's chapter 40!

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony awoke with a start as his alarm woke him up. He groaned, cracked his neck, and got dressed after getting out of bed. He looked to his right to see the throwing knives on the table. He picked them up and walked out of the room. He walked to the training room he had installed and brought out a wooden dummy. Setting it on the other side of the room, he took his place at the other end. _If I remember right... _He thought as he drew his arm back and threw the knife. It hit half a rotation too much and bounced off the dummy harmlessly. _Damn. This is gonna take a little while... _Tony sighed. He took out another and continued his practice.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Kagami woke up and smiled. _Kona loves me. _Was the very first thought to cross her mind. She sat up and yawned, stretching. She looked over at the clock to see it was still relatively early. _She's probably still asleep. _She thought to herself. An idea popped into her head. She smiled widely. _Oh. Now I hope she's still asleep. _She thought as she jumped out of bed. She quickly got dressed and rushed out of the room. She got into the living room and saw her father was awake, having some coffee to help him wake up. "Dad, I need your help!" Kagami said excitedly. Tadao jumped in surprise and looked back at his daughter.

"Good morning Kagami. Sure, I'll help. What's going on?" He asked.

"Could you drive me to Kona's house? I'd walk, but there's not much time!" Kagami said. Tadao shrugged and got up.

"One of these days you'll have to spend a full day actually at our house. You've been spending so much time out lately that I barely get to see you." Tadao said as he picked up the keys to the car and led Kagami out. They got in the car and he started it up. "So what's the big rush for?" Tadao asked as they took off.

"I gotta get to Kona's house before she wakes up! If I know her, she'll still be asleep! The lazy thing..." Kagami giggled affectionately.

"Are you going to pull a prank on her?" Tadao asked. Kagami smiled evilly.

"You could say that." She said maliciously. "Muwahahaha!" She cackled maniacally.

"Nice evil laugh." Tadao complimented.

"Thank you, I've been working on it for every time I do something like this to her from now on." Kagami said. Tadao chuckled.

"What are you doing anyway?" Tadao asked. Kagami smiled and first told her father what had happened the previous night that had sparked the idea. Based on how specifically she recalled it, Tadao could discern what she was plotting, but allowed her to continue anyway. His suspicions were indeed confirmed as to her intentions. "Isn't that a bit..." Tadao trailed off.

"Hey, if it gets me adorable Kona." Kagami smiled. "You have no idea how cute she is when something like this happens." She said.

"You've done this before?" Tadao asked.

"No, but just stuff LIKE this!" Kagami emphasized. "THIS has never happened like this..." Kagami smiled.

"Well, I hope what happens is the thing you want to happen." Tadao smiled.

"We've still gotta get there before she wakes up though." Kagami said.

"Well we're here. Good luck Kagami." Tadao said.

"Thanks!" Kagami dashed out of the car. Tadao chuckled.

"I'm glad she's happy." He sighed and drove off. Kagami stood in front of Konata's house with a smile on her face.

_Plan Underbelly Mark 1 has begun. _Kagami thought to herself. She giggled as she walked in.

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

Tsukasa drifted out of sleep very slowly. She opened her eyes, feeling entirely exhausted. She yawned and grabbed her covers, starting to move them off. She shivered as a draft of cold air breezed her. She pulled the blanket back up quickly.

_I wonder if Kan-kun would be angry if I slept in today... _Tsukasa thought. She yawned and decided he wouldn't. She cuddled down into the comfort of her bed and fell back asleep.

**Hours later**

Tsukasa woke back up and smiled. She was slightly better rested than earlier. Her strength returning, she actually got the covers off of her and sat on her bed. She breathed, trying to get the motivation to get out of bed. After a moment, she pushed herself out of bed and walked out of the room. She walked into the living room to see her mother and father watching T.V.

"Morning Mom, morning Dad." She chimed.

"It's hardly morning anymore Tsukasa." Miki said. Tsukasa blinked and looked at the clock.

"1:30?" She shouted. "Half of the day is gone already!" Tsukasa whined. She pulled out her phone quickly, her fatigue forgotten. She clicked the one on her speed dial and left the room for privacy with her boyfriend.

"Hello, you have reached Kanpeki Otokonoko. I'm either fighting Gods, kicking thug butt, or in the restroom. Please leave a message!" His voice mail answered her.

_Where is he? _Tsukasa wondered as she hung up. She clicked the number for her sister, assuming she wasn't at home. After a few rings, Kagami picked up.

"Tsukasa? What's up?" Kagami asked.

"Do you know where Kan-kun is?" Tsukasa asked.

"Yeah, he's... Well..." Kagami muttered.

"What?" Tsukasa asked.

"Well..." Kagami mumbled.

* * *

**POV Tony**

The knife stuck in the dummy for the umpteenth time. It had been bitter, repetitive work that had lasted a few hours, but he had gotten his skills back to where they used to be. He was accurately hitting where he wanted to repeatedly. He smiled as he picked out his last knife.

_Well, here goes nothing... _Tony thought. He sat down in a meditative position and began to craft the spell he would need. He was very careful to be specific so there were no stray word or vaguely worded sentence would stop his intention from getting across. The spell would allow him to use energy he would embed in the knife. If there was no energy in the knife, the spell would call on energy from his ring. And if THAT were gone, the spell would finally take energy from him directly. He also made it so he could travel to the knife at will silently. Finally, he put a failsafe for if the energy cost would kill him; one where the spell would instead return the knife to him instead of him going to the knife. Since the knife was much smaller than him, it would take that much less energy to transport it. If he didn't have the energy for that, everything within a meter of the knife would contribute. His spell properly worded, he imbued what energy he could to the task. It would take enough of his energy that he knew he should probably not go out. _I worked hard on this though, I have to at least show Kon-kon! _Tony thought. He cast the enchantment, but was swiftly overwhelmed as another presence made itself known in him mind. Curiously, it didn't feel like any other he had experienced thus far. It seemed content to do... nothing. It hadn't made any attempt to do anything whatsoever, let alone communicate. It seemed about as alive as the metal in his hand. Even more peculiarly, this hadn't raised any alarms in his head, nor had it aggravated any sort of defense he might have had up. He reached to it and poked it with a small stab of his remaining energy to feel a small decrease as a familiar sensation took over his senses. The next instant, he was back where he had been, having never left yet gone somewhere. _That must be the knife's spell that I can use... Is that little thing going to be permanent? That's a little unsettling... _Tony thought. Hopefully he could learn to ignore it in time, but for now it was rather odd. He pushed himself back up to his feet and readied himself to attack. He threw the knife and activated the spell. An instant before the knife hit the dummy, he appeared beside it, facing it. He saw it coming and raised a hand to catch it. A sharp pain made him pull his hand back to reveal a cut on it. He heard clanging as his interference caused the knife to hit the dummy at the wrong angle and hit the floor. He gritted his teeth. _How is it that the smallest cuts can hurt so much? It looks like if I want to be able to catch this thing in midair, I'm going to have to be in Sage Mode... _He sighed. He started to cast a heal, but realized he didn't have energy left to completely heal himself. _Damn, if I use any more energy right now, I'm going to be more than a little hurt... _He thought to himself. He picked up his knife and looked at it. It looked like every other knife currently stuck in the dummy. He walked out and found his first aid kit, repairing his hand as best he could. He looked at the gauze and got an idea. He searched around his house and eventually found a roll of orange duct tape. He wrapped it around the hilt of the knife. He found a permanent marker and wrote ストロボ down it. Flash. He sighed and smiled. He returned to the room and worked for another twenty minutes, as the duct tape had now offset the balance the knife had had earlier. Tony smiled as he walked out of the room once again and grabbed an energy drink from the refrigerator and took a large drink from it, Masuta having taken the rest of the dengen for work. Tony couldn't complain, the stuff was made to help his brother with his job. _I wonder what Tsukasa's doing... Probably still asleep, the spell I put on her should be keeping her asleep until she's better. Even if she did wake up, she'd feel lethargic enough that she wouldn't want to do anything. _Tony smiled at thinking of Tsukasa. _I've gotta show this to Kon-kon though. I think she'd appreciate it. _Tony thought as he made his way to the living room. _Just gonna sit for a bit. _He sat down in a chair. He was quickly asleep.

**An hour later**

Tony stirred awake. He looked around. _Damn, I fell asleep! At least I'm not as tired anymore. _He got up, grabbed his knife and energy drink, and made for the door. He drank the last of his drink before leaving. _I think I'll pop in on her. By now, she's probably out on the town with Kagami. I'll have to ask how their date went! I hope their date was excellent. _He thought. To be safe, he reached his mind out to Konata's house to see if he could sense her. He felt nothing that felt like her mind. He smiled, shrugged, and took off. He jumped onto a roof to avoid detection outside of people who notice other people jumping on roofs. He jumped from roof to roof in search of his target. _Where would I be if I were Konata... With Kagami though... _He wondered. As if by coincidence, he soon heard Kagami laughing. It seemed cut off too quickly, however, as he looked over the edge. The two were talking to a man that Tony didn't know. He also didn't look anything remotely like anyone he knew. _Who's that? _He wondered. The next thing he saw set him into a panic.

* * *

**POV Konata**

Konata was in a hospital bed. She was on her side and about asleep. She wasn't exactly sure how long she had been there, she just knew she was tired. She felt alone. She suddenly felt something grasp around her. Her chest started to warm as joy filled her. She knew this feeling. It had to be... She began to look up expecting to see her mother, smiling and hugging her. She began to smile, but the room began to darken. She found the person currently hugging her to see it was...

_Ka-Ka-Ka... _Konata stuttered in her head. Kagami was half naked and in her bed with her. Kagami's eyes opened slowly as she yawned. "Kagami...?" Konata asked. Kagami finished yawning and smiled.

"I like my eggs over easy Kona." Kagami said. Konata jumped and struggled out of the bed to find that this was, in fact, reality and not some dream. "Kona? Are you okay?" Kagami giggled. _Plan Underbelly Mark 1: Success!_She cheered in her head.

"Kagami, what's going on?" Konata asked, clearly scared. "Why were you in my bed?" She asked. Kagami blushed, looked away and looked entirely dejected.

"Oh... I thought... I'm sorry!" She put her head in her hands. Konata felt horrible. She hadn't meant to scare Kagami or hurt her feelings.

"I'm sorry Kagami, I just wasn't expecting you is all! I'm glad you're here!" Konata ran over to her and put a hand on her back. "I didn't mean to act so stupid!" Konata apologized. She hated hearing Kagami cry. It was such a rare thing, but it was enough to break her heart. One thing was weird, though. Her cry sounded off. "Kagami?" Konata asked. Kagami brought her head from her hands and smiled at Konata.

"Not so funny when it's someone else doing it to you, is it Kona~?" She chimed. Konata blinked as it sank in.

"Kagamin, that was mean!" She shouted. "And why are you only in your bra and panties?" She muttered, looking away. She was starting to lose control of her blood flow and it was beginning to redirect to her nasal cavities. She held her nose closed.

"I thought you'd like that little touch." Kagami smiled. Konata catgrinned as she gained control over her bloody nose again.

"Yeah, but I didn't get to touch!" Konata protested as she turned around to face her half naked girlfriend. Kagami blushed.

"Hey, you just got to kiss me yesterday..." Kagami defended herself weakly. Konata smiled in victory. She leaned forward and pecked Kagami on the forehead.

"And now I got to again." Konata giggled as Kagami's face flushed deeper. "Want some breakfast?" She asked.

"Breakfast the next day, eh?" Kagami asked with a cute smile.

"Of course." Konata giggled. "Do you really want eggs?"

"I'll eat anything of yours, Kona." Kagami giggled. Konata's face flushed as she muttered an incoherent response and shuffled out of the room. Kagami giggled again. _She's so cute when she's embarrassed... Now I understand why she always teased me, it's so adorable..._ Kagami squealed in her head. She looked around Konata's room and saw the manga she had been reading on her previous visit. Picking it up, she flipped to about where she had left off, deciding Konata's underbelly had had enough for the time being. She flipped the page to see a rather... graphic scene between two of the male characters. She blushed, looked around to make sure Konata was indeed gone, and began reading rather ferverously. She stayed on that page for at least twice as long as she had any of the ones before it. She went to the next page and continued in this manner until she had finished with the scene. As if on cue, Konata poked her head into the room.

"Kagamin, breakfast is..." She started, but paused when she saw Kagami's face entirely flushed and the specific manga she had in her hands. A catgrin appeared on her lips. "Did you like~ it?" Konata giggled as Kagami's face darkened.

"Ga... Gauron was really sticking it to Sousuke..." Kagami mumbled. Konata giggled.

"Well, breakfast is ready, so come on!" Konata beckoned. Kagami smiled and followed her girlfriend out of the room.

"I can hardly wait..." Kagami said excitedly. They heard a door open and looked to see Sojiro.

"Hey Dad, where were you yesterday?" Konata asked her father.

"There was an all Yuri game I've been wanting, but you can't order it and it was only available in one location, so I had to take a road trip and drive all the way there to pick it up. It ended up taking most of the day, you were in bed when I got home." Sojiro smiled. Konata smiled as well.

"I should have guessed as much." She sighed. Hearing of her father's lengthy expedition just for an all Yuri game gave her some solace.

"I bet you were happy when you found out about-" Kagami was cut off by a hand from Konata blocking her mouth. Sojiro gave a confused look to his daughter.

"Found out about what? Konata?" He asked. She began thinking quickly.

"Kagami's moving in!" She shouted, using as large movements as her small stature would allow to show she wasn't serious. Kagami sent a weird look to Konata.

"She hasn't already? She's stayed over here so much, I thought she might just do that!" Sojiro chuckled. Konata chuckled nervously with her father, uncomfortable under the stare from her girlfriend.

"Well breakfast is ready, so go get some!" Konata told her father.

"Cool, thanks Konata." Sojiro passed the two. Konata sighed, relaxing slightly. Still worried about the look she was getting from Kagami, she looked up at her girlfriend.

"Kona, you haven't told your Dad?" Kagami asked once Sojiro was out of earshot. Konata shrunk a little.

"No I haven't. I'm scared to Kagami. I know he should approve, especially since he just got a game with only Yuri in it, but I have this feeling..." Konata explained. Kagami crossed her arms.

"Konata, I told my father and he approved. And he owns a shrine! Your Dad is an Otaku at that! So don't worry about it, he'll understand." Kagami said. "Please, just tell him soon. I don't like keeping this a secret from our loved ones." She said.

"I understand Kagami... I'll tell him soon." Konata said. Kagami smiled.

"Thanks Kona..." Kagami hugged her girlfriend. "Maybe during Oban?" Kagami asked. Konata looked confused.

"They're having the Oban festival so soon? We just got finished with the last festival!" Konata said as the two began towards the kitchen before the food grew cold.

"Yeah, they decided to have it while all the stalls are still set up. I think it's coming up really soon, so what do you think?" Kagami asked.

"Alright. Oban it is then. My Dad will know by the end of it." Konata determined more to herself than to Kagami. Kagami put a hand on her girlfriend's shoulder.

"I know it's hard, but stay strong. I know you can do it, and it'll turn out for the best!" Kagami said cheerfully. Konata sighed as they arrived at the kitchen.

_I hope you're right Kagami._ She thought to herself. Kagami's words were confident and cheerful, so they helped a bit. Not much, but they still helped. They sat down with Sojiro and began to eat. The air now a bit awkward because of Konata's reluctance to confess her feelings, there was very little conversation between the three. Soon, however, Sojiro was finished and left to his room, lifting the air from the room. Konata let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She didn't even know how she had held breath since she had to open her mouth to eat.

"So, what do you want to do Kona?" Kagami asked. Konata hummed in thought.

"I dunno, anything you wanna do?" Konata asked. Kagami thought for a moment.

"We could go visit Tsukasa!" Kagami said. "She had an allergic reaction to some medicine she took and came down with a fever."

"Oh, that sucks. I hope she's okay." Konata said. "Yeah, let's go." The two got up and departed, hand in hand.

"Me too. Tony healed her though, so she should be okay." Kagami said. Konata chuckled.

"How much you wanna bet Kan-kan is gonna be there visiting her?" Konata asked. Kagami giggled.

"A million yen." She answered. The two looked forward and saw a man. Konata leaned over.

"Look who cuts his own hair." She said. Kagami laughed. The man saw the two holding hands and seemed to think. He made a decision and waited for them to arrive.

"Excuse me, do you know a Kanpeki Otokonoko?" He asked. Konata and Kagami exchanged looks. Konata spoke up first.

"Who are you?" She asked. He seemed to think.

"That doesn't matter. So you do know him!" He asked. Konata made an annoyed look. Kagami suddenly noticed that Konata was in front of her.

"It does matter. Whether we know him or not, unless you tell me who you are, I'm not saying anything." Konata said seriously. The man laughed.

"Oh, you'll tell me alright. You WILL tell me." He said, turning serious. Konata sighed.

"I'll be truthful. I'm really easy to get along with most of the time. But I don't like bullies. I don't like threats. And I don't like you. Leave. Now. Before we come to blows." Konata took her stance. The man snickered.

"I'm sorry little girl, but..." He grunted. "**You don't stand a chance.**" He began to attack Konata, but a knife cut him off, hitting and sticking into the ground. He backed up a step, having almost gotten hit by it. Tony appeared on the ground next to it and picked it up.

"And you are?" He asked. The man looked delighted.

"Ah~, Denkiteki Senkou. It is indeed an honor." He sneered. Tony's nostrils flared.

"**And you are?**" He asked again.

"My name doesn't matter. All that matters is that you're here now." The man smiled.

"**You better start explaining yourself right damn now.**" Tony said. "**You parade into my town, threaten my sister, and then refuse to speak your intentions? And what was with your voice?**" Tony asked. The man laughed yet again.

"Voice? What voice? Oh, you mean **this voice**?" He switched. "You see, I'm not allowed to really say much. You've been sentenced to death by the Kusari Empire."

"**You're kidding. For?**" Tony asked, allowing his mind to creep as close as he could to the man without actually touching his.

"You see, in my time, people have these... powers." He said. He put a hand out and made a ball of energy to demonstrate. "These people are descendants of yours."

"Descendants of me and Tsukasa?" Tony asked hopefully.

"You and who? I was not informed of who you did to have your children. All I know about that is that you supposedly broke up with one girl to get with another." The man said. Tony looked as if he had been struck. "People in my time use these powers to do good. But some use them to do evil." The man said. "When Hachiman increased your powers to the degree he did, he unwittingly made it a passable gene. So, would it not be better if someone simply comes back to kill you so that you cannot have children and thus the powers are stopped?" The man asked.

"You idiot. You said you were a descendant of mine, right?" Tony asked.

"Yes." He sneered. "Manten Otokonoko. Although not all of them are descendants anymore, some have grown powerful enough to GIVE the powers to someone else. Much like Hachiman did to another. But you have no need to know of him." Manten snickered.

"In any case, look at it like this. You're still HERE!" Tony said. "That means you failed to kill me! Fate is set in stone! No one can see the true fate of anyone. Not me, not you, not even the Gods themselves." Tony said. Manten laughed.

"Oh, I don't think I'll fail. I am merely supposed to bring you back or kill you." He said. Tony grunted.

"Good luck." He practically bluffed, having almost no energy left.

"**Will you come peaceably, or will I have to kill you?**" He asked, switching to a more serious persona. Tony braced himself.

"**I have done nothing. Unless you can prove that I deserve it, I will not abandon my friends.**" Tony said.

"**Very well. Even if I fail, however, there will be more, stronger beings to take my place. You will die, be it by my hand or not.**" Manten said.

_**This is so random... Why do I deserve to die?**_ Tony asked himself. _**I wonder if all of these guys are going to be descendants of mine if there are more...**_Tony thought. Manten began to dash at Tony, but Tony threw his knife and stuck it in the wall behind his opponent. Tony sprinted and faked a punch at his opponent. He threw his consciousness at Manten and assaulted the man's mind. There was an impressive defense that surprised Tony. However, the attack was enough to distract Manten from the knee into his face. The knee was enough to disrupt the man's concentration, allowing Tony to access his mind and overwhelm him.

"You-... You..." Manten attempted to speak, but Tony forced him to stop.

"My death by your hands? Not likely." Tony said. "You were way too overconfident in your abilities, it left an opening that was easily exploitable. Sorry." He said. "Now, you'll tell me what the hell is going on." Tony said.

"You.. can't make.. me." Manten struggled to say. Tony redoubled his control on the man's mind.

"Tell me." He said.

"You... were not supposed to have this ability..." Manten spat.

"I'm going to ask you one last time before I start the pain. Tell me." Tony commanded, annoyed by the repetition. He did his best to subdue the man's resistance. Unable to speak because of the mental battle he was fighting, Manten spit in Tony's face. Tony's nostrils flared as he wiped it off. "So be it." He said as he activated two packs of nerves in the back of Manten's head. The man tried to shout in pain, but Tony restricted that much movement. "Tell me!" Tony demanded. Manten attempted to say something, but Tony's hold was so great that only a muffle came out. Tony loosened his grip and stopped abusing the man's nerves. "Yes?" Tony asked.

"_Release my mind and I'll tell you everything..." _Manten said. Tony warily eased off his opponents mind. He learned his lesson as he felt an explosive force hit him in the stomach and he was sent flying. Taking advantage his new ability, Tony used the spell on his knife to apparate to it without fear of messing up distance-wise. He spun around and grabbed the knife and swung at Manten, but the man was gone.

_Damn it!_ Tony sent out his consciousness to find the man, but he couldn't sense him anywhere. _Where did he go..._ Tony looked around and wondered. He cast a spell to help him locate the person who was just trying to kill him. His spell searched the entire city before he had to cut it off. He leaned against the wall his knife had been embed in and panted. He hadn't located the man.

"Tony." Kagami said. Tony looked up to her to see her holding out the phone. "It's the missus." She smiled. Tony took the phone, chuckling.

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

"And so now he's tired. Wanna talk to him?" Kagami asked, having explained everything that had happened to the best of her abilities while Tony searched the city. She had been confused on several points and thus unable to relate what was going on, but she had given it her best attempt.

"Yes please!" Tsukasa smiled. Now that the initial shock of all of the time that was gone faded, Tsukasa was feeling her exhaustion return. She took a seat as she heard her sister say something. Tony came on the line.

"Tsu-chan? How are you feeling?" Tony asked.

"A lot better, but I'm still feeling really tired..." Tsukasa responded with a smile.

"Too tired for a visit?" Tony asked.

"From you? Never." Tsukasa said quickly. Tony began a sentence, but failed to get more than a couple syllables in. Tsukasa giggled as she could almost see her boyfriend blushing. There was a moment where Tsukasa could tell that Tony was composing himself.

"Well, get back in bed. We're on our way and you can use all the rest you can. If you don't mind us coming into your room, we'll visit you!" Tony said cheerfully.

"Yay! Alright, I'm going. I'll see you when you get here Kan-kun." Tsukasa said.

"I'll see you when I get there Tsu-chan." Tony said. Tsukasa hung and sighed happily. She walked back into her room and got into bed again.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony handed Kagami back her phone.

"Thanks for that. She said she's okay and that she's going to stay in bed until we get there to visit." Tony smiled.

"Alrighty! So Kan-kan, what's with the kni-" Konata was about to ask. Tony was forced back into the wall. Tony grabbed his knife again and swung at his assailant. Manten grabbed his arm and ducked under Tony's knife. Tony jumped up and grabbed a windowsill.

_Damn it... I have almost no energy... I swear I searched this whole town, how did I not sense him?_ Tony asked in his head.

"Seems you're weak Senkou!" Manten sneered.

"Why are you calling me that?" Tony asked.

"Simple. But it's classified." Manten laughed. Tony felt his arm trembling from the effort of holding himself up. He slipped off when suddenly, Manten was sent onto his knee when Konata kicked the back of his knee out.

"Don't you lay a hand on my brother!" Konata shouted as she let loose a series of strikes to his head. Tony landed and coughed.

"Idiot!" Manten shouted as he rolled away from Konata. He popped up and stepped towards her to attack, but Tony slashed with the knife again. "Hmph." Manten huffed. "Raiton Yoroi!" He shouted. A spark filled the air. Konata jumped back and moved Kagami with her, but Tony was caught in it. He shouted in agony as lightning coursed through his body. He was sent back against the wall. The electricity suddenly stopped and Tony could move again. He shook his head and looked to see Konata breathing heavily, hair a frazzled mess.

"Thanks Konata." Tony coughed.

"You're welcome, but I don't think I can help you much more..." She sighed. "That hurt a lot." She said.

"Understood. Just protect Kagami, alright?" Tony smiled.

"Like you had to tell me." Konata smiled. Tony began to think.

_That armor of lightning is really going to get in the way... I don't know that it matters much, the slightest spell would knock me out right now..._ Tony thought, thinking of anything he could do. He drew his hand back and threw the knife at his opponent. Manten snickered and caught it by the blade. _That... didn't work..._ Tony cursed. His mouth fell open when Manten snapped the hilt off the blade, then snapped the blade in half. He tossed the pieces on the ground at Tony. _…._ Tony looked at the broken knife in disbelief. _… That son of a bitch. I spent so much energy enchanting that! That was way too easy to destroy, I'm going to need some way to stop that from happening..._ Tony growled. Manten laughed.

"Awww, did I break your toy?" He laughed condescendingly. Tony sighed. Then he got an idea...

_Hey, if I..._ Tony smiled. He picked up the parts of the blade. He released the enchant on his knife, returning all of the energy he spent to enchant it to him. He smiled. _At least I've got something to use..._ He sighed. _If I can get him in... Yeah... That should work... But how..._ Tony wondered. "Please, you couldn't break a piece of balsa! I bet even if you jumped, you wouldn't be able to punch me off my feet!" Tony shouted. Manten's nostrils flared.

"I'm vastly more powerful than you!" He shouted. Taking Tony's bait all too well, he leaped into the air. Tony smiled as he jumped back and set his feet on the building behind him. He pushed off as hard as he could towards Manten. His opponent's eyes widened in surprise and confusion as Tony sped towards him. Tony smirked as he cast his spell.

"Fist of the Fighting Sage!" He shouted, throwing all of the rest of his energy into a punch to Manten's face. The man was sent crashing into the ground, disrupting his concentration and causing his armor to fall. Tony landed and coughed again. He ran over and threw his weight into an elbow strike to the cheek as Tony suppressed Manten's mind again. He breathed heavily, trying to keep himself and Manten's mind under control.

"_Again... Huh?"_ Manten struggled to say against Tony's oppressive grasp.

"_My death by your hands? Not damn likely."_ Tony smiled.

"_How did you get through my armor?"_ Manten asked.

"_Your electricity had no direction. It was looking for a way to get to the ground basically to balance the charge. I merely cast a spell that would shift the polarity of the area around my body to that of your armor. The lightning was busy with its new direction, to go around me, and ignored me entirely. Basically, it couldn't find a way to even its charge, or get to the ground to do so." _Tony explained. _"So, you going to tell me what I want to know?"_ Tony asked. _"You know very well that I'm not going to fall for that trick again. And now I'm going to double the pain."_

"_You won't get a thing from me." _Manten gritted his teeth, readying himself for the pain to come. Tony sighed.

"_Very well..."_ Tony irritated several more nerve packs around Manten's body. The pain Manten felt earlier intensified by magnitudes. It was a moment before Manten finally broke.

"_STOP IT YOU SOCIOPATHIC MANIAC! What do you want to know?"_ Manten shouted. Tony smiled.

"_That hurt me more than it hurt you."_ Tony chuckled.

"_Yeah right."_ Manten snarled.

"_Who are you? Where are you from?" _Tony asked. _"Why was I sentenced to death? And by someone I've never even heard of?"_

"_I'm Manten. I'm from the place I was born. You were sentenced to death because that is the judgement passed on you."_ Manten answered. Tony flared the pain for another instant. _"ARG! This is literally torture! I realize you're primitive, but you people must have a code of honor or SOMETHING!"_ Manten shouted.

"_Sorry, I was taught to throw honor out the window when my life and the life of my loved ones was on the line. Too much more of this and you're going to die."_ Tony said.

"_Fine. I'm from the future and..."_ Manten paused. Tony smiled.

"_And..."_ He questioned.

"_How do I know you aren't going to kill me as soon as I tell you?"_ Manten asked. Tony smiled.

"_Okay, I lied. You were never in any danger, these nerves won't kill you even if I tweaked them for eternity."_ He said. He felt overwhelming dread coming from Manten.

"_I've... I've already said too much, I can feel it starting... What have you done? No!"_ Manten thought in despair. He began to disappear. _"Do you have any idea what Lord Mahican will do to me when they find out I've talked? I'd sooner die!"_ Manten shouted. In an inexplicable way, he regained his functions and cast a suicide spell just before he vanished. Tony growled and cursed. Oddly, he felt a certain kind of sick. It wasn't something he had ever felt before, it was weird trying to explain it. He rubbed his stomach in a vain attempt to stop it from feeling churning so much.

"What happened?" Konata asked, her and Kagami walking over.

"Manten … Must have gotten called back. However, I found something interesting out. Apparently I'm wanted dead by people in the future. Isn't that fantastic?" Tony asked as he got up, feeling like he'd want to leave out the gruesome truth of the man's fate. "Come on, Tsukasa's waiting for us. I want to see her again..." He sighed. The death of a random person he didn't know had made him not only sick in some way that he didn't know, but it also made him sick to his stomach. Two months ago, he wouldn't have batted an eye. His lovable little airhead had changed him to such an effect that he could hardly stomach death anymore. _She really is rubbing off on me. I hope she's feeling better by the time we get there._ Tony smiled.

"Yeah, let's go..." Konata walked up and put her hand on Tony's shoulder, seeing his discomfort. Tony smiled to his sister.

"Thanks." He mouthed to Konata. She nodded with a smile. The three set off and began walking towards the Hiiragi house.

"So Kan-kan, what was with that knife?" Konata asked. Tony smiled.

"I enchanted it so I could teleport to it at will." He said.

"Oh really? That's pretty cool. Too bad it got broken." Konata said.

"Yeah, I was trying to think of a way to stop that. I really don't want to be bound by the limitations of metal against whatever I'm going to be going up against." Tony said. Kagami and Konata started puzzling.

"Could you enchant the metal so that it wouldn't break as easily?" Kagami asked. Tony shook his head.

"I thought of that, but it would take more energy than I care to spend, and even then it's still only metal at its core. No matter how many wards I put on it, once they wear off it will break just as easily as before." Tony said. Kagami huffed. Konata smiled.

"What if you made it a word? I noticed you wrote "Flash" down the side of the blade. What if you made THAT the thing that teleported you and not the object itself?" Konata asked.

"What do you mean?" Tony asked.

"Well, like if the word itself is what teleported you, not the object. Or the object JUST around the word? Wouldn't that be easier and cost less energy?" Konata asked. Tony hummed.

"As a matter of fact... I think that's a very good idea... Thanks Konata!" Tony cheered happily. Konata pumped her fist in the air.

"My pleasure!" She cheered. Suddenly, Konata gasped sharply.

"Kan-kan, I forgot to ask you something! I've been trying to ask you for a month!" Konata said. Tony raised an eyebrow. "I have a question for you."

"Ah, must be the one I ordered." Tony smiled. "Where is it?" He asked.

"In my mouth." Konata giggled.

"Well spit it out." Tony chuckled.

"You see, this is an extremely important question that we're going to need you to answer before you hang out with us ever ever again." Konata giggled. Tony smiled and chuckled.

"Well I'd better take this seriously then, shouldn't I?" He asked.

"Yeah! Here... Is the question that will decide your future!" Konata shouted dramatically.

"Ready!" Tony pumped his fist into the air. Kagami looked between the two, very interested in what this so called "extremely important question" could possibly be.

"Which side of a choco coronet is the head? The fat end or the thin end?" Konata asked. Tony blinked a few times before laughing along with Kagami.

"Is that it?" He laughed.

"Don't laugh, it's a serious question! Which side is it?" Konata protested. Tony snickered and hummed, putting a finger to his lip in thought.

"If I had to guess... I'd say... The thin end." Tony said decisively. Konata shouted in defeat as Kagami laughed. "What? What?" Tony asked.

"That's the same thing Tsukasa said!" Kagami said, laughing quite a bit. "Quick, what would you think a choco coronet looks like?" She asked. Tony put his finger to his lip once again.

"Hmmm... Well..." He thought. He moved his finger away from his lip as if to instruct pupils. "I'd say that given its shape, its little opening and how it kind of looks like it's curving around, it looks most like a seashell." He said. Kagami was forced to stop walking as she laughed at him. "Hey! Don't laugh at me!" He protested.

"That's exactly what Tsukasa sees it as." Konata explained. Tony folded his arms and smiled.

"Just proves how much in sync we are." He said proudly.

"Or-or-or-haha!" Kagami couldn't complete her sentence. At this point, neither Konata nor Tony could understand at all what she found so funny about this. In all honesty, she didn't know herself. It was just one of those rare things that hit a nerve in her brain that made her laugh.

"I don't know that I want to talk to you again about this!" Tony shouted over Kagami's laughter. "Why, I'd horse whip you if I had a horse!" He said, causing Kagami to redouble her laughing and adding Konata's snicker to the mixture. Finally, Kagami calmed down considerably. "Well?" Tony folded his arms, looking at Kagami. At the moment, she was leaning on her knees and trying to get a good breath. She looked up at him.

"Well what?" She asked.

"Why did you find that so funny? I admit, it was a fairly humorous coincidence, but I hardly think it warranted such a... vehement response." Tony said as they started walking again. Kagami shrugged.

"I dunno, it just seemed hilarious to me." She said. She looked around, hoping to get the attention off of herself. "So, do you know what the weather is supposed to be like today?" She asked. "Maybe if Tsukasa's better, we can all go out and do something!" She said.

"What did you have in mind?" Tony asked her. Kagami shrugged.

"We could go see a movie?" Konata suggested.

"Not a good idea. A dark room with me this tired? I'd fall asleep and not get to enjoy either the movie or Tsukasa." Tony said. Konata hummed.

"Gamers?" Kagami suggested. Konata's jaw dropped.

"Kagami, you WANT to go to Gamers?" She asked.

"Sure, I figure if we're gonna be together, I have to take on some of your habits, right?" Kagami smiled. Konata nodded fervently.

"That would be awesome!" She cheered. Tony hummed.

"If you two don't mind, I might go somewhere else with Tsu-chan. Gamers isn't exactly the perfect place for either of us." Tony chuckled. Konata and Kagami shrugged.

"True enough. But I kind of wanted us all to hang out together... Why not we just window shop?" Kagami suggested. Konata and Tony nodded their agreement.

"That sounds fine. There's a good chance that we'll find something both for you two and for Tsukasa!" Tony smiled. True, he had no money, but maybe Tsukasa would and that should be enough for her to buy something nice for herself. She certainly deserved it with all the crap she had been going through recently. They arrived at the Hiiragi household.

"Alright, so it's settled. We go in and pick up Tsukasa, then we go window shopping!" Konata cheered. Kagami and Tony both joined the cheer as they themselves seemed uplifted in spirit by Konata's enthusiasm. They opened the door and walked in.

"Hey Mom, hey Dad, I'm home!" Kagami called as the three removed their shoes.

"Hey Kagami, did your plan go over well?" Tadao asked from his place in the living room. Konata blushed a deep red.

"Unbelievably! It was incredible, I loved it so much!" Kagami said back.

"Plan? What plan?" Tony asked.

"Never mind, I'll tell you later." Kagami said dismissively.

"Well fine then... Let's go see Tsukasa." Tony smiled.

"Yeah, come on!" Konata beckoned the lot down the hall. They all went and entered the room housing Tsukasa.

"Hi guys." She smiled from under the covers.

"Hey Tsukasa, how are you feeling?" Tony asked before even Kagami could. Tsukasa smiled.

"I'm doing fine, I'm still just a little tired." She answered.

"Awesome. I just stopped by to tell you I stop at nothing!" Tony chuckled. Tsukasa giggled at how silly he was being. He sighed. "I'll be honest Tsukasa... I've had a rough day and it always helps me to see a pretty girl smile. So could you please smile for me?" He asked Tsukasa. She blinked and smiled her cutest.

"What's going on Kan-kun?" She asked sympathetically. Tony sighed.

"Just had something today that made me feel a bit sick to my stomach. That plus something of mine got broken." He sighed.

"What was it?" Tsukasa asked.

"Something I enchanted. Someone broke it though, so there really no point in mentioning it." Tony said. Tsukasa sighed.

"Alright Kan-kun. If you say so." She smiled. Tony, despite the day's events, found a smile coming across his own face.

"If you don't mind, I might just stay here until such a time that I think you're fit to leave the building." Tony smiled.

"That would be lovely." She said, sitting back completely now.

"And after that, why don't we all go window shopping?" Kagami smiled.

"I'd love to." Tsukasa sighed contently. Tony smiled.

"What time is it?" He asked.

"About half past two." Kagami answered. Feeling like he wanted to embarrass her, like he knew Konata liked, he smiled.

"Not here, in America!" Tony said. Kagami started and got a bit of an embarrassed blush as she thought.

"Well... If you take in the time zones..." She began to figure out.

"It's yesterday there." Konata came to the aid of her girlfriend.

"It's today here." Tony smiled.

"It's always today here." Konata said.

"What about tomorrow?" Tony asked.

"Good point." Konata giggled.

"Well, I wasn't born yesterday." Tony smirked. Konata laughed as Kagami was giggling at the banter between the two, but Tony frowned. Tsukasa was looking dejected. "Tsukasa?" Tony asked.

_He has such a good time with Kona-chan... Why can't I be smart like her?_ She asked in her head. Tony waited a moment for a response and got none. _I just keep causing him trouble..._ Tony looked at Konata and Kagami.

"Hey Kon-kon, Kagami, could you two leave us alone for a minute?" Tony asked the two. They looked at each other and shrugged.

"Sure thing." Kagami got up and departed with Konata.

"Tsukasa, what's wrong?" Tony asked.

"You and Kona-chan... You two just have so much fun together! I just... I don't think I can do that for you..." Tsukasa sighed. Tony was confused.

"Do what? Have fun?" Tony asked.

"How you two go back and forth with each other! I'm not as smart as Kona-chan is, I can't compete with that..." Tsukasa said. Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Tsukasa, I have so much fun with you! Are you saying you don't think I'd be happy if every conversation we have isn't like that?" He asked. Tsukasa nodded.

"I can try and be more like that if you want!" She offered quickly. Tony could see in her eyes that if he said he wanted her to, she would make every effort to change. Exactly what he didn't want.

"Don't go changing to try and please me." Tony said. "You've never let me down before." He smiled. "I don't want clever conversation. I never want to work that hard..." He chuckled. "I just want someone that I can talk to. I want you just the way you are." Tony said. Tsukasa smiled, but it was fleeting.

"But what if stuff like this keeps happening?" She asked.

"What stuff?" Tony asked.

"Bad stuff! Allergic reaction, car wrecks, hospitals, all of that! I don't you to have to swoop in and save me every day... I don't want to be that much of a burden on you..." Tsukasa said. Tony smiled.

"I wouldn't leave you in times of trouble." He said reassuringly. "We never could have come this far..." He chuckled. "I took the good times. I'll take the bad times. I'll take you just the way you are." Tony smiled.

"Kan-kun..." Tsukasa smiled.

"Look, as long as you're with me, there's only one thing I need from you." Tony said. Tsukasa perked up a bit.

"What? What is it?" She asked.

"Don't go trying some new fashion. Don't change the color of your hair." Tony said. "I need to know that you'll always be the same old someone that I knew." He said.

"Is that it? Are you sure?" Tsukasa asked. Tony sighed.

"What will it take till you believe in me?" He asked. He waited a moment before adding, "...The way that I believe in you..." He said. "You'll always have my unspoken passion." Tsukasa smiled.

"Thank you Kan-kun." She sighed happily.

"I said I love you." Tony smiled. "That's forever." He took her hand in his. "This, I promise from the heart." He looked into her eyes. She felt stunned in his gaze. "I couldn't love you any better." He said. "I love you just the way you are." She felt tears in her eyes.

"I..." Tsukasa couldn't muster up words for several seconds.

"I'm gonna go tell Kagami and Konata that they can come back in." Tony said. Tsukasa smiled and nodded through her tears.

"Okay Kan-kun, just come back soon." She said. Tony nodded as he got up.

"See you soon." He said.

"See you soon." Tsukasa smiled. Tony walked out and looked around. He walked to Kagami's room to see Kagami hugging Konata, holding her tightly and stroking her hair while Konata cried into Kagami's chest.

"Kon-kon?" Tony asked. He walked closer. "What's going on? Are you okay?" He asked. He looked questioningly towards Konata, then to Kagami. Kagami sighed.

* * *

**POV Konata**

Konata and Kagami walked out of the room.

"Hey Kona, let's go to my room. I want to brush your hair." Kagami chimed.

"Why?" She asked. Kagami giggled.

"You threw a man who had electricity running around him. Your hair is a mess. And besides, I've always wanted to brush your hair. It's so pretty." Kagami took some of her girlfriend's hair in her hand and examined it. It was now a tangled mess that Kagami would love to untangle.

"I guess." Konata giggled as the two of them walked to the Tsundere's room. Kagami walked over and grabbed a mirror along with a brush.

"Sit down on the bed Kona!" Kagami said excitedly. Konata blushed a bit and sat down. Kagami sat down behind her put her brush in Konata's hair.

"Ow!" Konata shouted as the brush almost broke off in her hair.

"I'm sorry Kona, your hair is so tangled!" Kagami apologized. Konata sighed.

"It's okay Kagamin." She smiled. She decided to change the subject. "So what do you think Kan-kan wants?" Konata asked.

"Tsukasa was starting to feel bad about something. I'm not sure what, but she was." Kagami said. Konata crossed her arms.

"How could you tell?" Konata asked. Kagami shrugged but then smiled.

"Maybe twin telepathy?" She smiled. A shine twinkled in Konata's eyes.

"Like Manakana!" Konata shouted. She started wiggling her fingers. "Hokey-pokey!" She giggled. Kagami giggled as the two descended into silence. The two sat in silence for a moment, something Kagami soon got bored with. She could tell how much this brushing was hurting her love so she decided she would do her best to comfort her little loli girlfriend. To that end, she began thinking about anything that used to calm her down. She smiled and started to hum a song her mother had sung to her as a little girl. Suddenly, Konata shifted violently and made a weird sound that was odd enough to interrupt Kagami. Kagami gave a worried look to Konata.

"Kona? What's wrong?" Kagami asked, stopping the brush halfway through a stroke. She had just started humming "You Are My Sunshine", nothing bad.

"Pl...Please don't sing that Kagami..." Konata muttered pitifully.

_Whoa! What a change..._ Kagami shouted in her head. "Of course Kona. Are you okay?" She asked. Konata turned around and looked into Kagami's eyes for a second, then headbutted her in the stomach, grabbing her into a fierce hug. Kagami, though surprised by the hit and now with a bit of pain in her stomach, hugged Konata with the same ferocity. "It's okay Kona. Don't worry, I won't sing it." Kagami said comfortingly. She stroked her lover's now straight hair lovingly, concerned with the fact that her Konata had just broken down from the tune of a song. "Kona, do you mind if I ask why you don't like that song?" Kagami asked. Before Konata could respond, Tony walked into the room.

"Sorry for intrud- Kon-kon?" Tony asked. He walked closer. "What's going on? Are you okay?" He asked. He looked questioningly towards Konata, then to Kagami. Kagami sighed.

"It just brings back some unpleasant memories." Konata broke from Kagami and sighed. "I'll tell you guys later... But let's not ruin the mood today! Let's go shopping!" Konata smiled and cheered, but both Kagami and Tony could see the melancholy behind it. They smiled, but both sighed.

"Hey guys, I have a question…" Tony said.

"Sure, what is it?" She asked. Tony thought for a moment, trying to find a good way to word his query. He decided on an appropriate word choice and nodded to himself.

"Tsukasa has been… Really emotional recently. Yesterday, I attributed it to her fever, but it was still hitting her hard today, even after her fever was gone… Would you have any idea as to why?" Tony asked, mainly to Kagami since she would more likely know the answer. Kagami folded her arms and began thinking. Indeed, she did know, but she was pondering if it was really something that she could tell Tony since it was such a personal matter. She sighed to herself and kept thinking for several minutes, to the point where Tony not only worried that she wasn't going to answer, but also that Tsukasa would get suspicious that he hadn't simply gone to get the two. Finally, after what seemed like ages, Kagami decided she might as well tell Tony, since he would hopefully be dealing with it for the rest of his life.

"Well… You see… She gets emotional from when she's on her…" Kagami hesitated. "Um…" She couldn't bring herself to say it, but Konata knew what she was talking about. Kagami hoped that Tony could decipher it without her having to actually say it. "You know." She said. Tony blinked. The above was not the case.

"No, I don't know. If I did, I wouldn't have asked! What's going on with Tsukasa?" Tony asked, a little alarmed since it seemed Kagami was avoiding the question. Kagami folded her arms and thought again.

"Exclamation mark. Question mark. Blank." She said, trying to give a hint that would make it obvious. This only served to make Tony even more confused.

"What?" He asked desperately. Konata sighed.

"She's emotional when she's on her period!" Konata said. Tony blinked.

"Oh~…. What's that?" He asked. Kagami and Konata facefaulted.

"Really? You don't know what that is?" Kagami asked. Konata leaned up and began whispering into Tony's ear. After a moment, she came back down, but Tony stayed completely still. Konata and Kagami waited for some reaction, but he stayed there for a moment while his head computed the new information.

"You bleed out of your WHAT?" He shouted, extremely alarmed. "And Tsukasa has this?" He asked. Konata laughed.

"Every girl has it! One week out of the month." Konata explained. Tony shuddered.

"I do NOT envy you girls. That's just…" He shuddered again.

"Yeah. Just keep in mind that that happens every month. And just count yourself lucky that it's only an emotional Tsukasa." Kagami giggled at his reaction.

"What do you mean? It gets worse?" He asked. Konata laughed.

"Yeah, most girls get as vicious as Kagami during that time of the month!" Konata explained. Kagami balled up a fist.

"What was that?" She growled at Konata. Konata laughed and raised her arms to defend herself dramatically.

"There's the Tsun-tsun! I haven't seen her in a while!" Konata cheered. Kagami blinked and cooled down.

"Sorry about that Kona." Kagami said sweetly. Konata's jaw dropped.

"Sorry for what? I wouldn't want you any other way! Kagamin, you're a Tsundere. That's who I love!" Konata said. Kagami smiled.

"Thanks…" She smiled sweetly.

"I'll admit, I kind of missed her." Konata teased. Kagami giggled.

"Well, maybe I'll let her through a bit more." She said. Konata looked around.

"So… Where did Kan-kan go?" She asked. Kagami looked around too. She had been so caught up with her conversation with her lover that she hadn't noticed that Tony had left.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony entered the room to see Tsukasa with her eyes closed, humming merrily to a tune in her head. He smiled to see her looking happy.

"Hey Tsukasa, you ready to go?" Tony asked. Tsukasa opened her eyes and looked over.

"Yeah, am I okay to leave?" She asked. Tony nodded.

"Yep, grab some money and let's go windowshopping!" Tony pumped his fist in the air. Tsukasa smiled and got up. She looked down at what she was wearing.

"Wait outside for a moment, I have to get changed! I'm in the same clothes I was in yesterday…" She blushed. She wasn't sure why since he had already seen her in that dress, but soon she was quite red.

"As you wish. I still think you look fine though." Tony smiled as he walked back out of the room. Tsukasa smiled at the compliment as she undressed and changed into street clothes. She looked around her room and grabbed a little purse that had her money in it. She had an idea of what she wanted to buy, and she hoped she would be able to find what she needed. She walked out of the room to see Tony standing in the hall outside, looking patient but his eyes gave away how much he was wanting to go on the inside.

"I'm ready Kan-kun." Tsukasa smiled.

"Let's go get Kon-kon and Kagami." Tony smiled. She grabbed his hand as they walked out of the hall to their siblings. They met up with Konata and Kagami near the door to the house.

"You two finally ready?" Konata asked. Tony nodded

"Ready Kona-chan!" Tsukasa confirmed before Tony could say anything.

"Let's go see what we can find!" Kagami said as the lot took off. Walking down the street towards the subway, Konata smiled.

"Maybe you can try your new move that I so awesomely thought up!" Konata suggested. Tony shook his head.

"As much as I would like that, I haven't got nearly the energy to experiment with it now." Tony said.

"What move?" Tsukasa asked.

"Teleportation to an object of my choosing with a phrase that's placed on it." Tony said.

"That sounds cool!" Tsukasa smiled.

"It is, I had it on a knife earlier. That's the thing that got broken." Tony said.

"Ah…" Tsukasa said. "How did it get broken?" She asked.

"A fight with a really strong person." Tony said. "Don't worry, I won." Tony said. He hoped that Tsukasa wouldn't ask after that, he really didn't want to tell her of the man's fate. He knew that if it had affected him so much, it would definitely hurt Tsukasa.

"Alrighty…" She said. They walked in silence for a moment until they reached the subway. They entered to see three seats conveniently next to each other. Tony smiled as he grabbed a ring.

"You guys can take the seats." He said. Kagami smiled as well.

"There are enough seats for all of us." She said. Tony looked confusedly at her.

"How do you figure?" Tony asked. Kagami smirked as she grabbed Konata around the waist and pulled her into her lap as she sat down. She pointed to the last two seats.

"Tsukasa and you." She smiled. Tony smiled as well as he and Tsukasa sat down.

"Very smart." Tony complimented.

"Thank you." Kagami giggled. Konata shook off the blush she had and turned around.

"Kagamin, I've been working on something!" She said. Kagami pulled her a little closer and laid her head on Konata's shoulder.

"What is it Kona~?" She asked.

_*Cute!*_ "So baby, are you made of Copper and Tellurium?" Konata asked. Kagami blinked several times.

"Wait, what?" She asked. Konata smirked.

"Because you're Cu-Te!" Konata threw her short arms in the air to emphasize her point. Kagami's face puffed in smoke.

"Okay. That was clever." She smiled. "Do you know when we're going back to school?" Kagami asked. Konata huffed.

"School should be illegal!" Konata complained.

"Oh yeah?" Kagami giggled. "How so?" She asked.

"What?" Konata asked, surprised she wasn't getting scolded.

"Explain your point of view Kona. I wanna know what you think." Kagami squeezed Konata around the waist. Konata blushed and thought.

"Well..." She muttered, not expecting to be called out. "Um..." She mumbled. Kagami giggled. "In school, every period ends with a bell, right?" Konata asked.

"Uh-huh..." Kagami smiled. Konata nodded knowingly.

"Every sentence ends with a period, get it?" Konata asked. Kagami nodded again.

"Go on~." Kagami urged.

"And every crime ends with a sentence!" Konata threw up her short arms to emphasize her point. Kagami giggled at how cute Konata was.

"Ah, but allow me to pose a counter argument!" Kagami said. Konata hummed.

"Okay then..." She said cautiously.

"If you didn't have school, you couldn't have made that clever CuTe pun!" Kagami said. Konata hummed.

"That is a good point..." She acknowledged. Kagami was about to point out exactly how good a point it was, but their station was called.

"Man time flies." Kagami said, a little sorry she had to let go of her love so quickly. She reluctantly released Konata and got up. They began to walk off, but turned around when they noticed that neither Tony nor Tsukasa had followed. They saw Tsukasa's head resting on Tony's shoulder while Tony's head was on Tsukasa's, both very much asleep. Both Konata and Kagami giggled.

"Hey Kan-kan! Tsukasa! Wake up!" Konata called to them.

"Just five more minutes..." They both muttered simultaneously. The two girls who were awake started trying to stifle laughter, knowing that if they lost it they were likely to miss their stop entirely.

"Last call!" Rang through the car. Kagami looked at Konata in despair as the door closed. Konata walked over to her brother.

"Kona? What are you going to do?" Kagami asked. Konata flashed a grin to her girlfriend.

"This." She said simply as she punched Tony hard in the stomach. The next thing the four of them knew, they were outside the train watching it pull away. Tony was lying of the floor, groaning.

"Why..." He muttered pitifully. "You know I'm tired..." He whined.

"We missed our stop because of you two love birds!" Konata said. "It's your fault that we had to scare you!" She said.

"Now I ache." Tony mumbled. "Pull me to a bench." He requested. Konata giggled and looked over to her girlfriend to enlist her help. This was not to be the case, however, as both the Hiiragi twins were at a trashcan, attempting to disgorge, though only Kagami found success since Tsukasa hadn't eaten yet. Konata sighed and picked Tony up on her shoulders. She carried him to a bench and laid him down.

"Sorry, but it was either that or we would have to ride the train all the way back." Konata apologized. Tony groaned.

"That would have meant I could sleep more. Is that so bad?" He asked. "I was up early this morning to sharpen my knife throwing skills, I'm tired!" He whined.

"Hehe. Sharpen." Konata chuckled. "And whose fault was that? You knew you were low on energy already!" Konata scolded. "You shouldn't have pushed yourself so hard, you could legitimately hurt yourself if you keep this pace!" She said. Tony smiled.

_It feels like she's my mother..._ He chuckled, almost overwhelmingly happy to have someone who cared enough to scold him like that. He knew he mattered to people now, but it was still so much more powerful to see it around him. Even then, he wasn't going to lose to Konata. "I DID legitimately hurt myself! Do you not see me laying on this bench groaning?" Tony asked. Konata put her hands on her hips.

"Don't take that tone with me!" She shouted. Tony chuckled.

"Yes Mother." He said. Konata blinked, wondering what had come over her. What she had said was a VERY cliché line that parents used!

"Whoa, never thought I'd hear me say that!" She chuckled. She then realized what position she was in and quickly removed her hands. She huffed slightly under her breath. Suddenly, she felt a hug from her girlfriend.

"That's 'cause my Kona's gonna be a great mommy!" Kagami giggled as Konata began to blush. Kagami cut it off by pinching her little loli's cheeks. Konata shook her head.

"Hey! That hurts!" She shouted.

"Yeah, but Konata." Kagami's voice turned deathly serious. Konata gulped at the shift.

"Kagamin?" She asked, using her pet name for Kagami in a hopeful, though obviously fruitless, attempt to mollify her girlfriend from whatever rage she was about to unleash upon her.

"You knew that that was going to happen to me and Tsukasa, didn't you?" Kagami asked. Konata gulped.

"Well it doesn't always happen..." Konata muttered. "We've done it before!" She said.

"That's what she said." Tony mumbled, but it was either ignored or not loud enough for the surrounding people to hear it since no response was given.

"Are you okay Kan-kun?" Tsukasa walked over and sat on the her legs, rubbing Tony on the back.

"I should be asking you that. Sorry for teleporting you so forcefully, it makes it much worse on you." Tony said. Tsukasa teared up.

"This is because of me... You're hurt and it's because of me!" She cried.

"No no no no no!" Tony said panickedly. _My kingdom for a cure to the period!_ He shouted in his head. "Tsukasa, it isn't your fault!" He assured her.

"You heard him, you made it worse on us by surprising him!" Kagami pinched Konata's cheeks harder.

"I didn't know that!" The Otaku defended herself.

"I'm sorry Kan-kun!" Tsukasa apologized.

"It isn't your fault, I swear Tsu-chan!" Tony said.

"Then why do you look so angry?" She asked.

"A countenance more in sorrow than anger! I'm sorry that I made you uncomfortable Tsukasa!" Tony said.

"Honest?" She asked, a sniffle from her nose.

"Honest." Tony sighed, a bit of mental exhaustion accompanying his physical exhaustion now.

"If you say so..." Tsukasa sighed. She got up and saw the altercation involving the other couple. "Onee-chan, she was just trying to get us here on time. If she hadn't done what she did, we wouldn't have made it here with enough time to really do anything." Tsukasa said, putting a hand on her sister's shoulder to steal her attention away from Konata. Kagami looked at her for a moment and cooled off.

"She's right. I'm sorry Kona." Kagami apologized, letting her hostage escape. Konata stumbled forward and puffed exhaustedly.

"Thanks Tsukasa, you saved my life!" She shouted, throwing her arms in the air again.

"What does that mean?" Kagami shouted. Konata giggled.

"Kona-chan, she calmed down!" Tsukasa whined a bit. "Can we just go, there's something special I wanna buy and I don't know how long they're gonna be open or if we're even gonna find a place that sells it!" Tsukasa complained. Kagami and Konata looked at each other.

"Sure, sorry Tsukasa. I didn't know." Kagami apologized.

"Yeah, sorry Tsukasa." Konata apologized as well. Tony pushed himself off the bench, but stumbled a bit until Konata caught him around her shoulder, putting an arm around his back to help better support him.

"I suppose we should go ahead." He said. "Thanks Kon-kon." He smiled down to his sister.

"No problem." She smiled back up.

"A ministering angel shall my sister be." Tony smiled as they set off.

"What's with all the Shakespeare suddenly?" Kagami asked. "That's the third quote in the last couple minutes!" She pointed out. Tony shrugged.

"I dunno, if it's bad I can stop." Tony said.

"No, it's just a sea change from what I'm used to." Kagami smirked. Tony chuckled.

"Well, come what come may." Tony said.

"What are they talking about?" Tsukasa whispered to Konata. Konata shrugged, just as confused as Tsukasa.

"For my own part, it was Greek to me!" She said. Tsukasa pouted.

"What are you two talking about Onee-chan?" She asked Kagami. Kagami smirked wider.

"Don't worry about it Tsukasa." She said.

"Come on, tell me~!" She whined to Tony.

_Nice set up Kagami..._ He complimented. "It's much ado about nothing." He waved off. "Thank you for helping Kon-kon, but I think I'll be good now." He said appreciatively.

"You're welcome Kan-kan." Konata smiled.

"Don't worry Tsukasa, we were quoting an awesome author." Kagami said. "We read his works in class a while ago, so I'm not particularly surprised you don't remember it." She said.

"Onee-chan, what does tha- There it is!" Tsukasa said excitedly. "Don't look, you're not allowed to know what I'm buying!" She said to the group.

"Is it a tiny lingerie for sexy time with Kan-kan?" Konata asked. Tsukasa and Tony exploded.

"Kona-chan~!" Tsukasa whined. She shook her head. "Turn around!" She said. Tony shrugged and turned around along with Konata and Kagami. Tsukasa ran off quickly. They waited a moment before Konata got a bit bored and hugged onto Kagami. Kagami didn't give much reaction other than a warm hum. It was another few minutes before they heard Tsukasa scurrying back. "Got it!" She cheered. Konata released Kagami so that she and Tony turned to see the airhead.

"That was uneventful..." Tony commented.

"Oooo..." They heard escape from Kagami. The rest of the group turned to face the Tsundere to see she was already half way across the street.

"Onee-chan, that's dangerous!" Tsukasa shouted at her enthralled sister, almost dropping the bag that contained her goods.

"Kagami!" Konata shouted, running across the street at light speed to catch up with the Tsundere, who had very luckily made it across the street without incident. She reached Kagami on the other side, completely ready to scold her friend for her foolishly reckless behavior. "Well? Why would you worry us like that?" Konata rebuked.

"... What?" Kagami asked, having been taken out of her stupor by her girlfriend.

"Kagami! You just walked out into the middle of the street!" Konata shouted at her friend, concern clear in her voice. "Just because I hug you, you walk in the middle of the street?"

"I did? I didn't even notice, I'm sorry, you had nothing to do with it! I'm sorry I worried you..." Kagami apologized as she turned back to what had enthralled her so. Konata followed her gaze as the others caught up. Tony and Tsukasa also followed Kagami's stare to see what she had looked at with such zeal. Tony almost burst into laughter at the sight, but managed to keep it under his breath.

"It's pretty." Konata commented on the jewelry that Kagami seemed to like so much. It was a platinum necklace with a giant amethyst that was only a few shades darker then her hair. There were diamonds all around the gem in the center of the amulet, which was shaped like a heart. The jewelry enchanted Kagami. _Hmmmm, how much does it cost? That would be nice for her birthday._ Konata thought.

**Cost: 312,874.98**

_Holy crap! That's a LOT of money! Man, I need some way to get some money... Maybe I can win another tournament? Or actually show up at my job sometime. _Konata chuckled in her head. She turned and sighed. Tony looked at Konata, but saw her almost as enthralled as Kagami had been a moment ago. He followed HER gaze to see a rather well endowed woman walking on the opposite sidewalk, almost exactly where they had been not moments ago.

"Having fun?" Tony chuckled a whisper to Konata. She jumped a bit.

"I would if I could play with those..." She whispered back to Tony.

"Is it bad to look at another woman's cleavage when we're with our girlfriends?" Tony asked.

"Hey, if we don't look at other women and compare, how will we know how awesome our girlfriends are?" Konata giggled.

"True! And we all know that the both of us truly love our Hiiragis!" Tony said.

"Yeah! And breasts are just too fun to watch..." Konata giggled.

"Too true..." Tony chuckled. "Besides, it's not like we would ever leave our girlfriends!" Tony said.

"Exactly! If we saw a new set of clothes, we wouldn't throw our old ones away simply because these were bigger!" Konata said.

"You said it sister!" Tony said.

"Or if we saw a new game or manga, we wouldn't ignore all of our other ones because of it!" Konata said.

"Are you two ready?" Kagami and Tsukasa turned around. Tony and Konata started and looked around. "Um. Okay, why do you two look guilty?" Kagami put her hands on her hips. Tsukasa looked over at her sister quickly, then mimicked her, putting her hands on her hips and even going so far as to trying to replicate Kagami's facial expression. However, she unfortunately failed miserably and ended up making an expression so cute, Tony couldn't even look guilty anymore.

"Tsukasa, you're so cute!" He said, hugging her. "I just wanna hug the stuffing out of you!" He shouted. Tsukasa blushed and hugged back.

"If it's you hugging, my stuffing is just aching to be hugged." Tsukasa chimed. Tony's throat got caught up as he blushed.

"And you say you aren't clever. You almost flawlessly can make me speechless. That shows a much sharper wit than going back and forth." Tony said.

"You mean it?" Tsukasa said happily.

"I wouldn't have said it otherwise." Tony said. Tsukasa pulled her head back and pecked Tony on the lips. "Why thank you." He smiled.

"My pleasure." Tsukasa said.

"Ahg! It's so sickeningly sweet!" Konata shouted, clutching her stomach.

"I'm gonna hurl again!" Kagami shouted, making the same gesture before the lovers descended into laughter. Tony and Tsukasa half broke from their hug, still keeping a hand behind the back of the other.

"Come on you two..." Tony sighed. A large growl cut off any further conversation. The group looked towards Tsukasa, who had taken her hand from behind Tony to hold it over her stomach, her blush turning to one of embarrassment.

"Somebody's hungry~..." Kagami chimed and giggled, both actions surprising Konata. Even with her new abundance of deredere, the Otaku had expected Kagami to be able to tease her sister.

"I'd say let's go to a fast food place, but I spent all of my money..." Tsukasa said.

"I didn't really have any to begin with..." Kagami commented.

"Me neither..." Konata sighed.

"Well this was a short outing." Tony chuckled.

"I'm sorry! We can keep looking around!" Tsukasa said, as if hoping to appease the people around her.

"No, it's fine! I'm hungry too and I have no money." Tony said. Tsukasa cheered up once again.

"Let's go home and I'll cook!" Tsukasa cheered.

"If you want." Tony smiled.

"Quick, Tsukasa's offering to cook! Tony have you ever seen her cook before?" Kagami asked. Tony put a finger to his lip and thought for a bit as they started back towards the station.

"No, I don't think so. I've only ever eaten her cooking, not seen it." Tony said.

"Okay, we need to get home then! You HAVE to see the Goddess of Cooking in action!" Konata said excitedly. There was another loud growl. Konata and Kagami looked at Tsukasa and giggled, but Tsukasa shook her head.

"That wasn't me..." She mumbled.

"Actually, it was me..." Tony raised his hand. "Let's go quick!" Tony shouted as the lot of them started to run towards the station. It wasn't a very long time before they all got to the station. They went down and hopped on the train that would take them closest to home, feeling very fortunate that it was already in. They sat down identically to how they had been seated on their way over to the shopping area. "Is she impressive to watch cook?" Tony asked Kagami.

"Crazy! She's so fast, it's like she has several more arms!" Kagami said excitedly.

"Plus, stuff seems to happen quicker around her too, she browned meat in five minutes when it generally takes ten to do that!" Konata said.

"Wow. She really is the Goddess of Cooking..." Tony chuckled.

"Um..." He heard a female voice. It sounded like it was directed at him, so he turned in the direction it had come from to see a woman with long dark pink hair that fell to the small of her back and navy blue eyes holding a piece of paper on a pad with a pen in her hand. She was looking away with a blush on her cheeks. "Are... Are you Ryū Tora no Kami..." She asked nervously. Tony smiled.

"Yes, and who are you?" Tony asked kindly, hoping not to scare the girl. Regardless, she started and seemed to shrink.

"Um... My name is Tereya... Tereya Hanikamiya..." She mumbled. "Could... Could I have your autograph?" She asked, closing her eyes and holding out the pad and pen to Tony with only her left hand, but her demeanor told Tony that she was already expecting and bracing for rejection.

"It would be my pleasure." He said with a smile. She opened her eyes, looking legitimately surprised and ecstatic.

"Th-Thank you!" She handed him the pen and paper. He signed the paper and looked at her, attempting to find anything to occupy her attention, but he could see her sneaking glances at him. He chuckled in his head and added a note onto the paper. He gave it back to her.

"Here you go." He smiled.

"Thank you so much!" She said joyously as she took the autograph and held it to her chest as if she treasured the item.

"My pleasure." Tony smiled.

"Are you participating in the tournament coming up soon?" Tereya asked excitedly. Tony raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't even know there was a tournament going on soon, when is it?" Tony asked. Tereya looked surprised.

"It's been all over the news! It's at the same place the World Tournament was at." Tereya said. Tony noticed Tsukasa stiffen a bit. He hummed and decided it was important enough for him to check. He let his consciousness float near her's to see how she felt. He could get a negative feeling from her. He nudged Tsukasa.

"Hey, do you not want me to fight in this tournament?" He asked her. She turned towards him.

"You can do what you want." She said. Tony gave her a stern look.

"I didn't ask what I want me to do, I asked what you want me to do." Tony said.

"I want you to do what makes you happy Kan-kun." Tsukasa said adamantly.

"Meaning you don't want me to fight?" Tony said, more of a statement of a question. Tsukasa sighed.

"I worry about you every time Kan-kun, but I know you'll come back to me. Enter it, I know you could use the money." Tsukasa said.

"Tsukasa..." Tony trailed off. Then he looked up to see his fan anxiously awaiting his decision. He thought for a moment. "Let your friends know that this may very well be Ryū Tora no Kami's last tournament." He told her. Tereya looked almost depressed.

"I understand..." She muttered.

"Will you come out to support me?" Tony asked. Tereya lightened up considerably.

"O-Of course!" She said. A blush spread across her face and she looked away for a moment, looking as if she was being scolded.

"Is there anything else I'll need to know?" Tony asked. Tereya looked up to think.

"Um... I think there was something..." She said.

"Hey Teri-chan!" Another girl practically appeared at her side. She smacked the suddenly embarrassed girl on the opposite shoulder, patting it. "What's taking you so long?" She asked, sounding impatient. She looked at Tony. "Oooooh, it's Ryū Tora no Kami!" She said. "Teri-chan here's your biggest fan! You get an autograph from him?" She asked Tereya.

"Y..Yes..." She mumbled. "Do you remember if there was anything special about the upcoming tournament? It might be Ryū Tora no Kami-sama's last." Tereya said. Tony jumped at the addition of "sama".

"What? LAME!" The other girl shouted. "Whiya leaving?" She asked Tony. He sighed.

"Personal reasons." He said.

"It isn't his last." Tsukasa said, eyes closed and facing forward. She seemed detached from the conversation, resolutely facing no one.

"Tsukasa?" Tony asked.

"You're fighting in any tournament you want to Kan-kun. You love to fight and I know you'll come back to me." Tsukasa said. "There's no reason you shouldn't fight." She said.

"I thought you hated it when I fought." Tony said.

"I do. But I'd hate it even more if you stopped something you love because of me." Tsukasa said. "I wouldn't want you to tell me I can't cook." She looked up into his eyes. She was neither smiling nor frowning at him and it was obvious that her ambivalence was truly on the inside as well. He could tell that what she said was the truth. Tony sighed.

"So this isn't your last tournament?" Tereya asked with almost blinding excitement and an enthusiasm that, even though Tony didn't know the girl well, he could tell it was a very rare amount for her to show.

"I suppose not." He smiled. Tereya cheered loudly, but piped down to blush in embarrassment. Tony chuckled. He looked up. "How have they not called our stop yet?" He wondered.

"They called it four stops back." Tsukasa said. Tony turned to her in surprise.

"What?" He asked.

"I didn't want to interrupt you and your new _friend_." Tsukasa said. The inflection she put on the word "friend" sent a chill down Tony's spine. The edge in her voice complimented the cold tone she took. It made Tony's stomach form a pit, but he didn't have much time to think on it before she spoke again. "It won't be too long before we circle around I'm sure." She said.

"I wonder why Kagami and Konata didn't say anything." Tony mumbled as he looked over. Konata and Kagami were both asleep in the seat. He chuckled.

"It looks like those two are comfy. I think we should let them sleep until we get back to our stop." Tsukasa said.

"Agreed." Tony smiled. "Pretty funny that it isn't us this time."

"R... Ryū Tora no Kami-sama?" Tereya asked cautiously. Tony turned his attention back on the girl.

"Please, call me Tony. Ryū Tora no Kami is too clunky for common use. And the "sama" only makes it seem weird to me." Tony said. Tereya blushed a great deal.

"Th-Thank you so much!" She bowed. Her friend giggled. "T-Tony..." She repeated to herself. "It's in two days!" Tereya said.

"And it's a team fighting thing." Her friend added. "Three to a team."

"We fight in teams?" Tony asked. She nodded.

"Yeah, three to a team." She reiterated. "Maybe you can show us a little something?" She smiled. Tereya looked surprised and constantly shifted her gaze between the two. Finally, she turned to Tony.

"Oh please, could you? Please please please?" She asked excitedly, almost jumping up and down in excitement. Tony sighed.

"Unfortunately, it's much too crowded on this train." He said. Tereya looked sad again.

"Oh... I guess so..." She said with a melancholic tone. Tony sighed and thought. The girl looked like she was about to cry, something he vehemently hated.

"Let's see..." He said. "I have an idea. Back up a little, I've never done this before." Tony said as he held a hand out. The girls backed up as he focused a little of his energy into his palm. A small glowing orb made itself known, bringing surprised gasps from most of the people in the car.

"Whoa..." Tereya said in awe.

"Make it swirl!" Her friend shouted almost obnoxiously. Tony sighed and thought of it. The energy in his palm began rotating, then shot out. Luckily, it dissipated before it hurt anyone.

_Gotta get that more contained... _He thought. He began again, adding more to the containment. He growled from the mental strain of containing it due to the energy feed with the addition of keeping the energy spinning, even with the very small amount of energy in it. It formed a perfect ball in his hand with very slowly rotating energy inside it._ Hell yeah!_ He smiled._ Considering the amount of energy that took, it isn't going to be that powerful compared to other things, but still. _He sighed as he stopped adding energy to it. Surprisingly, it continued to spin even without his adding energy to it. He smiled.

"It's so pretty..." Tereya muttered, enchanted by the energy ball.

"You said this was the first time you had tried it?" Her friend asked. Tony nodded.

"Yeah." He smiled.

"What are you going to name it?" Tereya asked. He thought.

"How about Tereya?" Tony smiled as blood quickly rushed to Tereya's face. She began several words, but very obviously failed in all of them. Finally, she calmed down and breathed a few times.

"Thank you Ry... Tony." She smiled. Her friend nudged her.

"Hey, he just named a move after you! You two are hitting it off pretty well, maybe you've got a shot at him..." She whispered to Tereya and giggled. Tereya blushed profusely. Suddenly, Tony felt an iron grip on his arm. He looked over to see Tsukasa looking at him, clearly distressed. He looked, confused. That is, until he saw the hand rubbing on her leg. He looked at the man next to her and saw that this was no accident. Tereya and her friend looked and gasped at the audacity of the pervert.

* * *

**One car over**

"Daddy, can we get ice cream when we get off?" The little girl asked her father.

"Ask your mother sweetie." The father avoided the question.

"Mommy, can we-"

"**TEREYA!**" They heard just before the car door blew off, luckily being stopped by a pole before it hit anyone. Everyone jumped and either shouted or screamed in surprise as a man fell into the car, the front of his shirt torn off and there were scratches on everywhere that was bare. There was a man standing in the next car with five girls around him, his hand extended.

"Kan-kan?" The smallest asked.

"**YOU TOUCH HER ONE MORE TIME! I TRIPLE FUCKIN' DARE YOU TO TOUCH HER ONE MORE GOD DAMN TIME!**" Tony yelled in fury. Tony took a step forward, but the Konata and Tsukasa both stepped up and held him back.

"It's okay Kan-kun, he only felt my leg!" Tsukasa shouted. She really disliked the man, but she could see murder in Tony's eyes and that man more than likely had family. She didn't care what the man did, she wasn't going to let him be killed if she could stop it.

"**Move!**" Tony shouted as energy pried Konata off. Tsukasa, panicked, leaned up and whispered something in his ear. Suddenly, he started and seemed to calm down. "Promise?" He asked.

"Of course." Tsukasa smiled. "That will be two kisses." Tsukasa smiled a bit wider. Tony smiled and chuckled. He leaned in and kissed her three times. "Oo~, and here's your change." She leaned up and kissed him. Tony smiled as he sat Tsukasa down and gave his seat to Tereya. Tsukasa stiffened a bit, but otherwise kept her cheerful demeanor. Tereya's friend leaned down.

"I guess not..." She sighed.

"I didn't expect to have a chance anyway..." Tereya sighed.

"You need to be more confident." Her friend sighed. She stood back up to meet the curious look of Tony. "It's private." She said.

"Very well." Tony sighed. The voice came over the intercom and called their stop. "Looks like this is where we get off." He said.

"Goodbye Tony!" Tereya smiled and waved as Konata and Kagami, having been awakened by Tony's outburst, walked off and Tsukasa followed. Tony began to leave, but turned around.

"By the way, if I do this..." Tony smiled and swiped his thumb across his nose a couple times. "That means that was for you." He smiled. Tereya blushed and tried to make herself look busy.

"Thank you..." She muttered. Her friend giggled and poked her in the rib with an elbow, taking the seat next to Tereya. Tereya looked at what Tony wrote on the autograph and blushed again_. You need to be more confident, you're a really pretty girl! Best of luck. -Ryu Tora no Kami. _Tony walked out and the door closed. He turned to see all three of the girls staring at him.

"What?" He asked. Tsukasa looked at Kagami, who looked back as Konata grabbed Tony's arm and pulled him to the side.

"What the hell was all of that?" She asked. Tony looked confused.

"The hell was what?" He asked.

"You have a girlfriend!" Konata scolded. Tony got even more confused.

"And?" He asked.

"From what I saw, you spent a LOT of time with that girl instead of Tsukasa. Can't you see she feels hurt?" Konata asked. "You can't just DO that!" Konata said. Tony blinked.

"She's hurt just because I was talking to another girl?" He asked.

"Yeah! You're dating her, go apologize!" Konata said. Tony blinked another time. Then he got a still more confused look.

"For what? Talking to someone? Making friends with a girl? What's wrong with that?" Tony asked.

"Look, I don't get it myself, but she's jealous and hurt. Just please apologize." Konata said. Tony crossed his arms.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't do anything wrong. I'm not apologizing." Tony said.

"Kan-kan, she might think you had eyes for that other girl!" Konata said. She suddenly looked suspicious. "You don't, do you?" She asked. Tony looked offended.

"No! Of course not!" He said. He glanced over at Tsukasa. "If she can honestly and whole-heartidly tell me that she thought I would ever leave her for another girl after everything we've been through, everything I've said to her, then..." He sighed. Konata looked him in the eye.

"Then what?" She asked. Tony sighed again.

"I don't know. I know I'd be very disappointed. I thought... I don't know." He shrugged and sighed. "I thought our bond was stronger than that. She knows what she means to me." Tony said. He looked at Tsukasa, who was conversing with Kagami.

"Yeah, but she's on her period, she gets emotional easily like this!" Konata said.

"To hell with that!" Tony said, attracting the attention of the other two. He waited for them to turn around and continue talking before continuing. Konata, however, started before he could.

"Kan-kan, you named a technique after another girl! How could you do that if you didn't do something like that for Tsukasa?" Konata asked.

"Easy. The technique-" Tony put his hand out. He groaned and ultimately failed to recreate it. Konata sighed.

"Is my energy enough to make your point?" She asked.

"Probably." He nodded. He tapped into her energy and recreated the sphere, it being easier now that he had a little bit of experience with it. She put her hand to her head at the sudden loss of energy. "This technique, while clearly powerful and obviously pretty, isn't Tsukasa." Tony said. Konata got confused.

"Why not?" She asked.

"Simple. You can't see it, but on the inside of this sphere, the energy is weak and slow. It's pretty, like its namesake. But Tsukasa..." Tony sighed. "Tsukasa is beautiful in heart, mind, and soul, as well as her body. She's perfect inside and out. This..." Tony closed his hand and took the energy in. "Isn't." He finished. "I'd need to refine that technique a thousand times before it's suitable to be called Tsukasa." He said. Konata leaned forward.

"Tell her that!" She urged. "She'd forgive you in a second!" She said. Tony looked incredibly frustrated.

"That's the point!" He said forcefully. "It's true and if I told her that she might, but I shouldn't HAVE to! She should trust me more than this!" Tony said. "And if she really feels that way, I think I might just go home." He said.

"What? What will that help?" Konata asked, desperate for her brother to avoid the conflict he would inevitably reach if he left.

"It will make me feel better." He said.

"That's selfish though." Konata said. Tsukasa and Kagami turned around.

"Here. I'll give her a chance to, what? Let me off the hook?" Tony asked Konata. She whined a bit.

"You have no idea what you're doing!" She whispered just before Kagami and Tsukasa walked over. Tsukasa looked Tony in the eyes.

"Kan-kun." She said curtly.

"Tsu-chan." He said back. There was a moment of silence.

"Aren't you going to say anything else?" Tsukasa asked.

"What are you expecting?" Tony asked.

"An explanation, hopefully." Tsukasa said.

"For?" Tony asked. "Talking to another girl?" He asked.

"You two were flirting!" Tsukasa said. Tony sighed.

"No I wasn't. You know I wasn't." Tony sighed in exasperation, as if this was information a toddler should know. To him, it was.

"No I don't know!" Tsukasa said. Tony's eyes and nostrils flared for an instant. He then returned to normal.

"Well, that's a damn shame." He turned away. "I love you. You know that. Just because I make a friend gives you no right to get so bent out of shape." He sighed.

"I thought you were going to take the bad times? Was what you said to me earlier a lie?" Tsukasa asked. Tony turned around, angry but keeping it under control. He put his hands on her shoulders. She flinched a little.

"Tsukasa." She looked at the ground. "Tsukasa!" He shouted a little louder. "Look me in the eyes." He said. She looked up and did as he asked. "Now, if you can honestly look me in the eyes and tell me that you doubt my intentions, that you think that I would leave you for someone I met on a train, then..." He trailed off. Tsukasa looked in his eyes. After ten seconds of silence in which no one moved, Tony let go and began to walk away. "I can't believe it." He sighed.

"Kan-kun!" Tsukasa shouted. He stopped and looked back.

"How could you hesitate on a question like that?" Tony shouted. He sighed. "I'm going home. We both need a bit of time to cool off." Tony said. He turned around.

"Kan-kun, you..." Tsukasa started to shout. He stopped. "You... asshole!" Tsukasa shouted. Tony jerked violently, but didn't turn around. He walked out of the station. Tsukasa started to cry as Kagami walked up and put a hand on her shoulder.

"What a jerk." Kagami said. "Don't worry Tsukasa, I'm sure he'll come around. Don't you think Kona?" Kagami asked. Konata heard it, but didn't immediately respond. She had hoped to avoid this. Kagami was now forcing her to choose sides, something she REALLY didn't want. "Konata?" Kagami sounded sterner.

"I don't want to take sides." Konata said.

"But you do agree that Tony was being a jerk, right?" Kagami asked. "...Right?" She demanded.

"Kagami, understand the position I'm in!" Konata turned to face her friend. "I'm caught between my girlfriend's sister and my brother!" She said.

"And I'm caught between my girlfriend's brother and my sister, but I'm obviously choosing my sister, my twin." Kagami said.

"By that logic, I would have to choose Kan-kan's side." Konata said. "But I don't want to choose sides." She said. Kagami almost growled.

"Well, who do you think is right? You have to tell me right now." Kagami said.

"In my gut? Who do I think is right?" Konata asked.

"Yeah!" Kagami demanded.

"Tony. I think Tsukasa is overreacting and you're out of line to make me choose between you and him." Konata sighed. Kagami looked at her in disbelief.

"Then you can go ahead and go home with him!" She shouted. Konata looked in shock.

"Kagamin, I-"

"Let's go home Tsukasa." Kagami sighed as she and Tsukasa walked out of the station, leaving Konata alone. A tear rolled down her cheek.

"Fine. I will." She said, her voice cracking. She walked out of the station and took off after Tony.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya Luckies! I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami!"

"And I'm the assistant, Minoru Shiraishi!"

"We sincerely apologize for this chapter taking so long. A bunch of stuff backed up and AC had to take care of them all before this chapter could really get worked on!" Akira bowed.

"Yeah, we here at Luckier Channel hope that the length of this chapter will make up for it being late." Minoru bowed.

"I hope it will be too." Akira said. "But watch out guys! It's the drama llama again!" Akira shouted.

*Music Tone*

"What? We're done already?" Akira asked.

"I think the writer really wants to get this chapter out ASAP." Minoru said.

"..."

"Well damn. Hasn't done that in a while."

"True, the writer hasn't been this late in... ever! I don't think it's ever been more than a month since the story was updated!"

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

Okay, I'm super sorry about this. I have no idea what's been happening for the past month. I've had essay after essay to write for dear old English teacher, not to mention worrying about my old teacher reading. Which she's begun. She likes it so far! Yay Layle! Oh yeah, and I realize that as I keep getting stuff piled on (Other stories to Beta, my growing Youtube obligations, not to mention my ACTUAL life), these chapters might be getting later and later. While I'll do my very best NOT to have that happen (I had to spend hours in God of Writing mode to get this one out XD), I also realize how much people HATE being in the dark. So, totally made a facebook account where I'll do my best to let you all know if there's anything you need to know. If I need to delay the next chapter due to, say, a vacation or something about a job or such, I'll let you guys know. Of course, I know that's a bit unorthodox, but still! I suppose you guys wouldn't have to if you didn't want to, just thought I'd give it a try. It's Luckierstar Story at facebook! I'll go ahead and get this out now. Sorry for the wait! Review please!


	41. Chapter 41: A Teammate

Chapter 41: A Teammate

Hey, what are you guys doing? Er... I guess you're kinda reading my story soooo... That was kind of a stupid question, eh? Anyway, reviews! Nafo, I accept your premise, but reject your conclusion. Then again, maybe I know something you don't. Probably, considering I know most of what's going to happen in this story. Sucks waiting for updates, doesn't it? But don't worry man, your dislikes may or may not be answered by the time this story finishes (In what? Twenty years? Lol...) Riku! Glad to see I met expectations, I was hoping for as much :D And yes, every story need fights! Big fights! The kind of fights that can turn CATACLYSMIC! Will it? Stay tuned! You know Universal Lizard, if you added the story to your Story Alerts, it would automatically inform you of new chapters... Just putting that out there... Don't worry, I don't intend on leaving you guys hanging! Holyriot, your review made me so happy, thank you for the vote of confidence. So far she likes it! And think, if everything went smoothly, that would make for boring literature, wouldn't it? The course of true love never did run smooth... RU771AN, I know someone in the Spetsnaz as well! By the way, the guys called me a something like "Puchemuchka" or something like that. Mind helping me out here, my Russian (I'm assuming it's Russian) is a little worse than my Klingon. I know a lot of people... I'll see if I can find a store to sell me some broomsticks, but it might be easier just to buy the whole broom... Yay, Stealthmomo reviewed again! I hope I continue improving with each new chapter, but if that's the case I may very well BE a writing god by the end of this story. I don't remember if I've said this, but I have gotten a couple more ideas for various arcs. To that end, the length of the story has been extended since I said it was half over. Because of that, there's going to be a LOT of chapters. I may outnumber the Lucky Trilogy (Lucky Summer, Lucky Future, and Lucky Music) in chapter number as well. However, one author has given me a bit of competition that I've only recently picked up on. While I haven't read them, the Lucky Dare Trilogy is now a close second for word length. As of chapter 11 of the third season, it's 298,900 words exactly. Of course, I'm pretty sure that Zokusho isn't going to start pounding out 10-20K chapters any time soon, so I think I'll be okay. And I might end up taking you up on that offer, just in case you know something I don't ;) And Konami, I'm definitely continuing, you have no need worry about that! Yes Sqweebs, you will have to wait and see.

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

Tsukasa and Kagami were walking home, the former in tears, the latter trying to comfort her. As the two walked, Tsukasa seemed to be taking a more aggressive stance, getting angrier and angrier.

"Tsukasa, don't worry about it, he isn't worth it." Kagami rubbed her twin's back.

"Stupid Kan-kun... Stupid Kan-kun..." Tsukasa said, getting more forceful each time. "Stupid Kan-kun!" She shouted, swinging her arms in such violent motions, the contents of the bag she's holding almost get out. Once again, Kagami found herself wondering what Tsukasa had bought that she didn't even want her twin to see. She knew asking right now was fruitless and so she returned to comforting Tsukasa.

"Tsukasa, don't let him get to you!" Kagami said.

"How could he flirt with another girl right in front of me?" Tsukasa asked. "Do I mean that little to him? Is everything he said a lie?" She asked no one in particular. She just about kicked open the door to their house. Miki, Tadao, and their sisters bolted into the hall to see what was happening, but were pushed out of the way as Tsukasa ran to her room. She stopped half way once she got to the door to the living room and looked through the door. She ran in, through the door to the kitchen, and threw the bag she had in the trash can. She sniffed as tears poured down her face, pausing for a moment to look at the bag.

"Tsukasa?" Matsuri poked her head in. This snapped Tsukasa out of her daze.

"Stupid Kan-kun!" She shouted and ran past her family and into her room. Kagami paused in the hall as Tsukasa slammed the door of her room.

"Kagami? What's going on?" Tadao asked. Kagami sighed.

"Tony was spending more time with another girl he met than with Tsukasa." She said. "She said they were flirting with each other." Kagami said.

"Were they?" Matsuri asked, anger in her voice and aura.

"I... don't know. Me and Konata fell asleep." Kagami said. "But of course I'm going to believe Tsukasa over Tony. From what I saw, he even named a new attack after this girl." Kagami said.

"Well, did he explain himself?" Matsuri asked, putting her hands on her hips. Kagami thought back.

"Well, he denied that he was flirting. I wonder what he said to her earlier though, what ever it was, it had some impact on her..." Kagami said. Matsuri sighed. Kagami walked over to the trash can and looked in. She saw the bag that Tsukasa had thrown in and took it out. _This was probably meant for Tony, whatever it is._ Kagami thought to herself. She opened it and was slightly confused at its contents. _I'll have to ask Tsukasa about this later._ She decided. Before anything more could be thought, Matsuri sighed again. This time was different however. This time, the sigh was decisive, as if the girl had answered a problem that had plagued her mind.

"Alright." She said, walking towards the door. Kagami got alarmed and turned around.

"Matsuri, where are you going?" She asked. Matsuri got to the door, opened it, and walked through.

"Paying little Kan-chan a visit." She said, closing the door. Kagami gasped a bit and shot towards the door, her family in pursuit.

"Matsuri!" Kagami shouted, as she threw the door open. It was to no avail, however, as she drove away in the family car. "Dad, you have to catch up with her!" Kagami turned to her father. He sighed.

"I used most of the remaining gas in my car when I was coming home from work today. I was planning on leaving early tomorrow so I could fill up the tank again." He said. Kagami grabbed her twintails and pulled.

"ARG!" She shouted as she leaped out of her house and onto her bike. "I'm gonna see if I can get there quick!" She said. And with that, she was off, hoping to get to her sister before Tony's bad mood got the better of him. She hoped he had more discipline, but who knew, right? Right?

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony walked down the sidewalk, hoping to any god that would listen that he hadn't just lost any chance at being happy. In his depression, he stopped paying much attention to his surroundings, let alone where he was going. He bumped into someone's shoulder.

"Watch it asshole!" The man he bumped into turned and shouted. Tony froze violently as Tsukasa's voice echoed in his head. The first time Tony had ever heard his... the airhead curse and it had been at him. To insult him. Fury began to bubble in his blood as he turned around.

"What?" He said.

"I told you to watch it, asshole!" The man said again. Tony balled his hand into a fist, his anger giving him strength. Still, he kept his cool.

"That's not a good thing to call someone." Tony said.

"Asshole." The man repeated.

"It isn't my name." Tony said again. The man laughed.

"You sure asshole?" The man asked. Tony almost growled.

"Don't call me that." He said, letting his anger start to get the better of him.

"Asshole." The man repeated once again. Tony gritted his teeth and walked up to the man.

"Call me an asshole **one more time.**" Tony said. The man chuckled and leaned forward. In Tony's ear, he whispered.

"Assho-"

"**TEREYA!**" Tony shouted, having formed the attack.

"GAH!" The man shouted, being sent back. Tony sighed as the man hit the ground hard, but not very far away.

_I need to work on that._ He sighed. _That will need a lot more time and energy to perfect._ Tony decided. Two of the man's friends walked up.

"Hey, what the hell?" One of them asked.

"Go away!" Tony shouted, extremely irritated. When the two didn't, he got angrier. "You got a problem thickness?" He asked the bigger one. "Goggles?" He turned to the other.

"Yeah, maybe we do." The bigger one cracked his knuckles. Tony leaned forward.

"Look. I'm going to level with you." He said. "I've had a bad day. And if you two don't get out of my face, your head-" He pointed to the smaller. "-is going up his ass." Tony pointed to the bigger one. He readdressed the bigger one. "And you man, you got the short end of the stick, because your head is going up his ass." Tony pointed to the fallen man. Konata began to walk up as the two men snickered. Tony sighed. "You really want to ride this train today boys?" Tony asked.

"Choo choo assho-" The smaller one started. Konata gasped in horror as Tony grabbed the smaller man. There were two tears of cloth and the same number of shrieks of pain as Tony made good on his threat. Tony smacked his hands on each other to dust them off.

"Kan-kan, did you just..." Konata walked up, trailing off as she beheld the literal punishment her brother had put to these men. "Did you just stick a man's head up another man's ass?" She asked. Tony looked up and nodded.

"You here to call me an asshole too?" He asked, sighing in exasperation.

"No, I agree with you. Tsukasa overreacted, if you say that you weren't flirting then I believe you." Konata said. Tony smiled.

"Thanks. You have no idea how much I appreciate hearing that..." He sighed as relief washed over him. "I'm tired though. I think I'm going to go to my house and go to bed." Tony said.

"That sounds like a good idea." Konata nodded in assent. The two started to walk home with a sluggish pace.

"I did learn something from Tereya though." Tony said.

"That the girl?" Konata asked.

"Yeah." Tony said.

"What is it?" Konata asked with a sigh.

"There's another tournament coming up." Tony said.

"Oh really? Good luck." Konata said.

"Actually, I'd like to ask you a favor." Tony said. "She said that it was going to be team matches. Three to a team." Tony said.

"And..." Konata smiled.

"I'd like you to be on my team." Tony smiled to his sister. She smiled wider to show that she appreciated the offer.

"That's all well and good, but who's going to be the third member?" Konata asked. Tony thought for a moment.

"Hmmm. Maybe JC would want to come." Tony said. Konata hummed.

"Cool, but how would we find him?" She asked.

"Aniki could probably find out. He's very good about that." Tony smiled. "I've just gotta find a time when he isn't working." Tony said.

"What about we stop by his work and see? He told me where he worked." Konata smiled.

"Sounds like a plan." Tony smiled. A firm goal set, the two began walking to the construction zone that Tony's brother worked at.

"Hang on..." Konata said.

"What's up Kon-kon?" Tony asked.

"Why don't we just get Masutā to enter?" Konata asked.

"Hm... That's an interesting idea." Tony smiled.

"Yeah! Does he have any sort of martial arts under his belt?" Konata asked.

"I don't think he's up near your level. Even then though, he's got more than physical training going for him. In the forces, what he excelled at was strategy. I remember the time he's most proud of." Tony smiled.

"What happened?" Konata asked. Tony chuckled.

"I should probably leave it to him to explain. He would probably do it so much better than me." Tony said. They walked for a moment without words being exchanged. It was Tony who broke the silence. "Kon-kon." He sighed.

"What is it?" Konata asked.

"Did I make a horrible decision?" Tony asked.

"With Tsukasa?" Konata asked. Tony sighed.

"Mhm." He confirmed. Konata sighed.

"I can't tell you that Kan-kan." She said. "Like I said, I agree with you. Tsukasa overreacted. I think you might have been able to handle it better, but still. You could have avoided the fight." Konata said. Tony sighed again.

"I suppose." He said. "She knows I love her though."

"She should, yeah." Konata said.

"Hey, I kind of lost track of where we are, are we close to Aniki's work place?" Tony asked.

"Not very. It's getting kind of dark too..." Konata looked up. Tony did as well.

"Man, it's going to be too dark for him to be at work by the time we get there." Tony sighed.

"We could run?" Konata said. Tony looked pensive for a moment, but shook his head.

"Honestly, I really, really don't feel like running right now." He said. Konata sighed.

"Well, I can't think of any other way to get there." She said. They began brainstorming, but their thoughts were interrupted by a car horn. They looked back on the road to see the Hiiragi car. It pulled up next to them as they stopped. Matsuri opened the door and gestured to them.**  
**

"Hop in you two." She said. Tony and Konata looked at each other. Matsuri sighed. "Come on, I'll give you a ride. Besides, I just want to talk." She said. Tony and Konata shrugged and got in. "Where you two headed?" Matsuri asked. Konata told her the address of the construction site.

"It's where my brother works." Tony said.

"Ah." Matsuri said. "So, what's the deal with Tsukasa?" Matsuri asked.

_Right to the point. I can respect that._ Tony thought. "I met a girl on the subway. We talked for a long time." Tony said.

"What did you say?" Matsuri asked.

"Well, the girl, Tereya, asked for my autograph. I gave it to her." Tony began recalling the events. "She informed me of another tournament the day after tomorrow. Then I invented a new move and..." Tony sighed. "I did name it after Tereya." He said. Matsuri stiffened.

"Do you realize how incredibly inappropriate that is to do in front of Tsukasa?" Matsuri asked. Tony sighed. "You better have a damn good explanation for it." She said. Tony nodded.

"The attack isn't good enough to deserve the name Tsukasa." Tony said. "It isn't... perfect enough. Not anywhere close." Tony said. Matsuri hummed.

"Did you tell her that?" She asked.

"I shouldn't need to." Tony responded.

"I'll take that as a no?" Matsuri asked.

"That's right, I didn't." Tony said. They arrived at their destination.

"Here you are, but I wish I could talk about this more with you." Matsuri put the car in park. Konata started to scoot towards the door, but bumped into Tony. It was then that both Matsuri and Konata realized that Tony had never moved to exit the vehicle.

"Aniki can wait a few minutes." Tony said. "I'd like to get your opinion."

"Well, to tell you the truth, I don't know what to think. You sound sincere, but how do I know you're not leaving something out?" Matsuri asked.

"How about this. The only thing you need to watch out for is that it's going to feel really weird." Tony said.

"How about what?" Matsuri asked.

"If I link myself to your mind, then recall the memory, it should be as if you experienced it through my eyes." Tony said. "Not my opinion, my eyes." He clarified. Matsuri sighed.

"Okay then. Hit me with your best shot." Matsuri said. Tony breathed. It was weird to share one of his memories. It felt like an extremely intimate gesture in any sense of the word. He was suddenly very uncertain about this. "Well?" Matsuri asked. Konata looked up at her brother and could almost sense his discomfort. She put a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. He looked down at her to see her smiling and nodding. Tony breathed again.

"Okay... Here goes..." He said. He reached out and brushed Matsuri's mind. There was a panicked response, but no more than Tony had already expected. He pried into her mind and began to recall the events of the subway station. As he watched them himself, he noticed something odd. Tereya had kept her right hand hidden behind her back or in some other form throughout the entire encounter. He kept the thought from carrying over as Matsuri saw exactly what he had seen. After the memory was finished, Tony withdrew into his own mind and shuddered. The experience of doing such a thing with Matsuri was... haunting to understate it. It almost felt as if he had cheated on Tsukasa. _Assuming we're still together..._ He thought with a tone of melancholy. Matsuri shuddered herself and cleared her throat.

"Well... Okay..." She shook herself a little to shake the sensation of sharing a mind off of her. "Okay." She repeated, regaining her composure. "I understand. I think." Matsuri commented. "Whether you flirted or not, that wasn't your intention." She said. "I don't think you did, but it's not really up to me, is it?" Matsuri turned and asked Tony. Tony smiled and sighed.

"I'm glad you see it from my point of view." Tony smiled.

"M'not finished." Matsuri said. Tony nodded.

"Go on." He said.

"You handled the situation afterwards wrong. You should have simply explained yourself to Tsukasa. It would have been easier." Matsuri said. Tony sighed.

"Sorry, but I was annoyed by the fact that she could get angry with me for having a female friend. And then she was basically trying to tar and feather me. I don't know about you, but when people try to tar and feather me, I tend to get a little ruffled." Tony said. "I stand by what I said. I shouldn't need to explain myself for having a friend." Matsuri sighed again.

"I guess I get where you're coming from. I'm... going to try and talk some sense into Tsukasa." Matsuri said. She shuddered again. "After a little break..." Matsuri turned the car off and put her seat back. Tony looked at Konata, and the two left the vehicle.

"What's with the break?" Konata asked Tony once they were out.

"That was... extremely uncomfortable." Tony commented. "It felt like something intimate. Something I don't want to experience with very many people at all." He said. "Maybe we should wait out here for Aniki. It might be dangerous in there." Tony said, leaning against a wall surrounding the construction site. Konata shrugged.

"Yeah." She followed suit. They stayed that way for a while, the exhaustion from the day catching up with Tony. He closed his eyes for a moment to get some respite. He heard a giggle that, while he didn't recognize it, sounded very familiar. He opened his eyes and looked over at where he heard.

"Whatcha guys doing?" A girl asked. Tony's heart skipped a beat as he observed the girl, who looked to be in her teens. She had short purple hair reminiscent of Tsukasa. To that effect, her body was as such as well. Her eyes were a light brown, however. While Tony calmed a bit, the likeness was crazy. Completing the image, there was a yellow band around her neck. Around her waist was a white cloth band with an almost extreme attention to intricate details. By looking at it, Tony could tell it took someone an extremely long time to make. It didn't even look like it was all one type of cloth. He followed all the eccentricities of the pattern that followed through the band when he heard the girl giggle. "Hey hot-shot, eyes up here." She said, hands on her hips. Tony felt blood rushing to his face as he jumped a bit.

"Er- No, I was looking at your belt there. It looks extremely well crafted." Tony said. The girl had a half smile on.

"Well thank you." She smiled. "But you never answered my question." She cocked her head to the side. "And you better tell me! Or else..." She said menacingly. Tony sighed.

"You're not here to kill me, are you?" He asked. The girl looked confused.

"I don't think so." She said. Tony took a turn getting confused.

"Then what if I don't tell you?" He asked. The girl smiled.

"Then..." She smiled, cocking her head. "If you refuse, I'd have to pout. And you'd have to live with being the guy that made me pout. And you don't want THAT on your conscience, do you?" She asked. As if to demonstrate, the girl began to pout. It was one of the most adorable, heart-wrenching things Tony had ever witnessed. It was less than half a minute before Tony broke.

"Okay okay! I'll tell you, just don't do... that! I feel like I just hit a puppy!" Tony started pulling his hair. The girl giggled in triumph as the facade was dropped. "At least tell me your name." Tony said.

"My name? Tsuki." Tsuki smiled. "So, whatcha doing, whatcha doing, whatcha doing?" She practically jumped up and down.

"I'm waiting for my brother, you seem... very excited..." Tony commented.

"I'm excited to meet you." Tsuki said. Tony chuckled.

"Are you a fan?" He asked. Tsuki got confused again.

"A fan?" She asked. She remembered before Tony could say anything. "Oh right, you did that tournament thing!" She snapped her fingers. It sounded almost as loud as a gun shot, so much so that people around them jumped and ducked. Tony couldn't help but wonder how she hadn't hurt her knuckles from the force of the snap. "No, it's an entirely different reason!" Tsuki waved a hand dismissively in front of her face. Tony raised an eyebrow.

"And what reason might that be?" Tony asked. Tsuki waved her hand a bit more violently.

"Never mind that, why are you waiting for your brother?" Tsuki asked.

"You're very nosy." Konata said.

"You're very interesting." Tsuki responded without hesitation.

"How would you know?" Konata asked. Tsuki seemed caught off guard. She put a finger to her lip, looked upward, and squinted, as if any of these actions would help her to form coherent thought.

"Well... Call it intuition!" Tsuki said excitedly. Tony crossed his arms.

"That's hardly an answer." He said.

"But it's still one, right? So it doesn't matter." Tsuki waved her hand in front of her face again.

"See you bright and early in a couple days boss!" Masuta shouted, waving behind him. He turned forward to see the trio outside his work place. "Hey Ototo, Tsukasa, Konata, what's going on?" He asked. Tsuki giggled.

"My name is Tsuki." She said. Masuta started a bit. He could hear the difference between Tsuki and Tsukasa's voice almost instantly.

"Oh, well nice to meet you. I'm sorry, you look like someone I know." Masuta said.

"I get that a lot." Tsuki rubbed the back of her head. "I think your brother here needs to talk to you about something." Tsuki gestured to Tony. Masuta turned to Tony.

"Ototo?" Masuta asked.

"I was wondering if you'd like to participate in a tournament with me the day after tomorrow? Me and Kon-kon are entering and you need a team of three. To be honest, I think you'd probably be the best addition." Tony said. "Between your strength and your intelligence, I think you'd be invaluable." Masuta chuckled.

"Thanks Ototo. I'd love to, really, but I can't. The next few days are going to be me moving into the Takara house and getting set up." Masuta smiled widely. Tony cheered.

"Good for you!" He shouted. Konata's jaw dropped.

"You're moving in with Miyuki? I didn't even realize you two were dating yet!" Konata shouted.

"We're not, but she said that since I'm paying for most of the house, I can go ahead and move in with her." Masuta said. He blinked. "Wait, "yet"?" He shouted, but was ultimately ignored.

"Well hot damn..." Konata mumbled. "Why didn't I think of that?" She laughed.

"Hey!" Tsuki said, getting the attention of everyone.

"Yes?" Tony asked.

"Couldn't help but notice you needed a third for your team. Mind if I come?" Tsuki asked.

"Well, you could come out and support the team, yeah." Tony said. "I'd appreciate that a lo-"

"No no no!" Tsuki shook her head and held her arms in an X shape as if to say "denied". "I mean to fight! I love to fight!" Tsuki said. Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really?" He smiled. "And by what qualifications do you take such a position?" Tony asked.

"Well, I've been training in fighting since I was a little girl, my Dad and Aunt got me into fighting when I was young! Dad is a little too busy these days, but Aunt still gives me lessons!" Tsuki shouted. Tony and Konata looked at each other, raising an eyebrow.

"Kon-kon?" Tony asked.

"Hmm..." Konata thought. "Let's see whatcha got!" She decided. She took a basic stance. Tsuki giggled.

"Alright!" She cheered. Konata smiled as Tsuki seemed to think. A moment went by.

"Well?" Konata asked.

"Just a minute! I'm trying to decide what stance I should use..." Tsuki said. She thought another moment and nodded, seeming to have decided. She took it. Inching up to Konata, she kicked. Konata wrapped her arm under Tsuki's leg and shifted forward, throwing the girl off balance. "Ouch..." She mumbled as she fell on her rear. Tony chuckled.

"Thanks for the offer, but if that's all..." He said. Tsuki got up and charged in front of Tony.

"That's not it, her reflexes are just a lot better than mine!" She shouted. "You got anything you don't mind losing?" She asked, getting a little in Tony's face. He hummed, backing up.

"Your face got a little close there." He mumbled. He dug around in his pocket. He soon produced his broken knife. "Will this do?" He asked. Tsuki looked down at it.

"No, it's gotta be bigger!" She said, throwing her arms to her side to demonstrate.

"Um..." Tony thought. "I have training dummies at my house." He shrugged.

"That works, but..." Tsuki trailed off.

"But what?" Tony asked.

"Only known me about twenty minutes and already trying to get me in your home? I'm a little flattered." Tsuki giggled. Tony blushed.

"That's not- I mean-..." Tony sighed. "You seriously remind me of someone I know." Tony sighed.

"I get that a lot." Tsuki reiterated, giggling. "Come on, let's go! I wanna show you guys what I can do!" She said excitedly.

"Alright, alright." Tony chuckled. They heard sirens suddenly. All of them looked back to see a police car chasing a another car. There was someone hanging out of the car being chased and shooting a small handgun at them. Tony sighed.

"Got 'em." He said, crouching down. A hand stopped him.

"No. Me." Tsuki smiled. She pointed at the car that was escaping with her thumb up and her right index finger at the car. She began to concentrate. _Imagine the trigger in my mind and..._ She twitched her thumb down to simulate a hammer on a gun. _Pull it tight!_ She remembered. A beam of energy shot out and blew the car about ten yards, effectively disabling it. Every else's jaw dropped.

"Tsuki, did you just..." Konata muttered. Tsuki turned around triumphantly, blowing on her index finger for the effect of it.

"Spirit gun. My Aunt taught it to me." She smiled. "I'm not even right handed!" She giggled. Tony cracked his neck to snap himself out of his stupor.

"Well I'll be damned. I thought you had to die to be able to do stuff like that." He shrugged.

"Well it isn't a real Spirit Gun, I just use energy to replicate it, ya know?" Tsuki shrugged. Tony paid close attention to this, Manten's words echoing in his mind.

**_"These people are descendants of yours."_**

_Hmm... I could see a resemblance. Is she from the future maybe?_ Tony thought. He turned to Konata. "What do you think Kon-kon?" Tony asked in a whisper. She seemed to think.

"Well... I think if you're okay with it, I'm fine with her being on our team!" Konata whispered back excitedly. Tony smiled and nodded.

"That's what I hoped for." He whispered before returning to a normal volume. "Hey Tsuki, what's your last name?" He asked. Tsuki looked at him and crossed her arms.

"Why do you wanna know?" She asked.

"Just curious about our new teammate." Tony smirked. Tsuki smiled and jumped up and down, clapping.

"Yay! I get to fight in the tournament!" She cheered.

"If you tell me your last name that is." Tony pressed. Tsuki calmed down, crossed her arms, and glared at him.

"Mou! My last name is Senninriki, happy now?" She asked impatiently. Tony was confused, but pushed the feeling aside.

_Well then. I suppose since I have these powers, it's entirely plausible that there are other people who have them as well._ Tony thought, nodding to himself. He shrugged. "Yeah." Tony smirked. "In any case, I'm tired." He turned to Konata and Masuta. "Are you guys ready to go home?"

"Hey, I'm new around here. Got somewhere I can crash for the night?" Tsuki asked. Tony turned.

"Ye-ow!" He started to accept, but was cut off as a sharp elbow from Konata caught him in his ribs. He looked down at her. "Not good?" He asked.

"Bit not good, yeah." Konata said as if she was speaking to a child. She turned to Tsuki. "If you don't mind a futon, you're welcome to stay at my house."

"Thanks, I don't mind at all! Beats sleeping on a bench." Tsuki chuckled as the group started home.

"Is that where you've been sleeping?" Konata asked, a bit concerned. Tsuki looked at her for a moment, then waved a hand in front of her face.

"Oh no, but that's where I would have if I hadn't met you guys!" Tsuki smiled.

_It's so weird... She just looks too much like Tsukasa._ Tony sighed.

"I'm surprised you're not with your girlfriend, honestly." Masuta chuckled. Tony sighed again.

"We had a fight." He said. Masuta raised an eyebrow.

"Really? You two?" Masuta chuckled. "What about?"

"I don't really wanna talk about it." Tony said. "I'll tell you later. Right now, I'm just tired." He sighed.

"Oh, by the way Ototo, that reminds me! I did get home during my lunch break and make a large pot full of dengen." Masuta smiled.

"Awesome, that'll come in great handy during the tournament." Tony smiled. "How much do I owe you for it?" Tony asked.

"It's on me, don't worry about it." Masuta smiled.

"Thanks a lot..." Tony smiled.

"It's no problem. My thanks for giving me a place to live for so long." Masuta smiled. "Honestly, I was planning on staying for a week, maybe two..." Masuta commented. "Seeing how you were doing. Your growth... Then going on with whatever I was told was my next assignment whenever it came." Masuta sighed. "But now... Ototo, you've grown so much. Konata..." He addressed the Otaku, who looked up at him. "You and your friends have truly been a blessing for him. Before he met you, I would have never thought he'd really associate with a lot of people of his own volition." Masuta commented. "Look at you Tsuki." He said. The aforementioned girl perked up a bit at the sound of her name. "You're proof of how far he's come. You caught him off guard and still he responded with a level head. Sneak up on my little brother a year ago and it would have been YOUR head." Masuta chuckled. Tony was quickly getting embarrassed. "I guess what I'm saying is... Thank you for being Ototo's friend, Konata." Masuta smiled. Konata smiled warmly.

"It's my pleasure." She said. Masuta laughed.

"Another thing I never thought I'd hear from someone who saw Ototo every day!" He said cheerfully. Tony crossed his arms and pouted.

"Hey!" He protested. Masuta restrained himself to chuckles.

"You gotta admit Ototo, you used to be kind of a prick." Masuta said. Tony's jaw dropped.

"I- Well- You!... I know..." He conceded defeat. "How was I supposed to know how to act though!" Tony protested. "I'd never been around people for the most part!"

"I know, I know." Masuta chuckled. He sighed contently. "You know what though?" He said.

"What's that?" Tony asked.

"I think... I think I'm done with all the forces and all that." Masuta said. Konata raised an eyebrow.

"Can you just do that?" She asked.

"Unless there's some kind of global threat, I'm just gonna not worry about it." Masuta smiled.

"That's the spirit Aniki, if they have anything they want to try and force on you, tell them they can come to me and I'll explain every conceivably possible way they can shove it up their ass." Tony hit himself on the chest proudly. "I'll beat every last one of 'em!" He said confidently.

"They have an army." Masuta chuckled.

"I have a god." Tony replied quickly. Masuta laughed along with Konata and Tsuki. "You guys laugh, I'm serious. Me against a million people? Sounds like one hell of a fight! One I'm sure Hachiman wouldn't want to miss!" Tony chuckled. Masuta calmed down.

"Yeah Ototo... You've grown so much and I'm so proud of you. You have a sister." He looked at Konata. "You've found someone to truly love." He sighed. "You have people who love and care about you other than me. That's something special."

"I really do have a Luckier Star than most I'd say." Tony smiled. "So Aniki, you said you originally planned on staying for a week or two, but it's been over a month. How long do you plan on staying?" Tony asked. Masuta chuckled.

"Let me put it this way. As long as Miyuki is here and willing to let me live with her, I'm staying permanently." Masuta smiled. "I think I'm just gonna settle down. Work this job until it's finished and collect what I can for all the jobs I did for the forces. Hell, I just did one..." Masuta thought for a moment. "Let's see... It's June, my last mission was at the start of May..." Masuta figured. "So it was just last month that I did my last one. I've had all the money that they give to me for these go into a separate savings account that I vowed never to touch until I decided to settle down." Masuta said. "I have no idea how much money is in there though." Masuta chuckled.

"None whatsoever?" Tony asked.

"Nope. For all I know, it could be enough to buy Miyuki's house and then some, or it could be enough to buy a choco coronet." Masuta chuckled again. Tony crossed his arms.

"Oh no, they'd be hearing from me. You've risked your life how many times? You better have a hell of a lot in that account." He said.

"I wish I could say defending my country was enough, but it wasn't even really my country." Masuta chuckled.

"Exactly!" Tony said. "But they wanted the best." Tony chuckled as they all arrived home. It was relatively late by this time.

"Well, I'm going to go home. I'll see you guys tomorrow!" Konata waved. "If I don't decide to sleep the entire day." She giggled.

"Same same Kon-kon!" Tony waved as Tsuki followed Konata. Tony and Masuta entered his house. They proceeded to fall on to the chair and couch respectively. Tony sighed.

"What's on your mind Ototo?" Masuta asked.

"Aniki..." Tony sighed. "What was Dad like?" He asked. "Truthfully, I only really remember that he was nice to me. But look at us." Tony commented. "I have super powers and you're ridiculously perfect." Masuta laughed.

"How do you figure that Ototo?" He asked.

"Well, how you're not only in all of these special forces groups, but at the top of all of them! That's crazy!" Tony said. Masuta chuckled.

"Someone has to be the best, right? Might as well be me as it is anyone else." Masuta shrugged.

"But how?" Tony asked. "I already know that Mom was amazing, but was Dad just that legendary as well?" Tony asked. Masuta shrugged again.

"Honestly, I was away for a long time. I couldn't tell you much about Dad. Honestly, I probably couldn't even tell you what he looked like." Masuta said. "I kinda had to flush a lot of stuff to learn how to be the best. His appearance must have inadvertently been one of those things."

"There's nothing you can tell me about him?" Tony asked. Masuta sighed and thought hard. He thought as the two sat in silence for ten minutes, the older brother desperately trying to recall anything that might satisfy his younger sibling. Finally, he realized he could really remember only one thing.

"He was bald." Masuta chuckled. Tony yawned. "You should rest Ototo." Masuta said.

"I think I'll do that. You hitting the sack too?" Tony asked. Masuta smiled.

"Not quite yet. I've still got some things I've gotta take care of before I sleep." He said. Tony got up and stretched.

"What kinda stuff?" He asked.

"Promises to keep. Miles to go before I sleep. That kind of stuff." Masuta said.

"Ha ha. Good night Aniki." Tony walked to his room.

"'Night Ototo!" Masuta shouted as Tony closed his door. He walked over and fell onto his bed. Despite his fight with Tsukasa, he felt surprisingly okay. He had made two new friends and his brother had told him he was proud of him. His day had actually turned out pretty good in the end. Now, he just had to wait out the dreaded period and hope Tsukasa came to her senses.

_Maybe I should bring her some chocolates or something. That would probably help her..._ Tony thought before falling asleep.

* * *

**POV Konata**

Konata walked into her house with Tsuki following close behind.

"You live here? Nice." Tsuki smiled.

"Yeah. So then, why did you hold back?" Konata asked.

"Hold back? What do you mean?" Tsuki smiled.

"Before when you were trying out to be on the team. You held back a lot when you physically attacked me." Konata said. Tsuki chuckled nervously.

"Was it that obvious?" She asked.

"Well I think you fooled Kan-kan." Konata said. "Wasn't that hard to figure out though." Konata turned and smirked.

"Well, I think you're still a lot more skilled than I am." Tsuki said.

"Yeah, but you've got the ability to use energy like Kan-kan can. I dunno, you stand a decent chance." Konata smiled.

"True. I've got a couple techniques my Aunt explained to me." Tsuki smiled.

"Maybe we can have a real fight. We've got a day to recover, after all." Konata smiled. Tsuki looked around.

"Sure, but not in here. Outside would be better." Tsuki said. Konata shrugged and the two reversed their trail and walked back outside. The two got outside and stood about ten meters apart. Konata put her hand in her fist and bowed.

"Please." She said. Tsuki returned the gesture.

"Please." Tsuki smiled. "Ready?" She asked.

"Ready." Konata said. Tsuki started running towards Konata, who kept calm. She jumped into a punch. Konata stepped forward and spun her hand around. She tapped Tsuki's fist on the top and pushed it down. Tsuki's hands hit the ground as she put her momentum into a kick at Konata's head. Konata leaned to the side and swept Tsuki's hands out from under her with a sweeping kick. Tsuki hit the ground and rolled away. Konata turned to face her. "I see you like anime as well." Konata smiled. Tsuki got up and smiled at her.

"My Aunt got me into it. Now it's time to teach you a lesson!" Tsuki said, actually taking a stance.

"I look forward to it." Konata said. Tsuki ran over again and threw her weight into a flip that landed her on the other side of Konata. She threw a punch, which Konata knocked off. Konata threw a punch, but Tsuki blocked. Tsuki roundhouse kicked while Konata ducked under it. Tsuki landed, her back to Konata, who took advantage of the situation and let loose several punches to her back. Konata spun in turn with Tsuki and kicked backwards, throwing Tsuki back. Konata spun again and took her stance. Tsuki cracked her neck.

"Time for a little something my Aunt taught me. Took me a few years to get down." Tsuki smiled. She inhaled and exhaled energy. It took the form of Tsuki herself. "Clone!" She cheered. "Let's go!" She shouted as she and her clone ran towards Konata. Konata growled.

_What the hell! How much energy does she have? What is she?_ Konata shouted in her head as Tsuki and her clone neared. Tsuki punched, but Konata let it slide on her wrist, bending her arm in to deliver an elbow to Tsuki's chest. She was sent back as Tsuki's clone disappeared and the real one delivered a punch to her cheek. Konata growled again. She cracked her neck. Anyone who knew Konata would know she had just rolled up the proverbial sleeves. Tsuki created another clone. They ran at Konata. The clone kicked at Konata's chest, but Konata blocked it with both arms. Tsuki side kicked at Konata, but the Otaku deflected it with her own foot. She brought her foot over and kicked the clone off. Tsuki ran up and punched, but Konata sidestepped and grabbed Tsuki's wrist. She forced Tsuki down as her clone ran up and punched at Konata. She moved her other hand and tapped the clone of the wrist, dissipating the energy from the blow. Konata kicked Tsuki back upright and kicked her in the stomach, sending her into her clone. As the two recovered, Konata came in with kicks to the both of their heads. The clone disappeared as Tsuki hit the ground, rolling on her shoulder until she was upright once again.

"Clone!" She shouted, creating another one. It ran over and roundhouse kicked into the air. Konata easily ducked under it as the momentum carried the clone to her other side.

_Not good!_ Konata thought as she observed the situation. Now she had enemies on both sides. The clone swept at one of Konata's legs, but she lifted her foot over the kick. She spun, catching Tsuki's punch by the wrist and sending her elbow into Tsuki's, redirecting it and Tsuki to the ground. Konata spun again and matched the clone's swing, noticing it didn't have much power behind it. She sent a power punch to the clone's midsection, sending it to the ground and to disappear. She spun and saw Tsuki again. Konata took her by the wrist and caught the back of her head. She twisted by the waist and flipped Tsuki into the air, but the girl landed. She punched at Konata to have it blocked. Konata punched to have it stopped. However, Konata followed up and struck Tsuki's face. Dazing the girl, she hit her stomach, chest, and hit both her stomach and chest with both her fists, sending Tsuki to the ground. Tsuki got up and growled. She punched at Konata and found her fist sliding along Konata's back. She spun, punched, failed, rolled across Konata's back and struck again, but failed again.

"Clone!" She shouted as she rolled again. This time, due to the distraction of creating a clone, Konata kicked her in the stomach. The clone came to punch, but Konata chopped at its elbow, raising a foot and kicking Tsuki in the stomach again. Her arm still outstretched from the chop, the clone grabbed her arm. Konata pulled back her hand to punch the clone off, but Tsuki grabbed her other arm. The clone hit Konata in the stomach with a knee. Konata growled and rose her leg up, kicking the clone in the chin, sending it stumbling back. Her arm now free, she send a power punch at Tsuki's face, getting the same result.

_Again!_ Konata growled, having an opponent of both sides. The clone roundhouse kicked, but Konata blocked it with both her arms to soften the blow. Konata turned to see Tsuki was front kicking. Konata sent a chop down and hit her in the ankle, sending the leg back down. She turned and jumped into a kick at the clone, which was blocked. Konata landed and her instinct caused her to duck down as she spun. She saw it was a good thing because Tsuki was roundhouse kicking over Konata's head. Konata used the momentum from her spin into a kick targeting the clone. The clone leaned back, causing the momentum to carry Konata through her spin even further. She bent her knee, dragging her kick through the dirt. Tsuki, however, raised her foot like Konata had, making sure Konata missed. Konata growled.

"Can't get me!" Tsuki taunted. Konata let her momentum raise her in the air and make her spin in the air.

"Konata Senpū!" Konata shouted, hitting the clone on the top of the head with the kick she brought while in the air. Tsuki started another punch. "Not done yet!" Konata shouted. "Konata Diasenpū!" She shouted, kicking again. This time, it was only on the ground and Konata missed. Tsuki ran up again. Konata raised her knee to hit the girl in the stomach, but Tsuki stepped off her knee and flipped above her.

"Clone!" Tsuki shouted, sounding off. She landed and grabbed Konata behind her head. Konata put her arms in triangles at Tsuki's neck and started kicking at her feet. Tsuki stepped back, dodging her kicks. It was a moment before Tsuki had to disengage to grab her breath. The clone came up, but Konata spun, grabbed her by the wrist, and spun again. She threw the clone at Tsuki, who stumbled back onto her rear as her clone vanished. Tsuki got up slowly, rubbing her back end. "Ow..." She sighed. She breathed. _That then, huh?_ She smiled. "You're gonna love this." Tsuki commented.

"If it's anything like what you've done so far, I'm going to be very, VERY tired by the end of it." Konata said. Her muscles burned with exhaustion, her stomach and arms especially hurting from the abuse they had been taking. Tsuki smiled exhaustedly.

"Clones!" She said, creating two clones.

_She can create so many because she barely puts any energy into them. That's why they're so easy to beat. _Konata smiled. She punched one in the face and spun into a kick with the other, causing it to disappear. Two more began rushing to take their predecessors places. Konata looked past them to see Tsuki had her left hand out, palm faced up, and her right hand over it, as if to make a dome. Konata's eyes widened. _Crap!_ She shouted in her head.

_Rotate..._ Tsuki concentrated on the increasing energy in her hand. _Keep it going while adding energy..._ She growled in effort. Konata ran forward, hitting both clones in the stomach with enough force that they vanished. _Keep it contained and maintained..._ She kept running. _And you have..._ Tsuki smiled. Konata got close. "Rasengan!" Tsuki shouted as she swung her arm to catch Konata. Konata caught the attack by the arm with both her hands, keeping the attack several inches from her chest. The sheer energy coming off of her attack caused Konata's hair to fly around chaotically. Konata's arms seared in protest of the exertion, both her and Tsuki trembling from the effort. Konata started panting heavily. She surprised Tsuki by kicking her leg out from under her, redirecting the attack downward. The ball of energy hit the ground and caused a small crater to form under it. A small explosion sent the both of them stumbling back, Tsuki on her rear, Konata staying vertical. Konata took her stance, but Tsuki rubbed her rear and moved her arm in a way that told Konata to take it easy. Konata got out of her stance. "That's enough! I'm tired." Tsuki groaned. "You win." Tsuki said. She got up, but stumbled a bit. Konata would have moved to catch her, but the effort seemed too much for her at the moment. Tsuki righted herself and rubbed her head. "I hate using clones, they give me a migraine..." Tsuki said. Konata groaned.

"Then why did you use them? They make me hurt too." Konata whined.

"I wanted to finally beat you." Tsuki said, still rubbing her head fiercely in a vain attempt to relieve the pain.

"What do you mean 'finally'? This is the first time we've fought." Konata said, her best attempt at confusion at the moment.

"Meh, details, details..." Tsuki waved her hand dismissively, but soon returned it to its previous position on her head.

"If it hurts so much, you probably shouldn't use it in the tournament. You won't have a full day to rest like you will tomorrow." Konata said.

"If you think it's best... It would make the fights that much easier though." Tsuki said.

"Don't forget, we have Kan-kan too. We'll be fine without it." Konata smiled.

"If you say so..." Tsuki sighed.

"Let's go to bed." Konata said.

"Someone's gonna have to explain that crater in the road though." Tsuki giggled.

"I'm sure Kan-kan can do something about it..." Konata sighed. "Let's go get washed up and go to bed." Konata said. With a nod from Tsuki, the two headed in. "So did your Aunt teach you all of that?" Konata asked.

"Her and my Dad teamed up and taught them to me." Tsuki said. "They're very smart, my Aunt can't even use energy!" Tsuki said.

"Go on in that door." Konata pointed. Sojiro poked his head out of the living room.

"Who's she Konata?" He asked.

"A new friend of mine, she's going to be helping me and Kan-kan in the tournament the day after tomorrow." Konata said.

"Ah, that's cool. Welcome to my home." Sojiro said. "High School girls are welcome in my house any time!" Tsuki put her hands on her hips.

"I'm not in High School! I'll have you know I'm married!" Tsuki said. Konata and Sojiro's jaws dropped simultaneously.

"You're MARRIED?" Konata asked. Tsuki turned to her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked.

"You seemed so young! I thought you were younger than I am!" Konata said.

"How do you know I'm not?" Tsuki smirked.

"How old are you?" Konata asked.

"Never ask a girl her age." Tsuki giggled as she walked into the bathroom. Konata sighed.

"She's a bit frustrating sometimes..." Konata crossed her arms.

"What's she gonna change into?" Sojiro asked. Konata, already having her arms crossed, hummed in thought.

"Well, I have something I was planning on Kagami wearing, but I suppose I can wash it." Konata said, taking pause to shake off a melancholy feeling at the mention of Kagami's name. She went to prepare. After about twenty minutes, Tsuki walked out in nothing but a bra and panties. She walked into Konata's room, still drying her hair.

"Hey, hate to intrude, but do you have anything I can wear for the day?" Tsuki asked. "Kinda forgot to pack extra clothes." Tsuki stuck out her tongue and knocked herself on the head in a "Silly Me" gesture. Konata was stunned as she saw her friend's almost naked body, almost as stunned by the fact that she was even comfortable presenting herself in such a manner. Especially if she was indeed married... Konata turned away quickly before her nose started to bleed, throwing the outfit she had prepared at the girl.

"Here here." Konata shooed the clothes at Tsuki. Tsuki giggled and put them on.

"Miku Hatsune, eh?" She smiled. "That's cool." She giggled. "Got a futon?" She asked. Konata risked a look back and saw her friend was now clothed.

"Yeah, here it is..." Konata slid out a fully prepared futon from under her bed, where she had put it from the last time it had been used.

"Awesome! Thank you so much, I really can't thank you enough for all of this." Tsuki said.

"No problem!" Konata smiled. "I'm gonna go catch a bath really quickly, but you can go to sleep if you want." Konata said as she opened her door to leave.

"Alright. Thanks." Tsuki smiled as she clicked the light off and got in the futon. "'Night... Konata."

"'Night Tsuki." Konata smiled as she closed the door. She sighed and got in the bath. After about thirty minutes, Konata having taken a good twenty minutes to simply soak and allow the stress and exhaustion from the fight wash away, she emerged, squeaky clean. She was dressed in sleep wear, shorts and an undershirt. She opened her room and stepped lightly over the sleeping Tsuki. She climbed into bed and fell asleep quickly, her aching muscles praising the divine for the so desired repose.

* * *

**POV Inori**

Inori sighed as she looked out the window again, trying to see if her little sister had returned triumphant. She finally saw Kagami cycling back, looking tired. Inori had spent the last twenty minutes trying to come up with a way to help her younger sisters. Their parents had tried to get Tsukasa to come out of her room, but they had failed in their attempts. Inori had decided to concentrate her efforts on Kagami. She had put in a video she was sure would get Kagami's mind off of the troubles she was going through. If only Tsukasa would come out, she was sure it would help her too. Her thoughts were interrupted as Kagami opened the door. She quickly started the video.

"Did you get her?" Inori asked. Kagami trudged into the living room.

"No. There was no one home." Kagami sighed. "I rode all that way that fast for nothing." Kagami grumbled to herself.

"Wh-what was that?" Kagami heard Konata say.

_What is she doing here?_ Kagami thought as she walked into the living room. She looked around, but found no Otaku.

"Poison? A dirty trick!" She heard someone that she didn't recognize shout. She walked over and realized that what she heard was on the television. She sat down and watched as Konata was punched onto her back.

"Kona! What are you watching?" Kagami asked. Inori smiled.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm watching the tournament she and Tony took part in." She looked over. Her plan was succeeding, Kagami was getting concerned for Konata.

"Why didn't she dodge that? She's much faster than this..." Kagami commented.

"Didn't you hear? She got poisoned by her opponent." Inori said.

"That's cheating!" Kagami shouted.

"Well, Konata's still fighting. You should watch." Inori said, pointing to the television. Kagami sighed and looked to see Konata with her butterfly knives as Gorgaga's neck.

"Gotcha." The televised Konata said. The crowd started cheering for her as Gorgaga said something briefly before running out of the arena. Kagami sighed in relief as Konata was announced victor. Tony ran out onto the screen, which had shifted to the very side of the arena so as to see in the place the fighters were at, and grabbed Konata. Kagami was still annoyed at Tony, but her rage weakened a bit when she assumed he was healing her. The next fight was Tony against what looked to be a medieval knight. They circled each other and, after trading blows, Tony cut _through_ the sword and armor of the other man. Kagami and Inori's respective jaw dropped.

"How can he DO that?" Inori asked.

"I think it has something to do with what his sword is made of..." Kagami commented as she looked back at the screen. Konata and a VERY large man were in the arena. Kagami gulped. She watched as Konata ineffectively took a swing at the man, and continued watching in horror as the man hit the Otaku with his mace. Konata rolled back onto her feet and took a stance. Kagami's eyes were glued to the screen as Konata jumped over the man's mace. "You can do it..." Kagami mumbled to herself, as if she were actually encouraging Konata. A pit formed in Kagami's stomach as Konata was yanked up by her hair, but it disappeared as Konata broke the man's knee and started to decimate the man's head with a flurry of punches. The man fell unconscious. Konata winked at the camera. Kagami cheered before she could catch herself. "Woohoo Kona!" She smiled. Kagami caught herself and sat back down.

"What's the problem?" Inori smiled. Kagami sighed.

"Kona sided with Tony." She said sadly. Inori sighed.

"Kagami, you love her. Are you sure this has to come between you?" Inori asked. Kagami sighed again.

"Inori, she sided against me..." Kagami mumbled.

"That's what happens in a healthy relationship." Inori said. Kagami opened her mouth to protest, but couldn't before Konata walked out onto the screen. She and an old man were going to fight. Kagami sighed. She knew that Konata was going to destroy this person. He didn't even have a weapon. Then, Kagami smiled because she saw Konata give up her knives in order to fight fairly with the old man. Suddenly, the two exploded into movement that Kagami could barely follow. She gazed in wonder as the man and Konata matched each other almost perfectly. The two began punching at each other, but neither connecting. Neither gave any ground. Kagami gasped as there were after images of the two fighter's arms. It got to the point where Kagami couldn't even tell the difference between their arms because they were moving so fast. After what Kagami knew could have only been a minute, though it had felt like hours of watching the two fight, the old man spun around and backhanded Konata. Kagami's eyes widened in terror.

_Kona..._ Her heart almost stopped. It was as if everything slowed down as she saw that the man was going in for the final punch. She could almost count her heartbeats. _She's gonna lose..._ Kagami felt like crying to see her Kona in as much pain as she knew the little loli must have been in. Suddenly, Konata rose her foot, catching the man across the chin. Kagami smiled as almost indescribable relief washed over her. Kagami exhaled, having her breath held for so long, she was now breathing heavily. Then, a feeling of dread came over her. _I came so close to losing Kona... _Kagami started shaking a bit.

"Kagami? You okay?" Inori smiled, pausing the video. She had a feeling that her plan had worked perfectly.

"I... I don't know..." Kagami said. "I'm supposed to be angry with Kona. I was so concerned though..."

"She sided with Tony." Inori said.

"Still..." Kagami sighed. "Kona really didn't want to choose sides... Her and Tony really have gotten close." Kagami said.

"That just speaks to how much she likes you though. Even though she felt that Tony was right, she still didn't want to pick sides against either of you." Inori said, putting an arm around her younger sister.

"And she only did because I made her..." Kagami said. Finally, she broke. Tears began rolling down her cheeks. "Inori... am I a bad person?" She asked her sister desperately. Inori smiled and sighed.

"I don't believe so Kagami. You were just defending Tsukasa and felt that Konata might pose a threat. Being the older, you can get pretty protective over Tsukasa sometimes. It's a trait that defines you, and I'm sure Konata will forgive you. In fact, I'm willing to bet she wouldn't have you any other way." Inori smiled, rubbing her little sister's shoulder comfortingly. Kagami cried more for a small amount of time in silence.

"What about Tony? I was kind of a jerk to him, too." Kagami said. Inori thought for a moment.

"Him too I bet. I'm sure that after he thinks a bit, he'll realize that he's glad you're the way you are. It means Tsukasa will always be protected if something happens to him." Inori said. Kagami did her best to gain control over herself, but ultimately failed. She felt horrible.

"Whether Tony was right or wrong, Kona didn't want to take sides. She didn't do anything wrong, I've gotta apologize to her." Kagami said. She looked up at the clock to see it was very late. She knew that her Kona must be asleep by now. "I'm going to go tomorrow. It's too late for today." She got up and walked into her room. Inori looked at the paused video. Konata and Tony were facing each other. She shrugged and took the video out.

_Mission accomplished. _Inori smiled. She noticed something. _Where's Matsuri?_ She wondered, looking around.

* * *

**POV Matsuri**

Matsuri woke up and looked around. She remembered where she was and turned the car on to see the clock. It read in the A.M. Matsuri sighed.

"Man. I really slept." She commented. She began driving. "So, Kan-chan was telling the truth..." She commented to herself. She arrived at home after driving in silence for a while. She turned the car off and coasted home silently. She got out of the car and walked in. Everything was understandably dark. She crept to her room, adamant about telling Tsukasa what she had learned in the morning. Suddenly the light turned on.

"Where have you been?" Inori asked. Matsuri jumped.

"Wah- whe-..." She panted a bit, her heart having skipped a beat or two. "Where are Mom and Dad?" Matsuri asked. Inori put her hands on her hips.

"They went to bed hours ago after they failed to get Tsukasa out of her room. Kagami went after you, but didn't find you. Where were you?" Inori asked. Matsuri sighed.

"Tony showed me what happened with a very... weird method. It made me very tired so I took a nap in the car." Matsuri said.

"How did he show you?" Inori asked, now very confused.

"I'm not sure, he kind of... just showed me the memory... It felt really weird." Matsuri said.

"Alright. I believe you." Inori said. "Go to bed Matsuri."

"On it." Matsuri yawned and walked into her room. Inori sighed.

"Now to bed with me..." She walked into her own room. The two let sleep take them.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya Luckies~! I'm Akira Kogami, your navigator!"

"And I'm Minoru Shiriashi, the assistant!"

"Minoru, the fight isn't getting any better!" Akira complained.

"Well Kagami seems to be switching sides..." Minoru commented.

"Not really, she's just sorry about Konata!" Akira said.

"And who's this Tsuki girl?" Minoru asked.

"No idea..." Akira said. Minoru looked confusedly at her.

"Didn't you read ahead?" Minoru asked.

"Yeah, but it didn't mention her! It was really more plot points, or specific events than the actual story..." Akira mumbled. "I haven't seen anything about her, and AC locked the files up behind something called an "Eternity Code"..." Akira complained.

"Hm... There wasn't anything about her?" Minoru asked.

"Well, there was-"

*Music Tone*

"Oh, I guess that's all the time we have for today. I'll see you all next time! Bye nii~!"

"..."

"Minoru, do you really wanna know?"

"Yeah, what's her deal?"

"Well..." *Whisper whisper whisper*

"...WHAT?"

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

Finished that one pretty quick compared to the last one, eh? Of course, it was quite shorter than the last one, but I still count this as a win! So let me know what you guys think! Review or I'll have Tsuki pout. By the way, she probably isn't staying for very long. Of course, that's what I said about Masuta, but meh... Trust me on this one! A big thanks to Flygon Master, this master helps me out in ways like you wouldn't BELIEVE! *Points finger at nothing in particular* And thanks for reading!


	42. Chapter 42: Brought Together, Torn Apart

Chapter 42: Brought Together, Torn Apart

BWAHAHAHA! Everyone is commenting on the identity of one Tsuki Senninriki. From scold to snark, everyone thinks they know who she is. And you might! Like Alpha, for example! Tsuki's character was too obvious? You could tell who she was by the billions of context clues. But let me ask all of you a question first. Had none of you ever thought that this was perhaps by design? After all, I think I can make a character and have them shrouded in mystery, just look at Tony's first twenty three chapters. Tell me, did you know his story before the hospital? No, Tsuki's mystery lies elsewhere. You'll see soon. Made it obvious? 'Course, I made it obvious that Tadao was going to reject Kagami as a Yuri as well... *Snicker snicker* I have a feeling I'm gonna need some protection from a few people after this chapter. *Begins the fortifications* Anyway, on to more specific replies. RU7, is that what that is? Punch bag? Odd, he never really punched me successfully... I think I'll swallow my pride and ask him. Riku, thank you for the compliment, but as for Tsuki, refer to the above :P Ah Flygon, do I reread reviews? Ha! I do it several times every chapter! Rereading them gets me pumped to keep writing! I always pay special attention to the ones that tell me where I did something wrong and look to see if it needed fixing and, if it did, was it fixed. So to answer your question, I could probably recite some of the reviews by heart. Holyriot, I did, in fact, put a Hancock reference in there. And I do surprise. But you already knew that. :D Sqweebs XD Your review made me laugh. Sorry for not responding for very long to ya last time, but I might have let something slip about certain events that may or may not happen in the time that is coming soon. Are you very much satisfied with the length of your response this time? I've done my very best to elongate my reply and perhaps colored it a kind of magenta to the end that it might be the very longest of its kind. Apocalyptos, yours is the kind of review I mentioned early that I pay special attention to. Believe it or not, I've been told my fights aren't detailed enough! I must inform you that there are fights coming and they will be long. However, I'll try to put some extra fluff in when I get the option. Deal? Konami Izumi, es posible que en algo con Tsuki, pero nunca se sabe, ahora que haces? Alpha, thank you for your advice, though it may have been a bit misgiven this time. I've practically already responded to your review. However, if you see another time where you think I could use advice, please don't hesitate to give it to me. Universal Lizard, I've already put an Avengers reference. "They have an army." "I have a god." However, I do have another planned. Not in this chapter, but I know when it's coming. Chaos, you turned the tables on me! Usually it's I who snark people, not the other way around! That idea for the arena is certainly an interesting one. I'm very glad you like my story! Anyway, to end this long~, long~ author's note, please keep reviewing! Like I always say, you all have no idea how much it helps!

* * *

******The Next Morning**

******POV Tony**

Tony woke up grumbling. Honestly, he didn't feel like doing anything. He looked at the clock to see it was still very early, only five in the morning. He sighed, a little depressed again from his predicament with Tsukasa. He also felt incredibly lethargic from the amount of spells he had been working recently and the extremely early time. He briefly considered getting up and doing something until such a time that socializing was appropriate.

___You know what? Screw it._ Tony thought. He got himself comfy in his bed and decided to stop worrying for now. _Easier said than done..._ Tony sighed.

* * *

******POV Konata**

Konata woke up and yawned. She smelled food and her stomach growled. She threw her covers off and got out of bed. She made care not to step on the futon so she didn't step on her guest, but Tsuki was no where to be found. Konata hummed and left the room. She walked into the kitchen to see her friend, still in costume, but with the addition of an apron. She was expertly flipping rice with one hand and whisking Miso Soup with the other. She looked back at Konata.

"Hey there Konata. I'm sure you're hungry after last night's little tussle." Tsuki smiled.

"How... Are you perfect or something?" Konata asked. Tsuki giggled.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"You fight amazingly, and now you are officially cooking two food items without even looking. What are you? You seem too... perfect to me." Konata said.

"You complaining?" Tsuki asked. Konata shrugged.

"I dunno, it just seems odd to me." Konata said. Tsuki giggled again.

"Well, my Dad was perfect and my Mom was perfect. Guess that makes me double perfect!" Tsuki cocked her head with a smile. In doing so, she accidentally tilted the pan she was holding, causing some of the rice to spill. She gasped and returned attention to her cooking, not making another mistake.

"I guess your Aunt taught you to cook too, huh?" Konata asked as she sat at the table. Tsuki giggled yet again.

"A little. I mostly taught myself from days of cooking myself." She said. "My Dad is a horrible cook." Tsuki finished up her cooking and dished out each into portions. Konata thought about what she knew about the girl. With the time travel, she was sure she knew who Tsuki was. Konata giggled. With the latest development of Manten, a time traveler, she wouldn't discount the possibility that Tsuki was one such person. She looked almost exactly like Tsukasa, so Konata would see if maybe... just maybe she was talking to her own future niece. Konata giggled at the notion.

"I'm surprised your Mom didn't teach you. She sounds like she would be a good cook." Konata smiled as Tsuki brought the food over and put the food on the table. The mood tangibly dropped.

"Um..." Tsuki mumbled. For the first time since Konata met the girl, the smile faded from her lips. "Mom isn't..." She looked almost depressed. Konata understood, but Tsuki continued before Konata could interrupt. "She's... gone." Tsuki said. Konata was suddenly mortified.

"I'm sorry Tsuki. I didn't know." Konata apologized. She felt very, very afraid. If Tsuki was who Konata thought she was, she could very well be talking about Konata's favorite airhead. "H-" She started, but suddenly realized what she was about ask, feeling like she had just wandered into a minefield.

"It's okay. You can say it. I probably won't get mad." Tsuki said. There was a moment of silence. "I know you want to ask." Tsuki said.

"Yeah, but something like this is personal. I don't want to intrude on something like this after only knowing you for a day. Do you want go to a different topic?" Konata asked. Tsuki nodded, but made no move to switch topics. So Konata felt it would fall to her to think of a more enjoyable topic. As such, she was still curious about her friend's origin. Konata decided to see if she could get Tsuki's mother's name out of her. "Hey, quick question." Konata said.

"Quick answer." Tsuki responded.

"Your Aunt, the one that taught you to fight?" Konata said.

"Yeah?" Tsuki asked.

"Does she have blue hair? Like mine?" Konata asked, gesturing to the hair on her head.

"Like your hair?" Tsuki asked.

"Yeah, something like Cobalt Blue." Konata said. Tsuki hummed, put her index finger to her lip and looked up with a squint again.

"I think so... Might have been purple, though! I love purple." Tsuki said almost energetically.

_How can she be so close to her Aunt but not know her hair color? _"Hm..." Konata hummed. "Can I ask another question?" Konata asked.

"You just did." Tsuki said.

"..." Konata was paused by this. She thought as they ate. "Can I ask you two questions?" She asked.

"That was the second question." Tsuki replied. Konata whined a bit and sighed. She thought a little more.

"Can I ask you four questions?" Konata said. Tsuki looked confused and put a hand to her ear.

"What was that?" She asked.

"Can I ask you a fourth question?" Konata clarified.

"That WAS the fourth question." Tsuki smiled.

"Who was your Mom?" Konata asked, impatiently admitting defeat.

"The woman who gave birth to me." Tsuki answered as the continued to eat. Konata sighed in exasperation. Little more words were spoken as the food was devoured rather quickly.

"That wasn't nearly enough, is there more?" Konata asked. Tsuki smiled and nodded.

"I made a lot. I figured it would take a lot after using all that energy. I know I'm still starving." Tsuki said. She picked up the dishes and walked back to the food.

"I mean what was your Mom's name?" Konata clarified her earlier question. Tsuki sighed.

"I..." She thought. "I honestly can't tell you. I don't like to think about the bad things..." Tsuki commented. Konata felt her melancholy, but decided she wouldn't back down quite yet.

"You don't remember at all?" Konata asked. Tsuki sighed.

"Something that started with a T. Possibly a K. Maybe it's T.K! Ah, the original Digimon..." Tsuki sighed nostalgically. She then remember what she had been talking about and her happy demeanor faded. "That's all I care to think about right now." She said.

"Well do you look like she did?" Konata asked. Tsuki chuckled as she refilled the dishes and set them out again. They too were soon gone.

"My parents always used to argue about that. Mom said I looked like Dad and Dad said I looked like Mom. They'd never come together on that..." Tsuki giggled as she reminisced.

"Is there any chance I could maybe meet your father?" Konata asked with a hint of curiosity. If Tsuki was from the future, Konata would like to see how Future Tony was holding up.

"Um... I dunno..." Tsuki said.

"Why not?" Konata asked. Tsuki thought. "Your Aunt sounds like someone I would get along with pretty well." Konata smiled.

"Hmmmm..." Tsuki thought for a little while, putting her finger to her bottom lip and looking up. "Well, they live kind of far away..." Tsuki mumbled.

"We can take a train." Konata said. Tsuki shook her head.

"You can't get there by train." She said.

"We'll fly." Konata said.

"Can't. No airport." Tsuki said.

"We'll drive." Konata said, having wanted to keep it as a last resort so that she wouldn't have to spend so long in a car again.

"Is there room in a car for all of us?" Tsuki asked.

"If we all squeeze in tight. Besides, I'm not sure if Tsukasa or Kagami would come. They're kind of mad at us right now..." Konata scratched the back of her head ruefully.

"Who are they?" Tsuki asked, cocking her head to the side quizzically. Konata sighed.

_I really don't know if she's from the future or not. She hasn't flat out told us, but why else would she come to this town without any provisions. This town specifically. And she looks so much like Tsukasa. _Konata thought to herself. "Kan-kan and my girlfriends respectively." She explained to the girl. Tsuki gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.

"You're Yuri?" She almost shouted. Konata's eyes widened as she jumped up and covered Tsuki's mouth.

"Not so loud, Dad doesn't know!" Konata said. She had felt so uncommonly comfortable around Tsuki, she had just let her deepest secret slip.

"Mmam ho coot!" Tsuki said, her voice muffled by Konata's hands. The Otaku looked at the girl and removed her hands reluctantly.

"What?" Konata asked hesitantly.

"That's so cute!" Tsuki squealed. "A brother and sister dating two sisters!" Tsuki looked like she was going to explode. "It's so cute I'm gonna die!" She giggled.

"Shush!" Konata said desperately. There was a honk outside the house. Konata looked over along with Tsuki.

"Who do you think it is?" Tsuki asked.

"If he had a car, I'd say probably Kan-kan looking for food." Konata chuckled as she got up. She walked over to the door and opened it. She raised an eyebrow.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Kagami looked at the clock. It wasn't exactly early, but it wasn't really late. She sighed. She hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. The realization that potentially losing Konata would mean that she was gone forever, that Kagami would never again see her cute little grin or her large, emerald eyes... Kagami shuddered. The thought had haunted her and kept her tossing and turning throughout the night. The thought had invaded her dreams in the little sleep she had gotten and turned them into nightmares. She pushed herself up lethargically.

_She's probably going to be up by now._ Kagami thought. She wondered if it was too soon for her to apologize. Konata was surely going to be angry with her. She would have to face it again though, no matter how tired she was or how hard she knew she might get slapped for how hard she pushed Konata the previous day. She got dressed and walked out of her room to smell breakfast. _Maybe Tsukasa's out! Great, then we could talk more._ Kagami thought. She hoped she could help her twin come to a decision, whatever it may be. She walked into the kitchen to see Miki cooking, a completed bowl of rice and a dish of broiled fish on the table. Her ears twitched and she turned suddenly, looking hopeful. When she saw it was Kagami, she looked almost disappointed, but she covered the emotion quickly. "'Morning Mom." Kagami said.

"Good morning Kagami. Would you like some breakfast?" Miki asked.

"Why is there a plate made already?" Kagami asked. Miki sighed.

"I made some for Tsukasa. I hoped she would come out to eat, or at least take it in her room to eat. She hasn't even come out of her room and her door is locked." Miki said.

"Don't you have a key to the house? You could unlock her door?" Kagami asked.

"That wouldn't help at all though. This is the kind of thing that she has to think about alone for a bit. If I forced her to talk, she'd only get angrier with us and that wouldn't accomplish anything." Miki answered.

"I guess you're right..." Kagami said. There was a moment where nothing was spoken.

"So would you like breakfast?" Miki asked, finishing another meal.

"Hmm." Kagami thought. "No thank you Mom. I don't have much of an appetite right now." Kagami said. Miki looked over her shoulder at her daughter and, after studying her face for a moment, came to a conclusion.

"Tsukasa wasn't the only one who had a fight, was she?" Miki asked. Kagami sighed.

"Kind of, yeah. I was actually planning on apologizing to her today. I was on my way out, but I smelled breakfast and thought maybe Tsukasa was up." Kagami said. Miki sighed.

"No she isn't, but I can give you a ride if you want one. We just have to stop for gas on the way, Matsuri came back after we all went to bed." Miki said.

"Alright, thanks." Kagami smiled as Miki turned the kitchen appliances off.

"Ready to go?" Miki asked.

"Yeah." Kagami nodded. The two walked out to the car and got in. "Dad already at work?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah, he left about ten minutes before you woke up." Miki said as she began driving. "So, tell me everything." Miki said. Kagami sighed.

"Honestly, I was kind of being stupid. Tsukasa was crying, Tony had left and Konata was still there. She had been talking to Tony and I was just looking for her to confirm that Tony was a jerk for what he did. I never really asked her about his side of it or anything." Kagami said. "I really messed up again." Kagami smacked her forehead. "Geez..." Kagami rested her head on her hand and looked out the window.

"I'm sure she'll understand." Miki said as they pulled into the gas station. She rolled down the window. "Two thousand, please." She said, handing the money to the person who walked up.

"I've never been to this station before." Kagami said. "It's not the same one that Dad, Matsuri and Inori go to." She commented.

"Well, it's kind of my little secret." Miki smiled to her daughter. "Not only is the gas usually some of the cheapest here, they pump it, check the air in the tires, clean the glass, check the oil-" Miki was interrupted.

"How's the ashtray?" An attendant asked.

"It's empty, thank you." Miki smiled out the window. The attendant bowed almost informally. Kagami raised an eyebrow, but Miki continued before she could question anything. "If the ashtray has anything in it, they take it, empty it, and put air freshener in it." Miki said.

"That's really cool." Kagami smiled. "I guess you come here often?" Kagami said, more of a statement than a question.

"Yes, I always come here. It's the only place I go to in town." Miki said. "How did you know?" Miki asked.

"The guy washing the back window's bow wasn't very formal, was it? It could pass if he were lazy I guess, but service like this pretty much says that they aren't lazy." Kagami said.

"Very clever deduction." Miki smiled. "I'm a bit of a regular here. The only reason he bowed as low as he did was because it's policy and he'd get in trouble if he didn't." Miki said. A different man walked up to the window. He seemed to smile a bit wider when he saw who was driving.

"Are you going left as usual?" He asked.

"I'm actually going right this time." Miki smiled.

"Alright then." The man bowed. Kagami looked over.

"Hey, why did you tell him where we're going?" Kagami asked.

"Watch." Miki gestured to the man. He walked out on the sidewalk and looked both ways. He stepped off into the street to the left and waved at Miki. The mother smiled and drove out of the station, waving to him as they left. "The last thing is that they stop traffic so that you can leave." Miki explained. Kagami chuckled.

"That's pretty cool. I never noticed that they did all of that." Kagami said.

"I've heard that it used to be extremely commonplace, but it started to shrink in the 70's. Some people are just so greedy for money now..." Miki sighed in sorrow. Kagami found she couldn't really think of another topic of conversation, so she concentrated on what she would say to Konata. She knew she might get slapped or have to do something for Konata. She had every right to be angry with Kagami and the Tsundere would take whatever Konata would give to her. Lost in thought, the rest of the trip passed uneventfully and quickly to Kagami. Once they got there, it took Miki a couple tries to rouse Kagami from her dreamlike stupor. Finally, Kagami shook her head and looked around. "Trying to think of what to say to Konata?" Miki asked, a knowing smile of her face. Kagami started and blushed.

"Yeah... I don't think I need to bother asking how you know, you seem to be able to tell what I'm thinking very easily." Kagami smiled.

"It's all about love." Miki winked. Kagami sighed a smile and opened the door.

"Thanks for driving me Mom." She said.

"It's no trouble Kagami. Good luck getting Konata to forgive you." Miki smiled.

"Thanks." Kagami smiled as she closed the door. She turned, sighed, and walked up to the door. She raised her hand, but paused and put it down. She breathed heavily. She raised her hand again and paused once again. She put her hand down again and sighed. A beep interrupted her concentration and caused Kagami to turn around in surprise. Miki made a gesture that said "Go make up." with a smirk on her face while she drove away. _Don't look so smug..._ Kagami couldn't help but think, but she also couldn't help but feel grateful. She might have stood there for hours before she worked up the courage to call Konata out. She turned and saw Konata had opened the door, an eyebrow raised, whether in surprise or something else was unknown to Kagami.

"Kagami?" Konata asked.

"K-Kona..." Kagami muttered. She sighed. "I..."

"What is it Kagami?" Konata asked, her inquisitive glare burrowing into Kagami's head. Kagami took a deep breath and braced herself for the rebuke she was sure to receive from the girl she loved.

"I'm sorry Kona! I was an idiot, I just wanted someone to agree with me, and when you didn't, I got mad at you! But I was wrong and you were right, I shouldn't have made you choose sides like that, and I'm so so so so sor-" Kagami was cut off as her breath was knocked out of her. She looked down to see Konata had headbutted her in the stomach, embracing the larger girl in a powerful hug. She could feel her stomach getting wet. Kagami was very surprised. " But... How can you forgive me so easily? I thought you would be furious with me!" Kagami said.

"I was never angry with you Kagamin, there's nothing to forgive..." Konata cried into her girlfriend's stomach. "I was sad because you had left me." Konata said. "I'm so happy that you found your way here to me." She continued, still muffled by Kagami's shirt. "I love you Kagamin, you were just protecting Tsukasa. It's who you are. It's who I fell in love with, an integral part of your character." Konata sniffed and looked into Kagami's eyes. "I wouldn't have you any other way." Konata smiled sweetly and cocked her head like a puppy listening to its master. Kagami felt tears in her eyes. She hugged her girlfriend with the same ferocity the smaller girl had hugged her and kissed the girl on the forehead.

"I love you too..." Her throat caught up. She sighed contently and felt right again. She hadn't even noticed, but she felt off the entire time she had been on bad terms with Konata. It was as if the weight of the world was suddenly off her shoulders.

"You made up!" Tsuki shouted. Kagami looked up at the girl, understandably confused.

"Who are you and why do you look like my sister?" The Tsundere asked.

"I look like who?" Tsuki cocked her head to the side, a confused look on her face.

"My sister. You look like her." Kagami said. Suddenly, her phone started to ring. She looked at it. "As a matter of fact, that's her." Kagami smiled. Konata let Kagami out of the hug so the Tsundere could retreat to privacy. Kagami mouthed a thank you to Konata and walked away a few steps, hoping she could cheer Tsukasa up some how. "Hey Tsukasa, what's up?" Kagami asked sweetly.

"Onee-chan, do you know where Tony is?" Tsukasa asked. Kagami started a bit at hearing her call him by his given nickname, but recovered shortly.

"No, have you tried calling him?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah, but it goes right to voicemail, I think his phone is off." Tsukasa said.

"Alright, hang on." Kagami said and muted her phone. She turned to Konata. "Hey, do you know where Tony is?" She asked her girlfriend. Konata put a finger to her lip as she thought, looking up.

"No, if he isn't in his house then I don't know." Konata said. "I'll try calling him!" Konata turned to return to her house, but Kagami stopped her.

"His phone is off." She simply said. Kagami put the phone back to her ear and unmuted it while Konata slumped over in defeat.

"Sorry Tsukasa, I don't know. Want me to check his house?" Kagami asked.

"Please." Tsukasa simply said. Kagami muted the phone again.

"Kona, I'm sorry but could you check if he's home? I think he's less likely to get mad at you for just bursting in."

"Sure thing!" Konata ran over and entered her brother's house. Kagami turned to Tsuki.

"So what's your name?" She asked.

"Senninriki. Tsuki Senninriki. Yours?" Tsuki asked.

"Hiiragi. Kagami Hiiragi." Kagami replied. "When did you meet Kona, Senninriki?" Kagami asked. Tsuki giggled.

"You can call me Tsuki. I feel that our relationship is at this point good enough to warrant as much." Tsuki smiled.

"Alright, then I'm Kagami." Kagami smiled.

"Then you are." Tsuki said in sort of a deadpan manner. There was a moment of impasse where neither said anything, neither getting past the fact that there was really nothing to say. The blunt manner in which the line had been delivered caught Kagami off guard. She didn't recover until Konata came out.

"Nope, he's not here!" Konata waved. "I didn't find his phone and Masutā said he was gone before he woke up!" Konata said as she walked up. Kagami sighed and unmuted her phone.

"Sorry, he's not home either, he left before Masutā woke up." Kagami said.

"If you see him, tell him I want to talk to him." Tsukasa said quietly. Kagami almost sighed in frustration, the tone of Tsukasa's voice did a very good job of hiding her intentions.

"Will do Tsukasa. How are you doing?" She asked. Tsukasa sighed.

"I don't know." Tsukasa replied. "I'll see you Onee-chan." She said.

"See you later." Kagami said, frustrated that her twin ended the conversation so quickly. They ended the call and sighed. "Hey Kona, can I borrow your bike? I wanna go home and talk to Tsukasa. Maybe I can cheer her up better if I do it in person." Kagami said. Konata nodded.

"Of course." She said. She smiled and knelt. "Anything for the princess!" She spread her arm in a gesture that indicated Kagami as if she were on a pedestal. Kagami's face flushed.

"Stupid..." Kagami mumbled as she scurried off to find her girlfriend's bike.

"Bye Kagamin~!" Konata shouted, having entered her house. Kagami turned and smiled, waving.

"See ya Kona!" She waved. Konata disappeared inside and Tsuki followed, turning around.

"Later Kagami." She said.

"Bye Tsuki." Kagami said. Tsuki closed the door. "What an intriguing person..." She commented to herself. From inside, she heard a muffled, sing-song voice.

"I heard that~!" Tsuki shouted. Kagami smiled in embarrassment and took off towards home. She twisted the bike to her left and barely missed an obstacle.

_What the hell was that?_ She turned around and looked. _Why is there a giant crater in the road and how have I not noticed that before?_ She yelled in her head. After a moment, however, she calmed down and decided to push the thought away. It was soon replaced with wondering where Tony was and why his phone would be off if he was indeed hoping for a call from Tsukasa. Maybe he wasn't.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony turned again and sighed. He hadn't gotten a wink of sleep since he woke up the first time an hour ago. Tsukasa had been running around in his mind too much. He reached over onto his stand and picked up the white stone he had gotten from the airhead. He reached into his pocket, having been too lazy the previous night to change out of them and pulled out the red stone. He held them close, causing them both to shine brightly.

_Like they were meant for each other... Damn it! I can't start my day without Tsukasa! Her smile! Her voice! Her voice is like a beautiful song... And her song makes me soar high into the sky!_ He shouted in his head. He sighed. _I need to clear my head.__It's pretty far away, but if I ran all day..._Tony thought. With a great force of will, he pushed himself up and stretched. He looked to see it was actually still only six in the morning. He smiled. _Man, I haven't gone since..._Tony thought back to his days as a kid with his only female friend. He pushed the memories from his head and thought how long it may take to get there. _Damn._ He felt extremely let down. _I WOULD have to run all day... I haven't got the time to go there right now AND get back..._ He cursed in his head. _What else can I do without Tsukasa..._ Tony wondered. _A bit of concentration practice wouldn't hurt._He thought. He walked out to find himself up before his brother. He had a thought and pulled out his phone. _I'm not going to get distracted from my training today._ He decided as he turned it off. He crept past his brother and entered the kitchen. He figured his brother probably stayed up late the previous night getting various things together.

Tony walked up to the stove and gathered a few ingredients, cooking a small meal. He took his meal over to his table and ate, having to tense his muscles each time as the food seemed to hate his stomach. He sighed. ___Healthy, but horrible as always._ He thought. ___Imagine what Tsukasa would have made..._ Tony's mouth watered. He blinked and shook his head.___I'm not thinking about her today._ He decided. Having finished his horrible meal, he grabbed some dengen and filled a bag with it. He sneaked out and thought for a moment before noticing it. _… Okay. Random crater in the road. Just gonna... ignore that..._. He mentally reached out and began siphoning a trace amount of energy. Slowly, very slowly, he took a step forward. He took another step. Slowly. As he began to walk away, he noticed he was still siphoning from the same area. _Damn..._ Tony thought. He made the conscious decision to move the siphon with him. He continued moving at a very slow pace, being able to keep the energy coming as he was moving. He thought about smiling, but the action itself would disrupt his concentration. He would have hours to practice though.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Kagami pedaled home on her love's bike. She was extremely happy that she had been forgiven so easily. She felt she could do anything, she hoped her ecstasy would carry over to her twin. Maybe Konata's little skit about "Twin Telepathy" would come in handy? Kagami giggled at the notion. She replayed the events of those ten minutes in the theater of her mind, remembering how adorable Konata looked as she looked up into Kagami's eyes, her beautiful green eyes, her...

_Where am I?_ Kagami looked around. She looked at her phone to see it had been ten minutes more than she thought it had been. She looked around to get her bearings and turned around. _I really need to not tune out like that... Even for my Kona..._ Kagami thought lovingly. She cut the thought off before she was distracted by it again. She turned around and pedaled back to her own home. Rather uneventfully, she kept her mind on her cycling so that she wouldn't get distracted by Konata once again. She arrived home about five minutes later without any problem. She parked the bike and dismounted, stumbling a bit since her legs were tired from riding at the speed she had rode at. She steadied herself easily enough and walked into the house, looking around once she was in.

"Welcome home Kagami." Miki greeted her. She looked into the living to see that, unsurprisingly, neither Tsukasa nor Matsuri were out. Tsukasa was obvious because of her situation, but Matsuri was being just plain lazy. Inori, however, was up.

"Hey Mom." Kagami smiled to her mother.

"How did it go with Konata?" Miki asked, but her tone of voice told Kagami that she knew already. Inori perked up.

"Ah, so you've gone to see Konata? I thought you might still be sleeping." Inori teased.

"Hey, I'm not lazy like some people who will remain sleeping." Kagami crossed her arms.

"What happened with her?" Inori asked with a smile.

"She forgave me, even went so far as to say there was nothing to forgive." Kagami smiled, her soreness at the teasing already forgotten. "It made me so happy..." She sighed as she sat down for a moment next to her mother.

"I thought you'd spend more time with her." Miki said.

"Yeah, get her and Kan-chan's side of it." Inori added.

"I was going to, but Tsukasa called me asking for Tony. I wanted to come back and see if I could cheer her up since I knew she was awake." Kagami said.

"Makes sense. Probably would have helped if you knew why the conflict was even started. Get both sides, you know?" Inori said.

"I suppose. Either way, has Tsukasa eaten?" Kagami asked.

"No, I told her that her breakfast was ready, but she never responded so I assumed she was still asleep." Miki said. Kagami smiled.

"Good, I can use that as an excuse to go in." Kagami got up. She walked over and picked up the plate.

"Do you really need an excuse?" Inori asked.

"I don't know why I feel like I do, but that's what I feel." Kagami said as she walked past the door and into the hallway.

"If you say so..." Inori commented before returning her attention to the television. Kagami walked down the hallway and knocked on her twin's door.

"Tsukasa? I brought your breakfast, you hungry?" She asked. There was a time when no response came, enough of one that Kagami briefly wondered if her twin hadn't gone back to sleep. She began to turn away, no longer expecting an answer, but was halted by the sound of her sister's voice.

"... Onee-chan?" Tsukasa asked uncertainly from the inside of the room. Kagami turned back to the door quickly as the lock clicked. The door cracked open. Inside, Tsukasa was peaking out through the crack of the door with only one eye visible, avoiding eye contact. Her cheeks were puffed and very red.

"Hey, can I come in?" Kagami asked. Tsukasa seemed to debate it for a moment and, giving no verbal answer, backed away from the door. Kagami took it as a gesture of assent and pushed her way in. She looked around and saw that it was still relatively dark in her sister's room compared to the rest of the house, but that was simply because her lights were still off. Tsukasa had yet to change from her pajamas and showed no sign of doing so. One thing Kagami noticed was that there was a new stuffed animal on her bed. It was a rather large and fluffy looking dog that was looked like it had seen better days. Kagami walked into the room and sat of the bed, sneaking glances at the dog. It looked damp. _She's been crying with it... Wait, isn't that the dog she had at the festival? She must have gotten it back after the car wreck. Tony must have gotten it for her..._ Kagami realized.

"Tony got it for me at the festival." Tsukasa said abruptly. Kagami started and realized she had been staring at the animal. She was also surprised again by what Tsukasa had called Tony. She opened her mouth to begin a question after the fact, but closed it as she thought better. She wanted to choose her words wisely here. After a few moments considering her possible choices, she decided on an approach. It wasn't tactful, but she thought it would be the most likely way to get her answer.

"So, it's Tony now?" Kagami asked. Tsukasa sighed. "What's going on with you two now?" Kagami asked.

"I... don't know..." Tsukasa sighed.

"What did you want to talk about with him?" Kagami asked. She didn't like prying into her sister's business, but she wanted to make sure her sister wasn't making a mistake. Tony may have been an insensitive asshole, but Kagami knew that he still loved Tsukasa.

"I... was thinking maybe we should just... stop." Tsukasa said. Kagami's eyes widened. "You know...?" Tsukasa asked uncertainly. Kagami certainly picked up on her tone.

"You don't really want that, do you?" She said, more of a statement of facts than a question. "Hell, you can hardly bring yourself to say it." Kagami pointed out. "He's not going to stop worrying about you, ya know." Kagami said. Tsukasa, for the first time that day, looked Kagami in her eyes.

"How do you know?" She asked cautiously. This gave Kagami pause. She wasn't entirely sure how she knew outside the fact that she knew Tony loved Tsukasa. At least, she was sure he did...

"Well..." Kagami mumbled. Tsukasa looked disappointed and sat down on her bed, breaking eye contact with Kagami. The older twin sighed in frustration in her mind. There came a knock at the door.

"Hey Imoto, you awake?" Matsuri asked.

"Onee-san?" Tsukasa asked. Matsuri, without a care for politeness, opened the door.

"How are you?" Matsuri asked softly.

"I... I'm okay." Tsukasa said.

"Good." Matsuri said. In that word, her tone very clearly took a turn for the stern. "Then do you realize you're about to blow it with a great guy?" She asked with a very serious tone. Tsukasa started at the sudden assault.

"Bu-But Onee-san, he was hooking up right in front of me!" Tsukasa looked back fiercely at her older sister. Matsuri sighed and shook her head.

"No he wasn't. I don't know how, but he let me see what happened. I think he may have been trying to make the other girl happy because she was a fan. Even then, he's allowed to have female friends." Matsuri said.

"I know what I saw!" Tsukasa shouted. Kagami didn't like her twin's tone because she also knew her older sister. If this continued to escalate, there would soon be shouting over each other and maybe even a fight. Quite surprisingly, Matsuri didn't explode like Kagami expected. Rather, she seemed to calm down a little from the ferocity she had entered with.

"Imoto... He loves you for you. He truly does. Do you know how rare that is?" Matsuri asked. She didn't wait for an answer as she went back on the offensive and walked over to Tsukasa. "Do you know how unbelievably selfish it is to throw that away over something like this? True love comes once in a generation, but we've somehow hit it lucky. You and him along with Imoto and Konatan." Here, Matsuri crouched down so that she sat on her legs. She was now eye level with Tsukasa. She put her hand on her youngest sister's shoulder. "You've found the guy you've dreamed of Imoto. I just want you to be happy, to make sure you're not making any rash decisions. Please... don't throw this once in a lifetime thing away because of what I'm sure is a misunderstanding. For those who love you, please..." Matsuri felt tears burning her eyes and slipping out. She brought Tsukasa into a close hug. "Please try?" She asked. Tsukasa, moved to tears herself, hugged Matsuri back. "He cares too much about you to simply stop on command anyway." Matsuri smiled.

"I... I think I will... Soon as I can see him again." Tsukasa decided. "Maybe tomorrow at the tournament?" She asked.

"It's a deal." Matsuri broke the hug and wiped her eyes. "Thanks Imoto." She said.

"Thank you Onee-san." Tsukasa smiled for the first time since the previous day. Kagami was sitting in awe of the scene. Matsuri had been able to reach her twin in a way Kagami hadn't been able to. It made her both a little frustrated, but also incredibly relieved that her sister was well on her way back to happiness. Suddenly, Tsukasa seemed to panic. She burst from her room with such speed, neither Kagami nor Matsuri could ask where she was going before she was gone.

"Hello Tsu-" Miki began, but Tsukasa was long inside the kitchen before she completed her greeting.

"Where is it?" Tsukasa shouted desperately. Kagami and Matsuri walked out and looked into the kitchen.

"Where's what Imoto?" Matsuri asked.

"I had a bag! Do you know where it is?" Tsukasa asked in terror.

"Over here." Kagami walked in the living room and grabbed the bag. She had tossed it aside when she went after Matsuri. After all, the contents weren't the type that would be damaged from such a light toss. Tsukasa ran over and snatched the bag from her sister. She opened it and looked inside, letting out a sigh of relief. Then she realized how rude she had been.

"I'm sorry Onee-chan, I didn't mean to be so..." Tsukasa trailed off.

"It's alright Tsukasa. Is that for Tony?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah... I think I'm gonna work on it today..." Tsukasa smiled. "I hope you don't mind!" She added quickly. Kagami smiled.

"I don't, I'm just glad that you're happy again." Kagami said.

"Thanks Onee-chan." Tsukasa smiled.

"It's no problem. I forgot to do something anyway." Kagami said.

"Alright..." Tsukasa looked back at the contents of the bag. She scurried away into the living room and sat down. Miki turned to Kagami and Matsuri.

"I don't know what you two said to her, but thank you. I think you really did make her happy again." Miki said to her daughters.

"Then my job here is done." Kagami smiled.

"Glad I could help Imoto." Matsuri smiled.

"So what was it you forgot Kagami?" Miki asked.

"I wanted to get Tony's side of the whole thing, and Kona has it. I'm sure. I forgot because Tsukasa called and I wanted to come back and... well, you know." Kagami said.

"Would you like another ride?" Miki smiled.

"Thanks, but I borrowed Kona's bike to get here and I have to give it back anyway." Kagami said.

"Alright. Let me know how it goes." Miki smiled.

"Will do!" Kagami shouted as she dashed to the door. She gave one more glance to her twin, who was hot at work on her project. She smiled to see her sister so happy once again before she left the house. She dashed over and got on the bike once again. She began cycling. The time she would spend riding to her love's house would be spent thinking of a way to get to Tony so she could explain that Tsukasa was probably willing to resolve the fight. If only he had his phone on...

* * *

**POV Konata**

Konata went back to her living room and sat down. By now, her father was walking down the hallway and yawning. Luckily, he had missed the little spectacle at the door. Konata sighed in relief. Her secret was still safe.

"Hey Pops." Tsuki walked in and waved. Sojiro was surprised by the sudden name, but took it in stride.

"Hello there..." Sojiro trailed off.

"Tsuki." Tsuki informed since the man had yet to hear her name.

"Ah, you look like someone my daughter knows." Sojiro said.

"I get that a lot." Tsuki said.

"So, how long are you staying with us Tsuki?" Sojiro asked.

"Probably until at least after the tournament. If that's okay." She added.

"You're welcome to stay here as long as Konata wants." Sojiro said. "So what was that beep?" He asked.

"Kagami visited, but I don't know what the beep was. I guess it was her mother or whoever drove her here." Konata guessed.

"Ah. She didn't stay long I guess?" Sojiro asked.

"No, I wished she had though." Konata sighed without a second thought. She jumped and gasped, covering her mouth quickly at her slip up.

"Yeah, she's your best friend, right?" Sojiro smiled, looking around in the kitchen, his nose twitching. "I smell food, where is it?" He asked.

"Tsuki made breakfast, but we might have eaten it all." Konata giggled, trying her best to recover from her slip up. She felt very lucky. Sojiro had neither seen her with Kagami nor had he made anything out of what she had said.

"Wow, you two were hungry, it looks like she made a lot..." Sojiro said as he saw all of the dirty dishes.

"Yeah, little bit..." Konata rubbed the back of her head. "I can cook you up some more though!" Konata said. Without waiting for a response, she walked up to the stove and began making more rice with Miso Soup.

"Thanks Konata." Sojiro smiled. "I don't know what I'd do without you." He chuckled. Konata smiled.

"Ditto Dad." She replied. She began doing what Tsuki had done earlier, not being able to speak anymore since her cooking was now taking all her concentration. She figured Tsuki must have inherited the cooking goddess trait from her mother if she was who Konata thought she was. She found it extremely difficult to keep up both things at the same time without making a mistake. The idea that Tsukasa could do it without so much as breaking a sweat was mind boggling to her. She finished without taking a long time since it was only a single serving and dished it out to her father. She gave him the plate while he walked into the living room to eat while he watched T.V.

"Thanks Konata." He smiled as he began eating with fervor, as if he didn't get to eat for three days prior. It wasn't so much that he was hungry, more like the food was delicious and he wanted to eat as much of it as possible. Unfortunately, since he held this pace the entire time, the food was gone as quickly as it was cooked, if not quicker.

"Geez Dad, and you tell me I'LL get a stomach ache!" Konata scolded her father after he had finished.

"Sorry Konata, but your food is just so good!" Sojiro scratched the back of his head ruefully.

"You should taste Tsukasa's cooking, it tastes like it was meant only for the gods!" Konata said.

"I'll have to try it sometime." Sojiro chuckled.

"Yeah, soon as she and Kan-kan get back together, I'm sure she'll cook something for us!" The Otaku replied.

"She and him have a fight or something?" Sojiro asked.

"Yeah." Konata replied.

"What about?" Sojiro asked.

"Well, he-" Konata started, but was cut off by a knock at the door. She walked over and opened the door. "Kagam-EE!" She squealed in surprise as Kagami almost tackled her to the ground with her hug.

"Konata, you okay?" Sojiro asked from the living room. Konata scrambled as Kagami removed herself from the Otaku, crossing her arms and huffing in frustration at her little loli lover.

"I'm good!" Konata shouted, smoothing out the wrinkles her near fall had given her. "Kagami just came back!" She said.

"Ah, tell her to come in!" Sojiro shouted.

"I hate that we hide this." Kagami whispered to Konata.

"Only for a little while more..." Konata said.

"Yeah, Obon starts in several days." Kagami whispered.

"I might not get to tell him the first day, the tournament is still going to be going on then, remember?" Konata responded. Kagami groaned a little.

"Come on..." She sighed. Nothing more on the subject could be said as the two reached the living room.

"So Kagami, what brings you here again?" Sojiro asked.

"Oh, I forgot I wanted to hear what Tony's side of the whole argument was about. I never-"

"Kagami, are you losing weight?" Sojiro suddenly asked, interrupting the girl. She jumped a bit and blushed, unconsciously covering her stomach with her arms. Konata bent over so that she was face to stomach with the Tsundere.

"Wh-what?" She asked.

"Wow Kagamin, you are! And not in a bad way either!" Konata said enthusiastically. Coming from Konata, it sounded a lot less perverted than it had coming from the father Otaku.

"Really? Awesome!" She cheered. "Wait a minute... How do you know-"

"Later." Konata interrupted, waving her arm. "But girl, you're droppin' it like crazy! It must be from all the walking and cycling you've been doing recently!" Konata regained her cheerful disposition. Kagami smiled at the compliment as she thought.

"Yeah, I guess you're right!" She said. "Thanks a lot, I hadn't noticed!" She thanked. _I think I deserve a treat when I get home!_ She thought hungrily. Of course, it could just be the fact that she hadn't eaten anything that day as well. Konata certainly noticed.

"Kagamin, wanna have some breakfast?" She asked. Much like before, she didn't wait for an answer as she walked to the kitchen and turned the stove on.

"It's a little late for breakfast, isn't it Kona?" Kagami asked with a smile. "It's already around noon!"

"But everything is already ready!" Konata protested. "Dad, if you wanna come in here, I can tell ya about what those two were fighting about while I cook for Kagami! Same to you, ya little Tsundere." Konata called teasingly. Kagami had a retort that she knew would cause Konata to blush and stutter, but she refrained herself from saying it since she knew Konata didn't want her father to know about them yet. Instead, she merely followed Sojiro into the kitchen to listen to her girlfriend's story.

"So what did happen?" Kagami asked.

"Well..." Konata started, getting the necessary ingredients ready and started. She decided to cook slower than she had earlier so she wouldn't have to concentrate as hard. First, she relayed that basis of what had happened to her father before giving Tony's story. By the time she was finished, she had finished the breakfast and given it to Kagami. The girl, without forgetting to say her thanks, began eating. "Kan-kan doesn't think he was doing anything wrong by talking to Tereya. To him, he was just making a friend like he would with JC or anyone else. Her being a pretty girl had nothing to do with the whole ordeal. And if so, I guarantee he wasn't trying to flirt with her, he was just being nice." Konata said.

""Nice" isn't naming a technique after a girl you just met when you haven't done the same for your girlfriend." Kagami said. Here, Konata couldn't help but chuckle.

"Do you know why he did that?" She asked.

"No, why? 'Cause it sure sounds like he was flirting when you think of him doing something like that..." Kagami commented.

"He did that because the move wasn't perfect." Konata said. Kagami was quickly silenced by this revelation. Her mouth, however, still hung agape.

"Wait, what?" Sojiro asked for her.

"That's right. The technique he used wasn't as powerful, nor as beautiful, as he thought he could eventually make it. Thus, he refused to name it Tsukasa." Konata said. Kagami found her voice again.

"Why didn't he say so in the first place?" She asked.

"Because he didn't think he should have to say that. Keep in mind, he thinks he's right, why would he have to explain himself?" Konata asked.

"I guess that makes sense..." Kagami sighed. "I wonder where he is. You'd think his phone would be on if he's wanting to talk with Tsukasa." Kagami said.

"Yeah, you would think..." Konata sighed. "So now that you know his side, what do you think?" She asked. Kagami put a finger to her lip as she thought.

"... I still think he's an idiot. He could have avoided this whole conflict, but to prove his point he decided to charge headfirst into it. But I do kind of understand why he did it. And his logic behind naming the attack Tereya is kind of sweet. But in a way, isn't he basically saying that Tereya is inferior to Tsukasa?" Kagami asked.

"Perhaps she is in Tony's mind. I can't imagine he'd think that far into it though." Konata said. "So what do you wanna do Kagamin?" Konata asked.

"I was kinda hoping we could do something, but I'd forgotten about your friend." Kagami sighed.

"I think I'm gonna go back to sleep. My headache from yesterday is coming back." Tsuki said.

"Really? You sure?" Konata asked. She was obviously quite excited, though she did her best to hide it. Tsuki noticed easily, however, and felt happy.

"Yeah. Go have fun." Tsuki bade as she got up and left for the room she had slept in. A few moments went by.

"Kona?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah?" Konata responded.

"Why was she dressed as Miku Hatsune?" Kagami asked.

"She didn't have any other clothes..." Konata chuckled.

"Oh..." Kagami mumbled.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony ran at almost his full speed outside full on Sage Mode, gathering energy from all around him as he ran. He had worked at it for the past six hours, slowly increasing his pace, then slowly increasing the amount of energy he was taking in, rinsing, then repeating. His mind was free enough to allow him a smile, but he was in pain. He wasn't tired in the sense that he was running out of energy, but his legs and joints in general hurt from the constant pounding running at such a fast speed would be expected to make. Like he was at the moment, he didn't have the mental capacity to include a spell that would rid him of his pain, so he would be required to endure it until he decided to cease his training. His energy had long since hit its peak. To continue, he had begun putting all of the excess energy into the ring on his right finger until, now, he had quite a sizable amount of energy stored in it. He decided to slow his pace considerably, also releasing his grip on the environment. He sighed in mental exhaustion and looked around. Surprisingly, who would he see but Tereya and her friend? Their backs were turned to him and there was a group of guys around them, presumably friends since they were laughing. Tony smiled and began walking over. As he got closer, he began hearing the laughter. Now that he heard it better instead of just seeing it, it was obviously not the kind of laugh one laughs when somebody says something funny. Rather, it sounded like a laugh _at_ someone. He also distinguished that there were no female voices laughing. He sneaked up behind Tereya and addressed the group.

"Hey, what are we laughing at?" Tony asked with a hollow chuckle, appearing on Tereya's left. She jumped and wiped her eyes.

"I was just talking to this thing." The apparent leader of the guys pointed at Tereya. Tony grew annoyed.

"Excuse me? This "thing" has a name." Tony said.

"Yeah, quit picking on Teri-chan!" Her friend supported him.

"And who are you? Her boyfriend?" He asked, eliciting a few chuckles. Tony crossed his arms.

"And what if I was?" Tony demanded. Tereya blushed, but the boys laughed harder.

"Obviously you haven't seen her arm or you wouldn't suggest something like that!" He said through his laughter. Tony raised his eyebrow and glanced at Tereya. Her eyes were shadowed by her bangs and her left arm curved around her back to grab her right arm, though Tony still couldn't see it. Her friend had her hand on the girl's shoulder and was speaking comforting words to her. Tony noticed the tear running down her cheek. He turned back to the boys.

"Whatever you're talking about, it doesn't matter. Tereya is a very nice, very pretty girl." Tony said.

"Please!" The leader laughed. "I wanna cut her arm open and watch all the nasty ooze that comes out!" He shouted. Tony's nostrils flared. He stepped between the boy and Tereya.

"You wanna cut someone open?" He asked. "Then come and see what makes me." He said.

"Look Ryū, I don't wanna put you in the hospital, 'ca-"

"Wait, you know who I am, but you're still mouthing off?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, you're a good actor and I like your work. Your fight with Shin was awesome, but that's all it is." The leader said. Tony chuckled humorlessly.

"You think I'm acting in that?" He asked.

"Of course." The leader said. Tony smirked.

"Do you know what I think I'm gonna do then? Just for the hell of it." He asked.

"Tell me." The boy said.

"I'm gonna take this right foot." Tony pointed to his right foot. "And I'm gonna wop you on that side of your face." Tony pointed to his left, the boy's right side. "And do you know what?" He asked rhetorically. "There's not a damn thing you're gonna be able to do about it." Tony declared. The boy chuckled.

"Really?" He asked.

"Really." Tony nodded. In one fluid motion, Tony brought her right foot to his left, then up, and kicked the boy off his feet, all in the matter of a second. The boy landed on the ground. Tereya and her friend gasped. The boy pushed himself a little up and looked up at Tony. Tony turned a bit and whispered behind his back so that only Tereya and her friend could hear him. "Cover your ears." The two followed instructions.

"Kick this guy's ass!" He said to his friends as if he were talking to children. The boys stepped forward.

"Faas ru maar!" Tony shouted to his right. The boys to his right began to quake in terror. Tony threw a roundhouse kick against one of the guys in the middle, sending him into those to Tony's left. The terror that Tony's voice caused faded, but was mostly replaced by the incredible kick he had done. One of the boys threw a punch, which Tony jumped, spun, and rolled down the guy's arm. He landed and kicked the guy in his back, sending him into the pile of guys from his former left side. The others spun around, surprised by Tony's agility. He sighed. "Come on guys. If you're gonna attack me, at least make me use my arms." He said. "But I wouldn't suggest attacking me." He said gravely. The boys all looked at each other. One of them tentatively took a step forward. "Iiss slen nus!" Tony shouted. All of the boys were suddenly frozen in ice, though not to the point where they would be injured. Tony was almost amazed to see his energy as high as it was, his shouts had been rather complicated spells. He quickly shook it off and looked at Tereya. She had her right arm behind her back and was crying. Tony's nostrils flared in anger at the boy on the ground in front of her.

"He's right..." She muttered. Tony walked up and grabbed her by both her shoulders, startling her greatly. Tony literally almost had to keep her from leaving the ground. She looked up in his eyes.

"No he isn't. He needs to destroy your self esteem, to be mean and make you cry." Tony looked at the fallen boy. "Because this "big tough guy" knows he's empty inside." Tony let go of Tereya. He pointed to all the places he specified. "No balls, no brains, no heart, no pride." He said. "And not smart enough to know why." Tony almost spat on the guy. He turned back to Tereya. "You're pretty, no matter what people say." Tony said. Tereya smiled, blushed, and wiped her eyes with her left arm.

"Thanks..." She said. She sighed. "I... guess you'll want to see my arm then... right?" She asked, not looking Tony in the eye. He could see this was tough for her.

"Nah." He shook his head. "I'll see when you're comfortable with showing me. You don't quite seem there right now." Tony smiled. Tereya's eyes widened as she looked up into his.

"Tony, you certainly are one of kind..." She commented.

"Finest kind." Tony posed overdramatically. Tereya shook her head quickly.

"So how are you and Tsukasa?" She asked. Tony sighed.

"We kind of hit a rough patch." He said. Tereya seemed to have shrunk again.

"You... You want to talk about it?" She asked. Tony sighed.

"I probably shouldn't." He scratched his head. He felt something on his ankle. He looked down to see the boy he had kicked as grabbing it. He turned to Tereya. "Excuse me please." He turned back and crouched down. He took the boy by his shirt and picked him up until he was several inches from Tony's face. "Look. If I ever see you or any of your little friends picking on her again, I'm gonna punch your little nuts in." Tony said. The boy knew Tony wasn't bluffing. "Understand?" The boy nodded and let go. Tony smirked and stood back up.

"Come on and tell us!" Tereya's friend shouted obnoxiously, smacking Tony on the back. The attack caught Tony off guard and a force smacked the girl in her face, almost sending her off her feet. Tony spun and grabbed the energy around the girl, stopping her midair.

"You can't do that!" He said. "I'm sorry, my reflexes still get the better of me sometimes." Tony helped her up. She rubbed her jaw.

"That hurt... If you didn't want to tell us, you could just say..." She said, in more of an annoyed voice than anything.

"Sorry, but it really was an accident. Besides, we got in a fight about something really stupid." Tony crossed his arms.

"You should go out with Teri-chan then!" The girl quickly reclaimed her exuberance. Tereya blushed heavily. Tony did a bit. He sighed.

"Look." Tony took a deep breath. He turned to Tereya. "You're an extraordinarily attractive woman, but-"

"Stop." Tereya said weakly. "B-Back up there..." Tony quieted down. "G-Go over that first part again... Up to the "but" part." Tereya said. Tony sighed.

"You're an extraordinarily attractive woman." Tony repeated. Tereya seemed to gain a minute amount of confidence from this.

"Thank you." Tereya smiled. "As for the second part, I think I know what "but" means." She sighed. She took a deep breath. "I've gotta go, but let me leave you with two very important thoughts." She said shakily. Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Yes?" He smiled.

"First, the feeling is very, very mutual..." She said, looking like she was going to have a heart attack at any moment. Tony smiled.

"I'm an attractive woman? Thank you." Tony said. Tereya jumped and looked very embarrassed. She looked like she was about to lose what little resolve she had and not say the second thing.

"Mou! You know what she meant, can't you see this is difficult for her to say?" Her friend shouted. Tereya redoubled her efforts.

"And second... The offer is open if things don't work out with Tsukasa." Tereya said. Her friend looked surprised that this was what she said. Before she could respond, Tereya turned and walked away. Her friend followed her.

"Wow, that was really forward, especially for you Teri-chan." Her friend said. Tereya looked like she was going to pass out. Tony watched her walk away as the guys around him thawed. He decided to continue his practice. He began taking in energy again and took off. As he ran, Manten's words again rang in his head.

_**All I know about that is that you supposedly broke up with one girl to get with another.**_

Tony shook his head. Tereya was nice, but Tsukasa was the girl he undoubtedly loved. No matter how odd Tsukasa had been, she was still his true love. Manten was messing with his head, right? Right?

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya Luckies! I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami~!"

"And I'm the assistant, Minoru Shiraishi!"

"Minoru, what's gonna happen?" Akira asked.

"Don't you know?" Minoru asked.

"May~be." Akira chimed. "This is getting to be a monthly updated story..."

"Isn't that what Ac wanted to avoid?" Minoru asked.

"Yeah, but the computers of the house have pretty much been taken up recently, so the story has been shoved to the side against the author's will." Akira sighed. "The goal was to keep updates under a month at a time." Akira said.

"Not much we can do though, huh?" Minoru sighed.

"Nope. I suppose Ac could throw around God mode a bit more, but that takes years off their life." Akira giggled.

*Music Tone*

"Oh, I guess that's all the time we have for today. I'll see you all next time! Bye nii~!"

"..."

"Minoru, I'm having lunch after the show today, wanna come with?"

"Re-really? You're inviting me?"

"Sure! Why not, you're a good guy!"

"Well... Thanks I guess!"

"... I guess?"

"I mean thank you."

"Damn right you do..."

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

I wanted to keep these updates under a month, but I'm not sure that's going to happen any more . Sqweebs, I remember what you said though! I have absolutely no intention of letting this story fade away until it has reached a conclusion that I see fit. And if it reaches one before what I have planned, maybe I'll upload the folder of ideas so you all can see what I DID have planned. As of right now, the end is no where in sight. Hopefully I don't get worse and worse! A big thank you to Flygon Master for reading this before hand and giving me his opinion. You honestly have no idea how much you help me. I hope you all enjoyed it! Please review!


	43. Chapter 43: Of Tournaments and Idiots

Chapter 43: A Tournament's Beginning and an Idiot's Stupidity

Yeah Sqweebs, back in High School, I did a martial arts bit for a talent show and a lot of people thought it was all acting. Luckily, the judges let me redo my performance, but this time I took volunteers from the audience. They were those "Imma knock yo ass out in one hit man, I ki' ya!" types. Idiots. I'll admit to showing off. They were just horrible fighters. I quoted Vegito once. Let's just end that little spiel with the fact that after years of martial arts training, I was probably where Konata is, give or take. All of that while I could have been singing the Song of the Hero from My Bride is a Mermaid XD. Getting a bigger crush on Tsuki? Sorry man, she's married! Yes Flygon, things are heating up! Like you wouldn't BELIEVE! ERMAHGERD! Riku said ERMAHGERD! It's one of my friend's favorite memes hehe. Universal Lizard, I guessed it was you when I saw what you said about Konata and Kagami getting back together. I'm glad you're getting the references, and I do have quite a few more I can do. Except the Avengers one... lol. By the way, I don't mind the mistake, it gives me an extra review :-D I'm glad my chapters are worth the wait, hopefully I can get them out a little quicker though... HolyRiot, glad I could fill your tank! Sage of the Luckiest Stars? I like that title... Stealthmomo! I'll keep this going if it kills me! The updates may spread out a little, but always know that I'm working on it! Believe it or not Stealth, you are kind of right. Komi, I'm glad you like the story :D Actually Duffquick, I've been using that very strategy for a very long time, I've found I come up with some of my best stuff while I'm away from a computer or in bed at night! For example, that little bit with Matsuri where she gave a "What the hell, Tsukasa?" was thought up during one of my insomnia spells. And I hope you read this GhostPheonix, that means you liked the story enough to make it this far! BlackLuigi7, you haven't reviewed in a while... Four months? Was it something I said? I'm trying to keep this short :P Now, I must get on with the chapter. Tally Ho!

* * *

**POV Konata**

"So what do you wanna do Kagamin?" Konata asked.

"I dunno. Where-"

"What's this?" Tsuki shouted. Konata looked over and followed the voice. Kagami followed Konata back to a room she didn't know the girl had. She never had the need to go back that far, they passed Konata's room on the way. Konata arrived to see the door open to a small practice room she used.

"Man, I haven't been in here for more than a couple minutes in a while." Konata smiled, looking around the room. "This is where I got my weapons that I used in the tournament." Konata said.

"Your knives?" Kagami asked.

"Oh, you watched it?" Konata asked, lighting up a little.

"Yeah. It made me realize how stupid I was with this whole fight we've had." Kagami sighed. She looked over at a wooden construct. "What is that anyway?" She asked.

"Ah, this." Konata walked over to the wall mounted dummy. "This is called a Muk Yan Jong." She said. There were several wooden rods jutting out from it, three where arms could potentially be, and one bent where a leg might be. It was mounted to the wall by a very large wooden frame. "This took me a long time to get down." Konata smiled to Kagami.

"Why have I never seen this room?" Kagami asked.

"Why would you want to? It's small, stuffy, and not too interesting." Konata shrugged.

"Are you kidding? It's really interesting! You know how cool this is?" Kagami asked rhetorically.

"I didn't know you liked stuff like this." Konata smiled. "Well check THIS out!" Konata spun on her heels and started hitting the dummy. Kagami watched as Konata's left arm would strike a rod with her forearm while her other would hit the dummy directly with an open palm. Her arms curved around the rods and struck them both. One slid back and grabbed it as Konata leaned back and kicked the bent rod. She got a bit faster and a bit faster.

"That's cool Kona... It looks like your arms are like a liquid or something!" Kagami commented on Konata's fluidity of movement. Konata stopped and turn back around, hitting her chest proudly.

"Like I said, it took me a long time to get down, but once I got it, I got it good!" Konata said. She smiled a bit wider. "Wanna see me go all out?" She asked slyly.

"Sure!" Kagami smiled. Konata nodded. Her smile was suddenly replaced as her face made no emotion whatsoever. She spun and faced the dummy. She breathed in through her nose, and out through her mouth. She placed her forearms on separate rods. In a burst of motion, her arms began twisting, turning, striking, grabbing, and... She kept speeding up... Kagami literally couldn't follow what Konata was doing any more. There was a constant hammering of the wood as it was continually struck. Kagami leaned over and looked at Konata's face. There was no emotion, no sign of pain or struggle as she plateaued off at her maximum speed. After about fifteen seconds, she disengaged and stumbled back, hitting the ground on her rear. "Whoa..." Kagami muttered.

"Too cool!" Tsuki said excitedly. Konata's calm disposition broke as she rubbed her arms.

"Oww~..." She muttered before standing back up.

"How have you ever lost a fight? Ever?" Kagami asked. Konata giggled.

"Because they were better fighters than me. They do exist Kagamin." Konata said.

"Still... So how hard can you hit?" Kagami asked, remembering the kid's broken ribs that Konata had caused.

"Yeah, if I'm right, none of those strikes were particularly strong. It was mostly about deflecting and keeping a close, steady barrage of hits going, right?" Tsuki asked.

"Observant Tsuki." Konata smiled. Tsuki posed as if this were the highest praise she could have received. "Would you like to see my hardest?" Konata asked.

"Sure!" Kagami said. She seemed extremely excited about Konata's hobby, something Konata herself was finding gave her no end of joy.

"Tsuki, do you mind if I demonstrate on ya? I have a pad you can use!" Konata dug out a pad with about three inches of protection.

"Eh, sure... Why not?" Tsuki smiled nervously as she accepted the pad.

"Just hold that in front of your chest there, like that..." Konata positioned the pad for Tsuki. She placed her fingertips on the pad and breathed deeply again. "This is called the "1 Inch Punch". It's one of the strikes that made Bruce Lee famous." She said. Once again, emotion left her face as she began concentrating.

"Wait, wait, the one inch punch?!" Tsuki suddenly panicked. Suddenly, Konata's entire body seemed to burst into motion as she punched Tsuki on the pad on her chest. Tsuki was sent off her feet and sent rolling into the wall. She got back up coughing and holding her chest. Kagami's mouth was gaped open.

"What was that?" Kagami shouted. Konata smiled at her girlfriend.

"It's called the "1 Inch Punch". It's extremely complicated to explain every mechanic of it to someone who hasn't had the training for it, but basically using this technique, I can probably kill someone with that single strike." Konata smiled. "It took me about a year and a half of practicing constantly to get it to the point I have it to now." Konata said.

"Wow... That's insane Kona..." Kagami blinked several times.

"Man, that hurt!" Tsuki complained.

"I never thought you to be the action genre type Kagamin. I know you like shooter games, but I didn't know that carried over to martial arts..." Konata smiled.

"I dunno, something about people bashing other people's heads in is kind of interesting... You know?" Kagami asked.

"I understand! I like action movies too!" Konata said with a smile. "I always used to watch action movies when I was a little girl along with all the anime. I guess the combination of the two is what made me want to practice martial arts so bad. Luckily, Dad happily went along with it."

"So you started Wing Chun when you were really young?" Kagami smiled.

"Kind of. I started with Karate, but that's more based on strength and muscle power than I could handle at the time." Konata said. "Once, a man came from a different school and fought my Karate master." She reminisced.

"Who won?" Kagami asked. Konata smiled.

"Master Liu." She said. "After he won, I asked about the martial arts he practiced. He told me he was using his main martial art against my teacher, but that a friend on his taught him something he thought would be better for me. He told me that Wing Chun was a kung fu that was invented by a woman. Because of that, it mainly uses redirection, finding holes in the opponent's defense, keeping a constant barrage of attacks and..." Konata thought for a moment. "You could say geometry."

"Geometry?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah, there's a lot of triangles in Wing Chun. It emphasizes speed over strength." Konata said.

"But you can still kill someone with that punch of yours." Kagami said, almost a question.

"Well, you also learn to generate power in a way other than using your muscles." Konata said. "If you contract your body at just the right time, your striking power increases exponentially." Konata said. To demonstrate, she walked over a pad that was on the wall.

"Wait, why didn't you use that for your "1 Inch Punch"?" Tsuki shouted. Konata turned and flashed a cat's grin.

"'Cause if I punch a wall with that power, I'll break my hand!" She said. "Besides, you can take it. I gave you a pad." Konata said, waving dismissively as she turned back to the pad. "Now, pay attention to the sound." She said. She straight punched the pad to hear a quiet thud. "Hear that? It was very quiet because I just hit it. But..." Konata punched again, but used what she said earlier. There was quite a satisfying _thwap_ from the pad this time. Konata shook her hand around. "Ow! It's more powerful." She said, flailing her hand around in an attempt to ease the pain.

"Oh~..." Kagami said. "You okay Kona? Do we need to get some ice on that?" Kagami asked.

"No, no, it's okay!" Konata stopped her hand, though it was still throbbing. "Sorry I kind of wasted a lot of time on this, but I like Wing Chun, so when you looked curious..."

"Wasted time?" Kagami asked with a smile. "Time well wasted isn't wasted at all, Kona. I had a lot of fun learning about this, thank you for showing it to me." Kagami hugged her Otaku. The girl tensed up under her hug. Kagami broke the hug quickly. "Kona?"

"Sorry Kagamin, but..." Konata trailed off, holding her arms up. They were bruised all over from the beating she had given the dummy earlier. "I didn't think I went hard enough to bruise me! I don't bruise easy..." She said. Kagami sighed in relief and smiled, though she did feel guilty. After all, Konata had gone her best at Kagami's request.

"That's okay, I thought maybe you were uncomfortable with me hugging you..." Kagami sighed. Konata's jaw dropped.

"What? Never!" She threw her arms into the air for emphasis. Kagami giggled at how cute her girlfriend was.

"You two are so cute together!" Tsuki squealed, forced to be quiet because her breath had yet to fully come back. Kagami gave a worried look to the girl and then a confused one to Konata.

"Kona?" She asked.

"She knows, I might have... let it slip by accident..." Konata rubbed the back of her head.

"So you're okay with her knowing, but not your own Dad?" Kagami sighed.

"Kagamin, I didn't tell her on purpose!" Konata said.

"And she still accepted you. What does that tell you?" Kagami asked.

"It's different!" Konata protested.

"It's the same and you know it." Kagami said. Konata was about to come back with a biting retort, but caught herself before she delivered it. Instead, she breathed and rethought what she was going to say.

"What do you want to do Kagami? I don't really have money." Konata said. Kagami smiled and held up her purse.

"I do. Mom ended up being able to buy a new car. With the money you gave her." Kagami emphasized the third sentence. "You really are generous when you want to be Kona..." Kagami added with a smile as she hugged Konata more lightly than earlier so as not to hurt her. "She gave the money that was left over to me so that I could use it on me and you." Kagami said happily.

"You shouldn't have accepted it." Konata said.

"I didn't at first. She insisted though and my Mom is... persuasive..." Kagami said.

"So when did this happen? Do I get to see the new car soon?" Konata asked.

"I dunno when it happened. And you can see it any time." Kagami said. "And I'm sure if you learn how, Mom would have no problem letting you drive it." She added.

"That's cool." Konata smiled.

"Yeah, but that leads me to another question." Kagami broke the hug and looked at her girlfriend. "You actually won the tournament?" She asked.

"Yeah..." Konata scratched the back of her head.

"Didn't Tony compete?" Kagami asked.

"Yep!" Konata smiled.

"How did you beat him? Did he give up to you or what?" Kagami asked.

"You mean you didn't watch that?" Konata asked.

"No, I stopped after your fight with the old man." Kagami said.

"Well, he agreed not to use his powers. The only thing that was still active was a spell that kept us from being killed." Konata smiled.

"And you were able to beat him... I have to see that!" Kagami shouted. "Maybe we can go to my house and get the tape!" Kagami said excitedly.

"Sounds like a plan." Konata smiled. Kagami was suddenly a great deal more excited.

"Or maybe we can go to your school! Can I watch you fight?" Kagami asked.

"Wow, you seem... way too enthusiastic about this..." Konata said.

"But I love action movies and stuff!" Kagami said. "So that you can do this kind of stuff is just pure awesome!"

"But I have a tournament tomorrow Kagamin~!" Konata hugged and started rocking back and forth, attempting to take her girlfriend with her. Kagami giggled.

"Then don't fight fifteen people this time!" She scolded, bopping Konata on the nose for her silliness.

"You really want me to fight again?" Konata asked.

"As long as you don't get hurt." Kagami hugged Konata back now and began rocking with her slowly.

"There's no guarantee that I won't. Bad luck can hit at any time, I'm no exception to that rule." Konata said.

"Well maybe you could fight your old master?" Kagami suggested.

"Just because I'm better than he is doesn't mean it's an easy fight. I could get hurt." Konata said. Kagami looked her in the eye.

"...Say that again." She said.

"I could get hurt." Konata repeated. Kagami seemed to study her for a moment. After a moment, she seemed to come to a decision.

"You're not being entirely truthful, but you obviously don't want to fight. It's okay." Kagami rested her head on Konata's. Konata thought and sighed.

"Alright. But you're the only one that can watch. It's a policy my master has." Konata said.

"Really?" Kagami pulled away so she could look in Konata's eyes again.

"Yeah. It's so if he wins, his opponent isn't embarrassed and if he loses, he isn't. My old Karate instructor refused his request to fight in private, so he got embarrassed." Konata said.

"I get to see you fight again?" Kagami seemed excited.

"Of course, this is under the assumption Master Liu is even up to fighting. He was hurt pretty bad in his fight with Shífēn. You saw his limp when we went there last." Konata said. Kagami sighed.

"Yeah, I remember." She said. Konata, still hugging Kagami around the stomach, began hopping up and down.

"Let's find something else! Something that isn't gonna hurt anyone!" Konata said in her best child-like voice. Kagami found she couldn't resist the small girl and giggled at her cuteness.

"Alright, you win." Kagami rubbed her lover's head lovingly. "I want pocky though." She said compromisingly.

"Deal." Konata giggled. "You going to bed Tsuki?" Konata asked.

"Yeah, my head is booming again." She sighed, a hand on her head. "It feels like... like I'm not here. I'm somewhere else, but not here." She muttered.

"No problem, more time alone with my Kagamin!" Konata chimed. "Let's go!" She grabbed Kagami's hand and started heading out.

"You two leaving Konata?" Sojiro asked as they made their way past into the living room.

"Yeah, soon. Just gotta get something!" Konata said over her shoulder as the two entered the kitchen.

"What are we doing in here Kona?" Kagami asked, having been pulled in. Without a word, Konata opened one of the drawers next to the refrigerator and reached in. She pulled out a box of pocky.

"Here ya go Kagamin!" She spun on her heel and handed the box to her girlfriend.

"Why thank you, oh wonderful Otaku!" Kagami bowed. "So you just have this lying around?" Kagami smiled, opening the box and pulling out a pocky stick.

"Of course." Konata smiled and walked out of the house with her Tsundere. "You may come over at any second, I have to be prepared!" Konata said dramatically.

"Ha ha." Kagami ate another stick. "Say what you want, I deserve this for losing so much weight." Kagami said.

"Ring ring ring." Konata said as they walked.

"Huh?" Kagami stopped eating and looked at her.

"That's your internal alarm clock. I have to fill in since yours is broken." Konata giggled. Kagami blinked, letting what her girlfriend said sink in.

"HEY!" Kagami shouted after a moment of comprehension. Konata giggled as she started scurrying away from her Tsunraging Tsundere. Kagami ran her out the door. Sojiro looked at the almost visible trail the two had left and chuckled.

"Those two are really good friends." He smiled as he returned to his previous activity.

Konata leaped over another blast of fire. She dodged to the side as Kagami roared. She laughed.

"I'm sorry Kagami-sama!" She laughed, barely keeping ahead of the flaming Tsundere. "Don't spill the Pocky! It'll be a waste!" Konata laughed. At the mention of Kagami's Pocky being gone, she calmed down.

"You're right, I can't lose it, it's my only box!" Kagami said, screeching to a halt. Konata suddenly turned around and glomped onto Kagami.

"I can has pocky?" Konata looked up, putting her best adorable face on. Kagami looked down at her and was hit with the cutest expression she had ever seen Konata make. Her face, her entire body more than likely following, turned beet red as she beheld her lovable little loli. She pulled out a pocky stick and held it up to Konata's mouth, unable to form words at the moment. Konata bit it out of Kagami's hand, but the younger girl was too much in her cuteness stupor to even get upset about it. The Otaku hummed happily and rubbed her head into Kagami's stomach. The taller girl couldn't help but let out a squeal as she hugged Konata with all her strength.

"You're just too cute!" She practically shouted.

"Oi Hiiragin! What's up!" Misao came running up. Kagami gulped, nervous about their current position. "Pile on Hiiragin~!" Misao shouted as she glomped Kagami on her chest, just above Konata. Kagami almost fell over backwards from the combined might of her tiny terror of a girlfriend and her verbally abundant best friend.

"Hey, don't just climb on people!" Kagami squirmed out of Misao's grasp. However, in doing so, she reluctantly had to let Konata go, who also had to let Kagami go.

"But Chibi did it." Misao shot Konata a dirty look. In the eye that was facing away from Kagami, she winked. Konata crossed her arms and looked at the brunette.

"Ferret Face, I've know many people. You are not among them." Konata said, sticking her tongue out.

"So mind if I tag along with you guys?" Misao asked Kagami. "It's on my way!" Misao chimed.

"What is?" Kagami put her hands on her hips challengingly, since Misao couldn't know where the couple was going. Especially since the couple didn't know where it was going itself.

"Where ever you're going! That's just the nice kind of girl I am!" Misao chimed. Konata opened her mouth, but was suddenly interrupted as a woman walked by. The woman was quite well endowed. Kagami sighed in frustration and turned her attention back on Misao to hopefully distract her from Konata's perverted stare.

"Sure. I don't know where we're going, but you're more than welcome to come along." Kagami said, half because she wanted to see Misao and hand out with her a bit more than she had been recently, and half to spite Konata. Who was still staring.

"Cool!" Misao cheered and hugged Kagami. Still a bit peeved at Konata, Kagami didn't put up any resistance. "Yay, you never let me hug you Hiiragin!" Misao cheered again. Konata, the woman passed, turned quickly back to her girlfriend.

"What'd I miss?" She asked meekly, knowing she was in trouble. Kagami sighed.

"Misao is coming with us." She said.

"What?" Konata shouted. "Ferret Face is coming?"

"Well, maybe if you had been paying attention, you could have objected. I didn't know that would be a problem." Kagami began walking off, causing Misao to let go. Now that the two were behind her, they looked at each other, grinned, and snickered just quietly enough for Kagami not to notice. They followed their Tsundere.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony walked along the sidewalk. He had long since stopped his training. He wasn't sure if it had been the mental strain of keeping up with his draining spell for so long, or if it had been the fact that he was on the verge of an existential crisis, but his head was pounding. For the past few months, he had been so sure that he could love no one other than Tsukasa. But with recent events... Had he loved Tsukasa simply because she was one of the first girls he had met? Because he simply didn't know any other girls? He could see himself being with her for the rest of their natural life, then fighting across the afterlife to be with her there, but was it that way with other girls and he didn't know it? He wasn't sure anymore. Maybe he didn't actually love Tsukasa. Maybe he didn't know what love actually was.

_I have to get home._ Tony thought. _I have to think. I hope Masutā is still there. I need his advice._ Tony thought to himself. He looked into the reserve of energy he had in his ring now. Compared to his normal maximum, it was an extreme amount. He tapped into it and began running at his full speed. He arrived at home very quickly and walked in. He sighed in relief to see his brother in the living room. "Aniki..." Tony said. Masutā didn't turn around to address him.

"Yo! What's up? You sound depressed." He asked.

"I don't know what to do about Tsukasa. I'm so confused." Tony sighed as he sat on the couch. Masutā leaned forward in his chair.

"Tell me all about it Otōto." He smiled sympathetically. As Tony told his story, his brother stayed genuinely interested in it, actively thinking about every new detail Tony presented. He told his brother of his meeting on the subway and his encounter with Tereya just recently, leaving nothing to question. Finally, he finished his story, even more uncertain than before.

"And now I don't even know what's to become of us." Tony finished. Masutā mused over the subject for a few moments, quietly contemplating the situation.

"So, basically, you talked to another girl, a fan of yours, and became fast friends. You named a move after her, and Tsukasa got jealous. You didn't let her know about the fact that you named it as such because it wasn't perfect because you didn't think you had to. You just met up with the other girl again and are now questioning your relationship with Tsukasa." Masutā summed up.

"Pretty much. What do you think?" Tony asked. Masutā thought for another moment.

"You're kinda right." He said. Tony looked pleased.

"I knew it!" Tony cheered.

"You're also an idiot." Masutā clarified.

"What?" Tony asked.

"Well you're an idiot, but it's kind of worked for you here." Masutā clarified. "You see, by being an idiot and not backing down when you should have, you've brought some pretty powerful questions that you'll need to answer." Masutā said.

"What do you mean?" Tony asked.

"It's time for you to look inside yourself and ask yourself the big questions. Are you truly happy with Tsukasa? Would you truly be happy with Tereya? Is your future with either of them?" Masutā began asking, growing in volume and severity with every question. Tony grasped his head.

"Aniki!" Tony groaned.

"Who are you!? What do _you_ want?" Masutā shouted. Tony jumped to his feet.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Tony shouted in frustration, throwing his arms down. The strength of his frustration was so great, the power short-circuited and the lights shut off. Tony sighed and clapped twice, commanding the power to return. At a cost of energy, it obeyed.

"You have to think about these things Otōto. What do you want from life and _why_? It will not be a pleasant experience but when you come out of it, you will be the man you were always meant to be." Masutā said. "You'll be much happier than you've ever been. You're at a crossroads now Otōto. You can make or break several lives, no matter what your decision, and it isn't one to made lightly. If you choose Tsukasa, be prepared to accept it for everything that it is, including what it may mean to Tereya. If you choose Tereya, I'm sure there will be at least one life gone." Masutā said cryptically. "And you have to think about Tsukasa and how this will affect her. I've seen you two together. She loves you. She's happy with you. But this decision can't be made for her or Tereya's sake. It must be for yours only." Tony sighed. He stood up.

"I need to go think..." He sighed as he turned towards his room.

"It's a lovely night for a walk. Why don't you join me? It would clear your head." Masuta said.

"Thanks, but Miyuki wouldn't want to see me after my fight with Tsukasa." Tony walked into his room.

"Or, just stay in your room and sit in the dark. Whatever makes you happy Ototo..." Masuta sighed. _...Wait, how did he know Miyuki was going to be there?_

Tony walked into his room and plopped on the bed.

_Hey kid, how's it going?_ He heard a familiar voice ring in his head.

_Hey boss, what's up? Something I need to know?_ Tony asked.

_Huh? No, just... checking in._ Hachiman said.

_Oh, well... Okay. What's going on?_ Tony asked.

_Not much. So what's going on? _Hachiman asked.

_Well, I'm in the middle of a crisis and I don't have time to think it out. I have a tournament tomorrow and I can't just not go since Konata and Tsuki are on my team. It's always harder to blow off obligations when you're letting others down..._ Tony sighed.

_Tsuki?_ Hachiman asked.

_A... girl I met yesterday..._ Tony mumbled in his mind. _How do you not know who she is? Wouldn't you know, like, everyone?_

_I'm not entirely sure... _Hachiman said. _In any case, tell me about this crisis._ Hachiman said. Tony sighed and began to tell his story. Since it was from his memory, Hachiman got the entire picture. Every emotion, every sight, everything from Tony's point of view. Tony felt oddly at peace speaking with the God. He felt relaxed, like he could tell him anything. And so he did. He told everything.

* * *

**POV**** Kagami**

Kagami kept walking ahead of the two secret friends.

"So where we goin' Hiiragin?" Misao asked.

"I was thinking we could go watch the video of Kona fighting Tony." Kagami said. While she was still pissed at Konata, she couldn't stay angry. After all, it was one time. So what if Konata had been ogling one girl once? _Yeah. It won't happen again._ Kagami smiled to herself.

"Chibi fighting? Why would you want to see her get her tail kicked?" Misao asked. Konata smirked and Kagami giggled, knowing Misao would know soon enough. They arrived at the Hiiragi Household and walked in.

"Onee-chan~!" Tsukasa ran over and hugged Kagami.

"Hey Tsukasa!" Kagami chuckled. "You get your project finished?"

"No, it's gonna take a while to finish. I hope I can make it!" Tsukasa said.

"Make what? What are you two talking about?" Konata asked.

"What are you making Imoto?" Misao asked.

"Something for Kan-kun." Tsukasa said.

"You forgive him?" Konata asked.

"Well, we can talk it out, ya know? I'm sure we can just sit down and talk, right? He's an adult!" Tsukasa said.

"Tsukasa, you can't say stuff like that!" Konata protested.

"Why not?" Tsukasa asked.

"When you say it like that, i makes it automatically not true! At this moment, Tony's probably commenting on how childish he'll act if he meets you again!" Konata whined.

"Well I'm going to risk it!" Tsukasa said. "He's smart." Konata sighed.

"Whatever ya say Tsukasa!" Konata sighed.

"Wait, did Imoto and whatshisnuts have a fight?" Misao asked. Konata, unable to keep it down, burst into laughter at her nickname for Tony. Kagami put her hands on her hips at her girlfriend. Tsukasa mimicked her sister and gave a look at Misao. "What? I don't know his name! Aren't mad at him anyway?" Misao and Konata shrunk as they were silently scolded.

"I thought it was pretty funny..." Konata commented.

"Thanks Cheebs..." Misao mumbled.

"So what, are you two friends now?" Kagami asked.

"What? Friends with the Ferret Face?" Konata looked at Misao with disgust. "Why haven't we replaced her with a better form of plant life?"

"Are you saying I'm stupid?" Misao shouted challengingly.

"I'm not saying you're a complete idiot!" Konata said.

"That's better!" Misao puffed out her chest victoriously.

"There are some pieces missing." Konata turned back to the twins. Misao turned back.

"You want some of this?" Misao shouted.

"Gladly!" Konata shouted back. Of course, the two had no intention of actually fighting. Acting as if on cue from the two, Kagami stepped in.

"Hey you two! Cut it out!" She shouted.

"Imoto, what's all the shouting?" Matsuri poked her head in the hallway.

"Nothing, don't worry about it!" Kagami said, clearly embarrassed.

"Well keep it down, we couldn't hear the T.V." Matsuri pouted. She brought her head back into the living room and continued watching Television. Kagami stayed looking at the door before creaking her head forward, coincidentally looking at Konata.

"You two got me in trouble." She said, now annoyed. Misao walked around her to Konata's side. The two bowed overdramatically.

"We're sorry Kagami-sama." They apologized in eerie unison. Kagami sighed.

"I guess it's okay, but you two need to calm down." She said. Misao turned to Tsukasa and repeated her apology.

"I'm sorry for calling whatshisnuts, whatshisnuts Imoto." Misao apologized.

"His name is Tony." Kagami informed.

"Alright then." Misao sighed. "Imoto, you and Tony have a fight?" Misao asked.

"Yeah. We're gonna talk it out though." Tsukasa said.

"So do we want to go watch? I think I've got something we can watch it on in my room!" Kagami said.

"What are you watching Onee-chan?" Tsukasa asked.

"The tournament Tony and Kona fought in recently! Tony had some pretty cool fights if you want to watch!" Kagami invited.

"Sure!" Tsukasa chimed.

"Well cool! We just gotta get the tape out of the living room!" Kagami poked her head into the living room. Her sisters and mother were currently watching a game show, her father at work in the shrine. Kagami sneaked over to the player and clicked the eject button.

"Whatcha doin' Imoto?" Matsuri asked. The three other girls poked their head into the room.

"Getting the tape of the tournament!" Kagami said as she took the tape out and started retreating from the room.

"Oh, I saw that! I never knew Konatan was such a badass!" Matsuri said.

"I didn't get to see the last fight though, so don't tell me anything!" Kagami said.

"I haven't seen it at all!" Tsukasa said.

"Then don't say anything at all!" Kagami said.

"Let's go, I wanna see Chibi get beat up!" Misao cheered as the girls left the room. Matsuri and Inori looked at each other and shrugged.

Kagami, Misao, Tsukasa, and Konata all walked into Kagami's room. Said Tsundere put the tape into the player and turned on her television. The four sat on her bed and faced the set. Konata and Misao sat behind Kagami and Tsukasa. The tape started and opened on Konata standing opposite a large man, mostly unarmored except for the shoulders. He had a two handed ax while she had two knives. Konata looked up to the camera and winked. Misao playfully punched Konata in the shoulder, a smile on her face. When the man threw something green that, upon hitting the Otaku, caused her to gasp and cough, Misao's smile turned upside down.

"Poison? A dirty trick?" A man shouted. Misao and Tsukasa both turned to Konata, then to the television version of her, then back to the real life one. They turned back to the television just in time to see Konata take a fist, causing her to be thrown to her back. Konata felt arms around her shoulders. Confused since Kagami's back was in plain sight, she looked over. Misao was hugging Konata, more as a sort of security that Konata was, in fact, there and alright. Konata couldn't help but be a bit happy to have the girl legitimately be concerned for her. Tele-Konata tripped the man and caused him to start to fall, making an attack on his way down. When the ax neared Tele-Konata's head, Konata felt Misao's hug strengthen a little. Suddenly, Tele-Konata burst into movement. The ax was in the ground and Konata's knives were at the man's neck. Misao quickly let go when she saw Tsukasa turn around, but the two of them were both looking at the blunette, mouths agape. Konata blushed a little, scratched the back of her head and averted her gaze.

"Damn Chibi, that was insane!" Misao said. Tsukasa, hearing Tony being announced, had turned back to the television before she could comment. "Can't believe I almost tried to fight that..." Misao chuckled.

"That would have ended badly for you." Kagami said over her shoulder.

"Yeah, no kidding..." Misao said as she returned her gaze to the television. She saw Tony cut through the man's sword and armor.

"Go Kan-kun!" Tsukasa cheered. Kagami glanced over at her sister, happy that her twin had seemingly forgiven her. Now, unless Tony acted like a four year old, the entire argument was likely to blow over. She turned back and saw Tele-Konata standing across from a large, armored man with a large mace. That fight passed much the same as the last one. Misao hugged onto Konata when she was hit by the mace, and tightened her hug when she was being held by her hair. Then, like the previous fight, Tele-Konata burst into movement, tearing off the man's helmet and using it as a weapon to force him to drop her. Once on the floor, Tele-Konata let loose a serious series of punches. Misao let go and looked over at the Otaku as did Tsukasa. Tsukasa looked back and watched as Tony dominated an archer.

"Your boyfriend's pretty crazy Imoto." Misao threw an arm over the younger girl.

"He is a good fighter..." Tsukasa smiled. Tony walked back out along with another man the two had seen in passing during his fights. The two traded blows with Tony gaining the advantage. Suddenly, the man held up a hand and a light shone from it, causing the image on the camera to distort. When it was finally back to normal, the man was clad in armor that looked much different. Wings of light sprouted behind the man. The man suddenly exploded forward, effectively disarming Tony and sending him into retreat. After that, the only attack he made failed miserably. After only five moves of explosive power, the man's image distorted again and he reappeared, just as exhausted as he had been before his transformation. Misao's jaw was on the bed, having never seen this stuff on television. Kagami and Tsukasa had, however, been more accustomed to this kind of thing. Kagami had already seen it before and yawned. It had been a very long day of cycling. She leaned back a little onto her elbows, slightly hoping to fall asleep. She loved seeing Konata fight, but she had no desire to see her almost get killed again. Another yawn and she found it spread this time. Konata, Misao and Tsundere all yawned as well. Hands grabbed onto Kagami's head and pulled it into a heavenly pillow. She was gone in less than a second. Konata, petting Kagami's head now that it was in her lap, laid back and went to sleep. Misao and Tsukasa, determined to stay awake to see the end. Tele-Konata came out to fight an old man. Misao smiled and looked over at her friend only to see Konata asleep with Kagami asleep in her lap. Her heart dropped.

_What's going on here? Chibi and Hiiragin?_ Misao thought, a few tears making their way to her eyes. She sniffed and wiped her eyes. "Hey Imoto..." She tapped Tsukasa on the shoulder. Tsukasa turned back drowsily.

"Misa-chan?" She asked.

"I gotta go, alright?" Misao said, trying to keep her mood out of her voice. She was failing miserably, but Tsukasa was luckily too out of it to notice.

"Okay Misa-chan..." Tsukasa mumbled. Misao scrambled out of the bed and out of the room. She closed the door and leaned against it. It had shaken her quite a bit to see her new friend and Kagami in such a position. After all, she was rather confident she loved Kagami. Misao pushed herself off the door and walked to the entrance to the house. She sneaked out of the house and began to run. She wasn't even sure where she was running to, she just had to run. Running would clear her mind. It always did. Ever since she was young and her father had gotten her into running, it had been what helped her cope with life's problems. Her brother forcing her to eat bugs and beating her up? She ran. Ayano dating her jerkass of a brother? She ran. Kagami beginning to go over to Konata's classroom instead of hanging out with her and Ayano? She ran. Her closest friend, Kagami, replacing her with Konata as a best friend? She ran. Now, Kagami potentially being lost to her forever was just one more problem added to it all. She had to run. So she ran.

* * *

**POV Hachiman**

It amazed the god. As distraught as Tony was, he had been relaxed enough in Hachiman's presence to fall asleep. Hachiman chuckled.

"Hachiman, what intrigues you so about these mortals?" Amaterasu asked. "Why is it that you care?" She asked.

"I've got reasons." Hachiman answered simply.

"You will not elaborate further?" Amaterasu asked, easily frustrated with the inadequate answer.

"I don't need to." Hachiman said. "And how about you? Did you really give Tsukasa the piece just to one up me?"

"I have my reasons as well." Amaterasu said.

"And you're not gonna elaborate any more, are you?" Hachiman asked.

"I do not answer to YOU!" Amaterasu yelled in torrid fury.

"I simply asked a question." Hachiman said. "Now you merely understand where I'm coming from. Let them gather the pieces if they can. Who knows? Maybe they were meant to." Hachiman said. "Hey, maybe they're prophesy children!" Amaterasu rolled her eyes.

"Do not act as if there is some prophesy for them to take part in. That is much too cliche." She scolded. "WE are the ones made to avert disasters. You would do well to remember that." Amaterasu said in a tone that signified the conversation over. Hachiman sighed.

* * *

**The Theatre of Tsukasa's Mind**

Tsukasa was simply in darkness. However, she heard something. It was a voice. Again, it was definitely female, but it was clearly not Amaterasu. This voice was much more... melodious... Much more... Serene. When she heard it, no image came to her mind. The voice also gave no clue as to the age of the speaker. It said only one thing.

_When despair grips you, sing my song._

And then it was gone. And Tsukasa was alone again.

* * *

**In the Morning**

Konata blinked herself awake, still drowsy. She looked over to see Tsukasa asleep and could feel Kagami still asleep in her lap. She then noticed who was missing. Misao was gone. She looked at the time to see not only was it now morning, it was a very close to tournament time. Konata jumped from the bed and shook Kagami and Tsukasa.

"Guys, it's time for the tournament, let's go!" Konata shouted. The three ran out of the room. Everyone was surprisingly awake.

"Hey guys, want to see another tournament?" Kagami asked.

"What?" Miki asked.

"Kona, Tony and someone else are all on a team in a tournament!" Kagami said excitedly.

"Well cool, when?" Tadao asked.

"In half an hour. At the same place the World Tournament was at." Konata said. Everyone jumped up.

"Well let's go! Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Inori shouted as everyone started running.

"Can we take the new car?" Konata asked. Miki smiled.

"Certainly." She said. The family got into the new van. Konata looked around and smiled. It was a nice family car. They were at the arena in short order. Oddly, Tsuki was already there in the clothes she had been in two days prior minus the belt.

"Hey gu-..." She caught sight of Tsukasa, who approached the girl. They raised a hand in unison, waving it. They extended their hand symmetrically. They cocked their head to the side, all in complete symmetry.

"Who are you?" Tsukasa asked.

"Tsuki. You?" Tsuki asked.

"I'm Tsukasa." She answered.

"Rings a bell. But we're going to be late." Tsuki said. Konata, now that she saw the two juxtaposed, saw all the minor details that made Tsuki different from Tsukasa. She was about an inch taller. She was slightly better endowed. Tsuki turned and the lot, after explaining their relation to the front desk, entered the tournament. With only moment until their match started, the lot of them looked around while Konata and Tsuki entered the arena.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony woke up from his troubled sleep. His waking problems had followed into his dreams and transformed them into horrible abominations that put nightmares to shame. Not a second of the night had sluggishly passed without both of the girls being on his mind. He sighed and looked at the time. His first match was in five minutes. He sprang from bed.

_Damn it!_ He shouted in his head. He looked inside his ring to see the large amount of energy. He put it on and ran to his dresser. He threw on the first outfit he grabbed and thought for a moment. He apparated.

* * *

**In the Arena**

Konata and Tsuki walked into the arena to see two boys and a girl.

"Where's Ryū Tora no Kami?" Akira asked.

"I'm not sure, can we participate without him?" Konata asked, hoping to stall enough time that Tony could get there in time.

"Well, the rules allow for you to start a match with less than three people, but if the absent person shows up in the middle of the match, they still can't participate." Akira said. Suddenly, Tony apparated into the arena.

"There you are you bastard!" Konata shouted. "We were trying to call you all day yesterday, where the hell were you?" Konata shouted.

"Call me? Why?" Tony asked. Before Konata could respond, Akira interrupted.

"Team Taiseishiki versus the Fire Ferrets!" Akira shouted.

"Fire Ferrets?" Tsuki chuckled. "That's a pretty silly name."

"Don't underestimate them. That's a very amateur mistake." Konata scolded the girl.

"Yeah, I know. I'm just excited!" Tsuki said. Meanwhile, Tony was scanning the audience. The very first thing he noticed was that there was now a glass wall separating the people from the fight, but it had small slits in it to allow for noise to pass through. Tony smiled.

"Go Tony!" He heard a familiar voice shout. He looked over further to see Tereya, sitting very embarrassed as her friend shouted. His curiosity getting the better of him, he looked closer at Tereya's right arm, as both of her hands were in her lap. Unfortunately, she had a long sleeve shirt on and anything of her arm and hand were both hidden by the small wall that was in front of them. Tony sighed, disappointed that his curiosity would not be sated, and looked back over at the Hiiragi family. Tsukasa still looked very mad. Tony couldn't help but feel disheartened.

_I can't believe he looked at Tereya before he looked at me..._ Tsukasa huffed, her arms crossed.

"Tony, before it starts, Tsuka-" Konata started.

"Fight!" Akira shouted, surprising the two and causing Konata to curse. Suddenly, things got very hot, causing Tony to jump. He landed ten feet to his right to see one of the boys with his fist outstretched. He punched with his other fist as fire erupted from it.

_Damn!_ Tony jumped again. _The hell is up with this guy?_ He wondered. Tony looked over to see the other boy was attacking Tsuki, chucking plates of rock at her. Konata was locked in battle with the girl, who was slinging water around at her. These were the only observations Tony could make before he had to dodge another fire blast.

"You're pretty fast!" The boy firing at him shouted. Tony landed.

"You ain't seen nothin' yet." He smiled.

"Then let's spice things up!" His opponent shouted. Lightning suddenly sprouted from his fingers and shot at Tony.

**_Damn!_ **Tony thought. With the sudden influence of Sage Mode and his reflexes taking over, the world slowed down to the point where he could see the lightning coming to him. On instinct, Tony leaped over to Konata.

Konata took her stance, waiting for Akira's signal. It looked like the other team had chosen opponents and she would be fighting the female.

_I wonder if she's a martial artist._ Konata wondered. Konata would wait for the female to attack her.

"Fight!" Akira shouted. The girl lashed out from across the ring, a whip of water throwing itself at Konata. The Otaku growled and rolled out of the way.

_So that's how it is!_ She thought as she popped back up. She ducked to dodge a whip above her, then jumped to avoid one from below. She drew her butterfly knives. _These aren't going to do me much good, I'm fighting water!_ Konata cursed in her head. _At least those two have powers..._ She let her thoughts distract her for a moment. The whip came across her cheek, knocking her to the ground. She rolled on her shoulder and got up, learning from her mistake. She emptied her mind completely, focusing on nothing but her fight. Her opponent whipped the water at her. Konata raised her knives and slanted them towards the water. The liquid hit the metal, putting a downward thrust on Konata. She used the momentum to go under it and move forward, gaining ground. She turned around and saw the water snaking back at her. She swung her knife so that the water would hit the flat of the blade. It rebounded off it and snaked back around. Too close for her to block, she closed her eyes to prepare for the hit. There was a burst of heat around her that made her skin flush red. She opened her eyes to see Tony in front of her.

"Hey, fighting a flamethrower, you?" He asked.

"Water gun." Konata responded.

"Want help?" Tony asked.

"Thanks, but I think your hands a little full. At least Tsuki is doing well." Konata commented.

"Yeah." Tony agreed.

Tsuki cracked her neck as she waited for the girl announcing the tournament to announce its start. She decided she would do her best to take out the male across from her, then help out her friends. She began focusing energy into her right index finger.

"Fight!" The girl shouted. Tsuki's opponent stomped the ground, causing a plate of stone to rise up. He punched out, sending the plate spinning at her. She pulled the trigger and blew the rock out of the air. His jaw dropped comically. He shook his head and kicked another plate at Tsuki.

"Spirit gun!" Tsuki shouted, blowing it out of the air again. She was sent off her feet as a section of the wall smashed into her side. She rolled onto her feet and ran up, ducking under a projectile and side stepping another. She jumped into the air. Coming down, she drew her fist back. The boy put his arms together, bringing two giant rocks in front of him to protect him. Tsuki empowered her fist with energy, forming a sort of dark claw. "Shadow Claw!" She shouted, breaking the rock and hitting the boy in the face. He bounced a bit back and bounced to his feet. Tsuki turned and saw the predicament her teammates were in. "Fist of the Beast King!" She shouted, sending a blast of energy in the shape of a lion's head to intercept the girl. She saw it coming and made a shield of water that barely stopped the blast. Tsuki smiled, but got hit in the cheek with a rock. Konata cringed at the sight, but otherwise was enjoying the very small respite Tsuki's attack gave her.

Konata ran over and closed the distance between her and the girl before the girl could retaliate. Konata swung her blade with the sharp end facing away from her opponent, determined only to bruise her, not cut her. She caught the girl across the hip with her left blade and kept her right blade back in case her opponent countered. The girl stumbled back and swung a blade of water at Konata. She crossed her blades to cut the water off. _She controls the water with her hands. If I can stop them..._ Konata smiled. She ran up. The girl thrust her arm out, sending the equivalent of the water spear at Konata. The Otaku ducked down and slid on her knees across the stone, skinning them badly but ultimately accomplishing her goal. She got in close to the girl and sent the metal bit on the back of her blade jabbing into the girl's armpit. The girl gritted her teeth and almost howled in pain as the water splashed to the ground. Konata rolled on her shoulder and sprang up directly behind her opponent. She rolled across the girl's back and caught her arm between the metal bit and the actual back of the blade on her right knife. She raised it up and turned, violently thrusting the hook into the girl's other armpit. To complete the combo, Konata swung around and dropped to the ground. She rolled on her back and grabbed onto the girl's leg, pulling it with her and forcing her to take a knee. She landed on her knee, directly into Konata's kick. The girl was sent onto her back, stunned temporarily. Konata rolled back onto her feet and looked to see how the others were doing.

Tony ducked under a lightning bolt. His opponent let loose a torrent of flames at Tony as he came back up. He gasped as he was caught off guard. Flame enveloped his upper half as he shouted in agony.

"KAN-KUN!" Tsukasa shouted, hitting against the glass. The fire ceased to show Tony with his arms crossed and his shirt burned off. He blinked and looked at himself, his opponent just as stunned. There wasn't a burn on his body. Tony had felt the heat and practically felt the flesh being seared from his bones, and yet his body remained intact. Actually, now that he thought of it, most of the pain he felt was simply because he realized he was being engulfed in flames. The fire itself had been extremely uncomfortable, but bearable. He huffed.

_What the hell... _He wondered. **_Beast._** He smiled. **_That just turned the tide of this whole battle!_** Tony thought in a shout. He ran up, ducking under another fire blast. While the flames didn't seem to harm him physically for whatever reason, he still didn't want to get hit where he didn't need to. Besides, if he got hit on the LOWER half of his body, that would raise a whole set of other concerns... However, he smiled as he remembered Tsukasa's shout. _**She does still care...**_ He sighed in relief. He remembered he was still in the heat of the fight and pushed off the ground with his hands to send him in the air. He flipped, looking at the audience. He glanced Tsukasa, who noticed him looking at her. She stuck out her tongue. Tony sighed. However, he refused to let her win. He formed his attack as his opponent began a flood of fire. Tony thrust his attack in front of him, causing the fire to be forced to the sides of the boy. Tony hit the boy in the chest. "**TEREYA!**" He shouted.

"HRAH!" The boy was sent into the ground. Tony landed on the ground and looked at his attack's namesake. She was blushing while watching him. He swiped his thumb across his nose a couple times, causing her face to flush more. Konata stumbled back closely to Tony.

"You're making it worse." She said gravely.

"She started it." Tony said.

"What are you, four?" Konata asked. Her instinct caused her to duck as a spear of water flew over her head. She came back up and spun around. "Haven't had enough, huh? Help Tsuki!" She shouted.

"Oh, no rules?" The girl smiled. She side-kicked, flames sprouting from her foot. Konata dove to her right, out of the way. The girl kicked a rock up and kicked it at Konata. She blocked the rock with her knives, but it caused her arms to jam up. Another rock came, causing Konata to duck under it. It was at this point Konata wished she could pull a Spirit Gun. Speaking of which...

Tsuki jumped back and fired a Spirit Gun at the rock flying towards her, causing it to explode in midair. _Darn it! At this rate, I'm gonna run out of energy and I haven't gained any ground since he got back up!_ Tsuki cursed in her head. She finally saw an opening and aimed, but was caught off guard when a large rock hit her in the side, sending her to the ground. The boy picked up a giant rock and held it nearly over her.

"Give up, I don't want to hurt you more!" He shouted.

_Gah! What do I do?_ Tsuki wondered. _What would Dad do?_ She thought.

"**You let down your guard!**" Tony shouted as he flashstepped below Tsuki's opponent and kicked him in the jaw, sending him into the air. The rock the boy had been controlling fell to the ground harmlessly. Tsuki watched Tony in awe. "**Not done yet!**" He shouted as he leaped after the boy. He kicked his opponent in the stomach hard enough that the boy was sent further into the air. "**Try this!**" He shouted as he kicked the boy once again. This time, he vanished. He then appeared behind the boy. "**You still have a ways to go.**" He mumbled as he grabbed onto the boy from behind. "**Primary Lotus!**" Tony shouted as he spiraled down to the ground. The second before impact, the two vanished. Tony cut the attack and landed, tossing his opponent to the side. "Give up, I don't want to hurt you more." He smirked. Tsuki was lost for a moment.

"Wow... He really is pretty good at this..." She commented, rubbing her side. She looked over at Konata and shot over.

The final opponent was sending rock after flame at Konata, who was reduced to dodging most of the time. The girl whipped out with more water, causing Konata to block. The water splashed against her knives, causing it to splatter all about. Her opponent smiled as she clenched her fist, forcing the water to become ice shard. She brought her arms together in sort of a hugging fashion, causing all of the ice to move to impale Konata only enough to disable her temporarily. Konata crouched down and raised her knives to block what she could, but Tsuki appeared over top of her. She began spinning very fast.

"Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation!" She shouted as energy surrounded them. The second the icicles made contact with the spinning mass of energy, they broke and vaporized instantly. As soon as all the ice was gone, Tsuki knelt and cut the energy supply.

"Thanks Tsuki." Konata smiled.

"No problem... Think you two can handle the rest?" Tsuki asked. "Kinda out of energy here." She chuckled humorlessly.

"Sure thing." Konata smiled. "Kan-kan!" Konata shouted to Tony.

"Gotcha!" Tony shouted back, running up. Their opponent started chucking rocks at him while he merely punched through them. While she was distracted, Konata began to sneak up on the girl. She was now flaring fire, whipping water, and erupting earth, all with the sole intention of beating Tony. He dodged, ducked, dipped, dived, and dodged each blast. "How about a little fire scarecrow?" Tony shouted, deciding to take the old saying seriously. He breathed and felt his heart beat. He felt the warmth from it. Tony punched, pulling from the heat inside of himself, causing fire to spring to his fist and flare ahead of him. He smiled. _It's weird. Fire is coming with less energy than before..._ He thought. He punched several more times, fire shooting from his fists each time. He was forced to stop as his energy began to run low. _A small amount of fire before used to tire me out._ _Do I just have that much more energy now or is there something else? Does it have to do with the fact that fire doesn't seem to hurt me anymore?_ Tony wondered. Tony rolled under the fire blast and pushed off the ground to avoid a giant piece of rock that was shot at him. Landing on his feet, he saw a spear of water coming at him. On instinct, he reached into his heart's heat and breathed fire, evaporating the water before it could cause harm. The girl brought a large boulder up, clearly irritated with her failure to beat Tony. She kicked the human sized boulder at him. He hummed and opened his hand. _Tereya._ He formed in his hand. _If I hit the boulder with this, it'll explode and still hit me..._ Tony thought. He spun his arm and pitched the attack once the boulder got within ten feet of him. As he predicated, the ball began to lose cohesion the second it left his hand. It hit the boulder and burrowed into it, where it dissipated violently, causing the boulder to explode in front of him, just far enough that none of the pieces hit him. The girl flared her nostrils, looking extremely irritated. That is, until she saw Konata directly below her. She gasped, caught off guard by her appearance and stance.

"You're in range of my divination." Konata said, looking into the startled girl's eyes. "Eight Trigrams, two strikes!" Konata shouted. She sent one strike into the girl's stomach hard enough to send her off her feet. She hit the girl again before continuing her attack. "Four strikes! Eight strikes!" Konata said, doubling her strike count with each attack. "Sixteen strikes! Thirty-two strikes! Sixty-four strikes!" Konata shouted, performed each attack. Every time, she would keep hitting the girl with as much force as all of the previous times. "Eight Trigrams: One hundred twenty-eight strikes!" Konata shouted one final time, barraging her opponent with a series of powerful strikes. The girl was sent rolling away, coughing. She was obviously finished.

"Winners! Team Taiseishiki!" Akira shouted.

Tsukasa, Kagami, and the rest of the Hiiragis along with Miyuki and Masuta came down to congratulate the team on winning. Or at least, most of them. Tsukasa marched directly up to Tony.

"How can you use that move in front of me? Do you have no feelings?" Tsukasa shouted at Tony. The boy was slightly taken aback by the sudden vituperative assault.

"Tony, change subjects." Inori warned quickly.

"What are you talking about Tsukasa?" Tony asked. Tsukasa's nostrils flared in a sign of extremely rare anger.

"And that... That..." Tsukasa swept her thumb across her nose.

"Can we do this when we're not in front of a thousand people with millions of people watching from home?" Tony asked. Tsukasa looked like she had been struck. Tereya and her friend began to approach, but stayed a little back to avoid confrontation.

"What, just avoid the situation again? ..." Tsukasa was speechless. "Are you embarrassed of me?" She seemed very offended.

"No, it's no-" Tony tried to discount the theory, but he was swiftly cut off.

"I hate you! We're..." Tsukasa started. Tony twitched.

"Tsukasa, think VERY hard about what you're about to say to me." He said coldly.

"Through." Tsukasa said, her voice cracking. Tony exhaled.

"Have it your way." He sighed and walked past the small crowd.

"Ototo!" Masuta shouted, starting after him. Tsukasa glared at him until he stopped short of the exit.

"Tereya, would you like to go out with me?" Tony asked, resisting the urge to glare back at Tsukasa. Tereya blinked, seemingly stunned by this turn of events

"Why?" She asked. It seemed her normal shyness was all but gone for the moment.

"You're incredibly nice, super pretty, and I would like to get to know you very much." Tony said honestly. He eliminated everything that could suggest he was being in any way vindictive from his tone and demeanor. At this point, he wasn't entirely sure if he was being exactly that, or if he was genuinely over Tsukasa by this point. Maybe he was angry with Tsukasa. Maybe he legitimately wanted a relationship with Tereya. Tereya blushed.

"I'm not just revenge? I just saw Tsukasa break up with you." Tereya asked through her blush.

"No you aren't. You need more confidence." Tony smiled almost bitterly. Tereya sighed.

"Okay... When do you want to go?" She asked.

"Well, I still have several more days of tournament, so would you think today would be good?" Tony asked. Tereya thought. "I could get ready in the time left if you could." Tereya nodded.

"I think I could... Say eight?" She asked.

"Yeah." Tony agreed.

"Where do you want to meet?" She asked.

"How about the subway? I'll be on it before you, so you won't look out of place. It's really the only place I know that you know." Tony said. "Then we can decide where we go from there, since we're already going to be on the subway." Tony said. Tereya nodded.

"Alright then... It's a date..." She said. Her friend looked like she was going to burst.

"Until then." Tony smiled, again unsure if he was truly happy. Tereya nodded and turned. To Tony's frustration, she turned in a way that continued to keep her arm hidden from view. He turned to face the small crowd behind him. Most of their mouths were agape. Tsukasa ran out of the pit in tears while Kagami and their parents chased her to do anything they could. Tony felt horrible very suddenly. Matsuri walked up to him.

"I tried to help you." She said gravely. "But you have to work with me. You were in the right until today." Matsuri shook her head sadly and left the pit. It did nothing to help his mood, though he knew that had not been the point. Matsuri had had the exact opposite intention. Inori was the next to walk up.

"Now, it would be too late to change subjects." She sighed. Tony looked back at those remaining. Masuta, Miyuki, Tsuki and Konata. The latter was the first to approach him.

"Kon-kon?" Tony asked. Konata walked up, unsure of what she was going to do until she got there. She looked up into his eyes. After a moment, she drew her hand back and slapped him with what he knew was everything she had left.

"You're an asshole and you went too far." Konata said. With that, she walked out. Tony felt alone. He sighed and looked at those who remained. The remaining people, along with Tony, began to walk out due to the fact that people still needed to fight.

"Did I?" Tony asked.

"Let's do a head count." Miyuki said. She sounded her polite self more or less, but Tony could hear she was furious. "Tsukasa, the girl who loved you; Kagami, her twin sister; Matsuri and Inori, their older sisters who tried to help you; Miki and Tadao, their parents who accepted you as their own; Konata, your sister and YOU, big fella, you've managed to piss off every single one of them." Miyuki said. The fact that she referred to them each by first name showed the true depth of her anger. Tony knew she considered Tsukasa as close a friend as he considered Konata, so it was understandable.

"Tsukasa started ih-" Tony started.

"Look, you're missing the point!" Miyuki snapped. "There is no throne! No version of this where you come out on top! Maybe you go out with Tereya and maybe you have a good time, but that isn't going to change that Tsukasa will cry herself to sleep every night until this is resolved because of you." Miyuki said. Tony knew that words had abandoned him with all of his friends. Miyuki breathed heavily with irritation. Once they were out, she turned and looked Tony in the eyes. "That might even be the best thing that she does. But you know what the worst of it is?" Miyuki asked. When Tony failed to answer, she continued. "The worst of it is that I pity you." Miyuki said. Tony made the best effort he could, but could only find one word.

"Why?" He asked weakly.

"Because." Miyuki said, looking him deep in the eyes. "Because you truly loved each other, and so you could have been truly happy. Not one couple in a century has that chance, no matter what the storybooks say. So I think no man in a century will suffer as greatly as you will." Miyuki said with uncommon spite. She turned on her heel and walked away. Tony sighed.

"Either of you have anything to say?" He asked Masuta and Tsuki.

"You'll do the right thing." Tsuki said. "I'm sure of it." She said confidently.

"How do you know? What IS the right thing?" Tony asked.

"You'll know it when it comes." Tsuki said. She sighed. "I better go. You and your brother need to talk." She walked away.

"Aniki... What do I do?" Tony asked.

"I can't tell you that Ototo." Masuta sighed. "What do you value? Love? Happiness? Sincerity?"

"I value my friends." Tony answered.

"Obviously not, you just lost them." Masuta said. "Look, one thing I've learned is that the only thing a man has is his values. When he sells those out... There's nothing left..." Masuta said. "Just remember all of this once you're on your date with this girl. I hope she was worth what you just lost." Masuta said. "Now, I've gotta see a girl about a wolf." He walked away, leaving Tony truly alone. Tears finally rolled down his face. He walked home.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya Luckies~! I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami!"

"And I'm the assistant, Minoru Shiraishi!"

"So, what does everyone think about this chapter?" Akira asked.

"I think Tony's an idiot." Minoru said.

"Agreed." Akira nodded.

"Better wrap this up if we want to catch the movie..." Minoru said.

"Yeah, the Avengers is playing, I wanna see it so bad~!" Akira said excitedly.

*Music Tone*

"YAY! Let's go!" Akira shouted.

"..."

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

Sorry, this really took way too long. My college and job are quite time consuming, ya know? And my car got totaled, so that doesn't help... Hopefully, the next chapter won't take as long as this one considering about half of it has probably been written already for about a month or two. Through the method Duff suggested XD Thank you all for reading and please, please review!


	44. Chapter 44: Awakening

Chapter 44: Awakening

Hehe, Vampzard, I appreciate the compliment, but I think you may have forgot that Lucky Life still had Mikeru and Sanjo in the Revised version. Those are OCs, sooooo... Sorry for this wait... Gigarot, didn't Kagami drop it? I think she did... Sqweebs, I've already sorta kinda responded to your review in private messages. Ah Lizard, yeah, Lee definitely deserves a class of his own. He's pretty badass. For all of you who haven't watched the Avengers, by the way, well... It's on DVD now and on the internet. So you need to watch it. It's a great movie. And wow, I've never been compared to a story like THAT before. Yes, I'm pretty sure I've read it before. Glad I can keep shocking you guys. I'm happy! Stealth, did... did you just quote the bible? Proverbs, right? That's pretty awesome. Though it confuses me on one case. Ah, but you're confused too. About Tsuki? Don't worry, by the end of this little bit, everyone will be just as confused as you are. Possibly more so! You guys think you've got her figured out? You have quite a fall ahead of you. Plus, I got compared to Time! Like a BOSS! Speaking of which... Duff, what can you expect? He IS painfully dumb! Fullsaga, looks like you tuned out! Hope that's not the case, but oh well... Star, I'd hope you get the reference to Avatar, it was a whole fight! Holy, I'm pretty sure we still have Konami! At least... For now... Mwuahahahah~! Haha! Ehehe... *Ahem*... Quite right. Right then. On with the chapter.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony continued to walk home. He briefly considered practicing his concentration once more. He instantly discounted the idea. His head was too far gone for now to even think about such things at the moment. So he simply decided to continue walking. He sighed.

_Tereya... Tsukasa... Damn it, what do I do?_ He thought. He shook his head. _This was Tsukasa's decision. I need to not think about her today. I'll go out with Tereya and have a great time and not think about Tsukasa!_ He decided. With false determination, he redoubled his speed. It was hardly an increase, but it was something.

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

Tsukasa ran crying. She heard her mother, her father, her sister, all calling to her, but she ignored them. She hated her life. _WHY? How could he be so inconsiderate! How could he do something like that? In front of me?! I hate him, I hate him, I hate him, I..._ She slowed to a walk. She was in the middle of the park. _I... I love him..._ Tears continued to pour down her cheeks. She stopped moving. It allowed her family to catch up. Miki ran up and brought her daughter into a hug.

"Tsukasa, I'm so sorry..." Miki said, petting her daughter's hair.

"I love him Mom... How could he do this?" Tsukasa cried into her mother's shirt.

"He's just confused, that's all. I'm sure he'll come around." Miki rubbed her daughter on the back.

"Don't worry Imoto. He's an idiot, but he'll figure out what he lost. He'll be back." Matsuri said. Tsukasa sniffed and looked at her older sister.

"You think so?" She asked. Matsuri gave a thumbs up.

"Totally! Who could leave a cutie like you?" Matsuri asked. Tsukasa wiped her eyes, but the tears wouldn't stop. Miki silently guided Tsukasa to a bench. There, they sat down and Tsukasa laid into her mother's lap.

"I don't know..." Tsukasa sighed. Masutā walked up and sat on his legs in front of the girl. "Hey." She said curtly. Masutā sighed.

"Sorry about this... I'm sorry about all of this." He said.

"He send you to apologize for him?" Tsukasa asked. Masutā chuckled.

"No, he's far too stupid to be caught up in something like this." He said.

"Caught up in what?" Tsukasa asked.

"Admitting he's wrong. Apologizing." Masutā said.

"He doesn't still think he's right, does he?" Kagami asked. Masutā laughed.

"Oh, I don't doubt for a second that he still thinks he is." Masutā said. "He's an idiot when it comes to love though."

"Then why are you here?" Tsukasa asked. Masutā's cheerful demeanor left instantly. In its place was a very somber, serious expression.

"My plea to you. Please don't give up on him." Masutā said. Tsukasa couldn't help but let a small smile come to her lips.

"You really look out for him, don't you?" She asked.

"Yes, I do." Masutā smiled. "It's a job I recommend very highly." He said. "You know..."

"What?" Tsukasa asked.

"Soon, I'll be moving out. Ototo will have a room open. Maybe you can take over for me once Ototo has come to his senses and I've left." Masuta smiled. Tsukasa's face turned a deep burgundy as the thought of living with Tony came into her mind. She found the idea odd, as she had normally heard of married couples living together, not dating. In fact, most of the time, the couple lived with the parents, so it seemed even weirder. Still, the way it was presented, as simply two people living together, was appealing to Tsukasa. Not to mention that she was totally a romantic...

"You really think he'll come around?" Tsukasa asked.

"Of course he will. You two were almost literally made for each other." Masuta pushed himself off his knees and stood up. "Besides, you have to fight sometimes! After all, the course of true love never did run smooth." He smiled. With that said, he turned away. "Look, he just needs time to think. He's gonna figure out that you're the girl he needs and he'll be back. He just needs to figure that out for himself." Masuta said. "Until then, think about what I said." Masuta said. He walked off.

"I'll come with ya, since we're going to the same place." Konata began to leave with him. "See ya Kagamin!"

_Living with Kan-kun... In a happy house with just the two of us..._ She thought to herself. _That... That wouldn't be too bad..._ She thought.

"So Tsukasa, what do you want to do now?" Inori asked.

"Just say it and we'll do it Imoto." Matsuri said. "Anything that you want?" Tsukasa hummed. She had an idea, but she didn't want anyone to know about it. After all, it was technically illegal...

"I wanna go visit a friend..." Tsukasa said. She shifted to tell her mother that she was ready to get up. Miki stopped running her hand through her daughter's hair and nodded.

"We'll take ya there Imoto!" Matsuri said. Tsukasa hummed.

"Um... Thanks, but... I kind of want to walk. Clear my head, you know?" She said uncertainly, pushing herself up. Matsuri shrugged.

"What ever ya want Imoto." She said.

"Are you going to be alright by yourself?" Tadao asked.

"Yeah. I'm feeling better now that everyone is saying they believe he'll come around." Tsukasa smiled, almost lying. She was indeed feeling better, but not nearly as much as she told them.

"Well... Call us if you need anything." Tadao said. They shrugged and everyone save Miyuki and Kagami began walking back to the tournament since that's where the van was.

"Will do!" Tsukasa waved. She looked at Kagami and Miyuki.

"Did you mean for us to go too?" Kagami asked.

"Well, you can come if you want..." Tsukasa said, but her tone suggested that she wanted quite the opposite. Kagami and Miyuki looked at each other and sighed.

"I guess not. Just..." Kagami put her hand on Tsukasa's shoulder and looked her in the eye. "If you want to talk, if you want anything at all, just let me know, okay?" Kagami said.

"Okay Onee-chan." Tsukasa smiled. Kagami smiled and hugged her twin, which caught the younger sister by surprise considering Kagami never, EVER, initiated hugs with her.

"I love you Tsukasa." She said in a rarely heard tone of affection.

"I love you too Onee-chan." Tsukasa returned the hug. After a moment, Kagami backed up and gave the way for Miyuki to come forth. Which she did. She quickly brought Tsukasa into a hug.

"I'm sorry this happened Tsu-chan." She said quietly.

"It's alright Yuki-chan." Tsukasa again returned the hug. "I said it before. He's an adult. And Masuta thinks he's going to come back, so..."

"Masuta is a smart man." Miyuki giggled lightly. "He just needs time to realize what he's done."

"I understand." Tsukasa smiled. Miyuki could feel Tsukasa's cheeks widen on her neck as the older girl smiled, making Miyuki smile as well.

"Have fun." Miyuki broke the hug and stepped back.

"I will." Tsukasa smiled. Miyuki and Kagami started walking away as Tsukasa sighed.

"See you at home Tsukasa!" Kagami waved.

"Bye Onee-chan!" Tsukasa waved. _Now, if I can just remember where it is..._ She set off to find her destination.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony kept walking when he saw two boys and a girl ahead of him. He recognized them and approached them.

"Hey, Fire Ferrets!" Tony called. The three turned around as Tony approached.

"Hey mah man! What's up?" The bigger boy asked.

"Not much, just never got your names is all! That was some crazy stuff you guys were doing!" Tony said.

"What? Bending?" The thinner boy asked. "By the way, my name is Mako." He said.

"Bo-lin!" The bigger boy shouted.

"Korra." The girl chuckled at Bolin's demeanor.

"Name's Tony, nice to meet you guys!" Tony said. "And Bending... Is that what it's called?" Tony asked.

"Yeah." Mako said.

"Can you guys teach me anything like that?" Tony asked.

"I think Mako's gotcha best there. You're a firebender, right?" Bolin asked, having seen Tony's flame throwing during the match.

"Er... I guess?" Tony shrugged. "But can't you learn more than one? Mako was shooting fire and lightning. Korra was using fire, water and earth!" Tony said.

"I'm the Avatar. I can do that." Korra crossed her arms and smirked.

"And lightning generation is just another form of firebending." Mako explained.

"Really?" Tony asked. "Maybe you could teach it to me?" Tony asked.

"Well, I guess. It's kind of complicated. You see, there's energy all around us." Mako said. Tony chuckled.

"Ah, I know all about that." Tony said. He put his hand out and formed Tereya to demonstrate his point.

"Well, this should be a lot easier for you to learn then." Mako said. "Then do you know that the energy is of two kinds? Yin and Yang?" He asked. Tony made a confused face.

"No, that's new." He said.

"Well, Yin and Yang is positive and negative energy. If you can separate these two, it will create an imbalance. The energy wants to restore the balance and so the positive and negative energy come crashing back together." Mako swung his arm around as lightning appeared at his finger tips. "And in the moment, when it come crashing together, you provide release and guidance." Mako shot his lightning off into the sky. Tony nodded.

"Awesome. I think I'll give it a try..." Tony put his hand out. He breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth. He made the same arching motion Mako had, focusing hard.

"Remember!" Mako interrupted. Tony stopped and looked at him. "When the energy crashes together and the lightning comes, you do NOT command it. You are simply its humble guide. I learned that the hard way..." Mako looked down for a moment. He shook his head to shake himself out of it. He nodded to Tony to say he was done. Tony repeated his previous movements. When he moved to fire the lightning that had yet to come, however, a fiery explosion caught him off guard and threw him into the building behind him. He coughed and rubbed his chest, his back throbbing from the impact as well. He got up.

"Damn... That hurt..." Tony muttered. "What happened?" He asked.

"I'm... not sure." Mako muttered. "I've never seen that happen. I've accidentally electrocuted myself before, but I've never seen it explode when you try to create it..." Mako said.

"Comforting..." Tony rubbed his back. He could feel the cuts on his back. Korra sighed.

"Here, I've got it." She brought out the water she was using before and covered her hand with it.

"Got what?" Tony asked.

"I'm a healer." Korra said.

"What do you know, so am I!" Tony said, straightening his back. "Heal." He commanded. Following his will, his back's skin began to stitch itself back together. Bolin's jaw dropped comically.

"How'd you do that?" Korra asked, putting her water away.

"I'm Ryu Tora no Kami. I can do that." Tony smirked. He cracked his neck. "Alright, let's try this again..." He mumbled. He sighed and focused. He arched his arms around and concentrated. He shot to have the air in front of him explode again. A little more prepared for it this time, he stumbled back and coughed. "Damn it!" He shouted.

"Hey guys, we should really be going. I have a lesson with Tenzin today and I've already been late a few times recently..." Korra said, scratching the back of her head.

"Oh, right. Let's go. Nice to meet you man!" Bolin shouted as the three ran off.

"Nice to meet you too." Tony waved, sighing. He was frustrated with himself now. He had never had this much trouble learning something before. Things had come slow to him, yes, but never had they blown up in his face so violently. But these days, everything seemed to blow up in his face. He sighed and sat down to rest, leaning against the wall of the building he had just crashed into a moment ago.

* * *

**POV** **Tsukasa**

Tsukasa looked at the sign that read "South Side of Chicago". She had been here only once, so she was pleased that she had remembered where it was. She walked in to see the bar moderately full. Akira looked up and saw her new customer.

"Hey, welcome back!" Akira shouted happily.

"Hi..." Tsukasa walked up and sat down. "You remember me?" Tsukasa asked.

"Of course, you, I, and Kan-chan sang!" Akira giggled.

"I'm glad you remember..." Tsukasa smiled bitterly. She felt comfortable with Akira, a girl who had met her once and yet remembered her.

"Hey, you that girl Kan-chan was talking about?" A man asked next Tsukasa.

"What? Who are you?" Tsukasa asked.

"My name's Dansei, I'm a friend of his. He helped take someone out who was hitting on my wife while I was at work." Dansei said.

"Oh... Did he talk about me?" Tsukasa asked.

"Yeah, but not a ton." Dansei said.

"When was that?" Tsukasa asked. Dansei thought for a moment.

"It was right before that festival!" Akira chimed in.

"Oh, that was before we even started dating!" Tsukasa said. Akira, Dansei, and a woman Tsukasa assumed was Dansei's wife cheered.

"So you two did end up going out?" Akira asked.

"Yeah..." Tsukasa smiled at the happy memories.

"So when's the next date?" Dansei's wife asked.

"We... broke up..." Tsukasa muttered. "Do you have any Sake?" Tsukasa asked. Akira gasped.

"What? Why?" She asked.

"He's stupid! And mean! And rude! And..." Tsukasa paused and sighed. "And..."

"What did he do?" Akira asked.

"There was a misunderstanding... But he kept rubbing my face in it! Then, he asked out another girl right in front of me!" Tsukasa shouted.

"What? No way!" Dansei said seriously. "One thing I pride myself on is that I'm an excellent judge of character. He wouldn't do something like that!"

"He did." Tsukasa huffed. Akira hesitantly pulled out a bottle of Sake. Tsukasa quickly grabbed it, poured a glass, and drank. A violent shudder went down her spine at the offensive alcohol, her first taste. "I thought this stuff was supposed to make you feel good?" Tsukasa asked.

"It's supposed to make you feel nothing." Dansei said. "Look, I've had plenty of that stuff. It'll get you drunk, but it won't make you happy." He said. "I'm sure this was just another misunderstanding." He said.

"Even if it was, he didn't have to go and ask another girl out like that!" Tsukasa shouted.

_Kan-chan has always been so nice to me..._ Akira thought. _I think it's time for some payback..._ She sighed as she started thinking ahead. She leaned on the counter in front of her. "You are so right!" She said. Dansei and his wife looked over at her, but she winked to them.  
**"Forget** about that guy!  
You should just be miserable and** sigh!"** Akira sang.  
**"You** should just stay pissed.  
Forget about the way you felt when you two **kissed!"** Akira said.  
**"Love** really is obnoxious!  
The thrills, the chills, will make you** nauseous!"** Akira crossed her arms triumphantly. Tsukasa backed up a bit on her seat, surprised by the sudden song.  
**"And** you'll always come for more!  
Isn't love a big **bore?"** Akira asked.  
**"Forget** the whole affair!  
Forget about the love that you two** share!"** Akira insisted.  
**"Then** you'll feel the heat...  
Of that pesky heart that he makes** beat!"** Akira said. Tsukasa got up and stumbled back.  
**"Love** is wolf in sheep's dressing!  
It's even worse than** PMSing!"** Akira shuddered.  
**"They** say that it's war!  
Isn't love a big** bore?"** Akira asked. Tsukasa shook her head violently and ran out of the bar. Akira sighed. _Well Kan-chan, the rest is up to you._ She smiled and returned to her conversation with Dansei and his wife.

Tsukasa walked away from the bar. She thought maybe she could get happier there, but that obviously wasn't happening. All it had done was remind her of how much she missed Tony...

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony had been sitting against the wall for a couple of hours before he decided it was time to go. He stood up and began walking again.

"Hey." A familiar voice called. He looked to the side in an alley to see Tereya's friend, arms folded and leaning on the wall. She seemed oddly less... excited... than normal.

"Hey, what's going on?" Tony asked.

"Tereya's ready for your date." She replied. Tony raised an eyebrow. The girl was entirely serious, dangerously so.

"Where is she?" Tony asked. The girl sighed.

"I... don't know." She mumbled. "For the first time... I don't know." She said. She looked up into Tony's eyes.

"What do you mean?" Tony asked, a bit worried. The girl looked down again. Tony felt as if he had missed something she was trying to say with her eyes.

"Don't worry, she isn't missing or anything. She's going to the subway early to meet you. Just..." The girl trailed off.

"Yes?" Tony asked.

"Take care of her. I know what you gave up for her, so I trust you." The girl said. "But you did it to Tsukasa. You broke her heart." Tony felt his own drop. "I know I can't hurt you because you're Ryu Tora no Kami, but..." The girl sighed. "God knows I'll try if you do the same to Tereya." She said.

"I have no intention of hurting her." Tony said.

"And I'm sure you said the same to Tsukasa." She retorted, cutting Tony to the quip. She sighed. "When we got home, she instantly started getting ready for tonight. She got her makeup on... I helped her with her clothes... Her makeup... and she left." She sounded hurt.

"Hey, are you okay?" Tony asked.

"She..." The girl got choked up. She cleared her throat. "I don't think I can remember a time when she's been out without me."

"Wow, really?" Tony asked, surprised.

"Yeah... We spend most of our time together. After.. Well, she can tell you if she wants. In the past ten years, we've been apart for maybe a hundred hours." She said. She pushed herself off the wall and began to walk towards Tony. She kept walking, however, once she reached him and began walking away before stopping about twenty feet from him. Without turning around, she addressed him. "Take care of the girl I love Tony." She said. She began to walk away. Tony's demeanor changed to a grave seriousness.

"Hey." He called. The girl stopped. "You said you loved her, right?" He asked.

"Yeah. About five seconds ago." She responded.

"Then why did you push me to go out with her so much? If you loved her, wouldn't you want the opposite?" Tony asked.

"I want her to be happy. You would help a lot towards that." Her friend said.

"But if you love her, why are you giving up so easily?" Tony asked cautiously. She stiffened up a bit.

"You don't understand." She said a little louder.

"I understand enough. If love is strong, it'll find a way." Tony said. "If you do want to try to go out with Tereya, I won't stand in your way. You two seem very close, much more so than me and her." The girl started trembling. "Do you want to go after her? Do you want to be happy and chase your love?" Tony asked. "At least try!" He shouted. She stopped trembling and looked over her shoulder at him, a tired, sad smile on her lips.

"I did." She said quietly, hardly a whisper. She turned back around and walked away from the stunned boy. Tony took a moment to compose himself from the revelation before continuing on his way home.

* * *

**POV Masuta**

Konata and Masuta walked towards their respective homes, the latter for the last time.

"Did you really just tell Tsukasa to move in with him?" Konata asked. Masuta chuckled.

"I know how it may seem to you, but I'll be honest. Ototo's going to go back to Tsukasa, make no mistake. He needs to test the field before he realizes that Tsukasa is his perfect girl." Masuta said.

"But you realize the implications of telling her to live with him, right?" Konata asked. Masuta hummed for a moment in false thought before laughing.

"Don't worry, they're not going to! Do you remember who you're talking about?" Masuta laughed.

"How do you know he wouldn't...? I mean, if you're right and he realized that Tsukasa is the girl he's spending his life with, maybe he'll figure that he might as well early!" Konata said.

"Konata, Ototo knows nothing about sex. And Tsukasa is... well, she's Tsukasa. She isn't going to do anything. I bet she knows about as much as he does." Masuta laughed. "Remember that time she asked about why some dog trainers used "Chin-chin" as a command? She was completely clueless!" Masuta laughed. Konata laughed as well, but then got a confused look.

"Hey, how do you know about that?" She asked.

"Well, me and Miyuki talk a lot." Masuta said. Konata got her catgrin again.

"You and her are going out by the end of the week." She said.

"What? No we're... I wish..." Masuta sighed.

"I call." Konata said. Masuta gasped.

"You- You can't call that!" He shouted.

"Well, I did, so now you have to do it." Konata said.

"Just because you say that, doesn't mean it can just happen Konata!" Masuta said. Konata stopped dead in her tracks, looking forward. Masuta stopped after a step. He followed her gaze to see Tereya walking towards them very quickly, head down. Konata sighed and continued walking, Masuta following a step behind in the unlikely case Konata turned violent. Tereya jumped as she noticed them and ducked into an alley, confusing Konata. Masuta made a quick note. "Konata." He whispered. "She seems to be shy to an extreme, an almost hermit level social recluse." He said.

"Ah. That would explain it." Konata mumbled. "How'd you figure that out?"

"She was staring intently at her feet, both to shun everyone and everything, and because the sun is in her eyes. Since the sun is at our backs, she saw our shadows on the ground and looked up. I have a feeling she would have reacted the same, not matter who we were." Masuta said.

"You noticed all that in a couple seconds? Okay Kanarazu..." Konata mumbled. Masuta chuckled as they came up to the alley they knew Tereya was in.

"I'm nowhere near his level." He whispered.

"We mean you no ill will Tereya." Konata said. After a moment, they saw a hand grab the corner and Tereya peeked around. She was noticeably trembling. Seeing who it was and that they weren't going to hurt her, she stepped out a little bit.

"H-Hello..." She mumbled. While she wasn't fully out, Konata and Masuta could see she was in formal wear.

"Hey, are you already on your way to meet Ototo?" Masuta asked. Tereya seemed to shrink and nod.

"I-I'm going to be early, b-but I don't want to keep him waiting..." She mumbled. Masuta looked at his watch.

"It's six o'clock. You're going to be VERY early if you two are meeting at eight." He said. Tereya shrunk even more.

"W-wh-what if he's early?" Tereya asked.

"He meant to be early." Konata said.

"So where are you going? What are you doing?" Masuta asked. Here, Tereya smiled a bit.

"Wh-Whatever he wants!" She said.

"Oh. Well, have fun." Masuta said. The two shrugged and continued walking.

"U-um..." Tereya said. The two stopped and looked back.

"Yes?" Konata asked.

"W-why... Why did he name h-his move after me? Why not Ts-Tsukasa?" Tereya blurted out. She had been confused about it since she had realized that Tony and Tsukasa were dating, but had only just now gathered up the courage to ask. Konata sighed, knowing the answer could easily ruin the girls night.

"Ask him. If he wants you to know, he'll tell you." Konata said. With that, she and Masuta turned back around and began walking again. Tereya finally stopped trembling and came fully out of the alley. She breathed deeply to regain control of herself and continued, still terrified. After all, this was her first time out by herself and if anyone saw it...

Konata and Masuta continued on their way home.

"So, about how mad are you at Ototo?" Masuta asked.

"I'm pretty mad. But, he is my brother. I can't stay mad at him forever." Konata sighed. Masuta sighed contently.

"I'm glad to hear you say that. I know I've said it before, but... hearing you call him your brother makes me very happy." He said.

"Well... He is, ya know? I'd kill for him if it was required..." Konata said. "He was just an asshole."

"I'll agree to that." Masuta chuckled. They arrived at their homes. "Hey, want some dinner? It'll taste horrible, but it's healthy." Masuta chuckled.

"Sure! Maybe I can learn a thing or two about cooking, you never know!" Konata smiled as the two entered Tony's house.

"I might be able to teach you a little something!" Masuta laughed.

**A few hours later**

"Wow, I had never thought to do that with curry before!" Konata said. She was surprised at how good a cook Masuta actually was. The process of cooking had taken so long mostly because it had been turned more into a cooking lesson, Masuta teaching Konata a few things and vice-versa. "That'll help a lot, Kagami still wants to lose weight for some reason..."

"That was an interesting recipe for Miso soup as well. I'll have to try that at some point. Maybe one day when I'm cooking for Miyuki and her mother!" Masuta said.

"You two are so obvious for each other..." Konata giggled.

"You would know all about being obvious, wouldn't you Konata?" Masuta replied. Konata started and blushed a bit, not expecting such a reversal.

"Me and Kagamin weren't THAT obvious..." Konata said.

"Please! I knew within a minute of seeing you two! How is that not obvious?" Masuta laughed. There was an opening and closing of a door.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony got home and walked in. He hardly expected to be met with the aroma of food. He walked into the kitchen to see Masuta and Konata at the stove. They both turned to meet him.

"I... should probably go. The air just took a turn." Konata walked past her brother.

"Kon-kon!" Tony turned. Konata didn't let him continue before she turned.

"Listen Kan-kan. To this world, you may be one person." Konata said fiercely. "But to one person..." She seemed to calm down. "You may as well be the world." She sighed. That said, she turned and left the house. Tony sighed.

"Hey Ototo. Took you a while to get home." Masuta said.

"Yeah, I needed a rest." Tony sighed.

"From what?" Masuta asked.

"I tried to learn something new. It blew up in my face though." Tony said.

"That seems to be becoming a trend." Masuta said.

"Maybe you can help me figure it out?" Tony asked.

"Sure." Masuta and Tony began to walk out of the house. "There was something I wanted to tell you, but I can't remember now..." Masuta commented on the way.

"Well, if it's important, you'll remember." Tony said. They got outside and heard Konata's door close.

"So what's the problem, Ototo?" Masuta asked.

"You remember how that guy from the tournament used lightning?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, I remember. He almost got you." Masuta chuckled.

"Well, he tried to teach me how to do it." Tony said. He went through the movements and explained the concept to Masuta. He then explained the result he repeatedly got.

"So, it literally explodes in front of you..." Masuta folded his arms and watched. Tony didn't respond in words, but merely breathed to steady himself. He concentrated and went through the movements. When he moved to shoot off lightning, however, another explosion sent him onto his rear. "You have to concentrate extremely hard and disrupt the balance of energy to do this, right?" Masuta asked.

"Yeah." Tony nodded. Masuta shook his head.

"You're not going to be able to do that until you restore balance in yourself." He said.

"What does that mean?" Tony asked.

"You need to deal with the turmoil inside of you." Masuta said.

"What turmoil?" Tony shouted defensively.

"Tony, you have to solve the shame that you feel. Only then will you restore balance and be able to master this." Masuta said.

"WHAT SHAME? I don't feel ashamed at all!" Tony shouted. "I'm as proud as ever!"

"Ototo, pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source. True humility is the only cure for shame." Masuta said. Tony took a sharp breath to retort, but the words he wanted failed him. He sighed.

"That's one more thing I've failed at today." He said. Masuta recalled what he had wanted to tell his brother.

"Hey, Tereya is ready for your date." Masuta said.

"Hm? How do you know that?" Tony asked.

"Me and Konata passed her on the way home." Masuta said.

"What?" Tony shouted. "That was hours ago!" He said.

"She wanted to be early." Masuta shrugged.

"Damn, I've gotta go!" Tony said as he ran into the house. He got on clothes that weren't burned off of him and ran back out, all before Masuta could enter the house.

"Have a nice time Ototo." Masuta said.

"Thanks!" Tony waved as he ran. Masuta sighed.

"Poor girl..." He commented before walking back into the house.

Tony ran quite fast. Unknowing what may happen, he gathered energy from around him once again and stored it into his ring once again. He arrived at the subway in short order. He took an instant to look to see how much energy he had gained. It was more than twice his maximum. He glanced at the sky and guessed it was around seven in the afternoon. He flew down the stairs and waited impatiently for the subway train he had been on when he met Tereya. After ten minutes spent feverishly tapping his foot, gathering energy, and growling at the five minute lateness of the train, it finally arrived. He practically burst onto the train and looked around. Tereya was obvious, trying to look invisible. She trembled as inattentive businessmen pushed her in between each other, likely hurting her. The fact that she was trying to look invisible made it all the more obvious she was there. She was wearing a dark purple Komon Kimono and a Fukuro obi. There were a couple people giving glances to her, some of concern. One particular small group was snickering at her.

"Tereya!" Tony said. She jumped, extremely startled, and looked up in his eyes. There was terror in her eyes. _Never been out by herself..._ Tony repeated to himself. The meeting with her friend had slipped his mind until it had been brought up again. She jumped from her seat practically faster than Tony could see and threw her arms around his neck. She cried into his shirt. He rubbed her back soothingly. The group who had been snickering at her, upon seeing who she was now hugging, quickly quieted down. "Why did you come so early?" Tony asked quietly.

"I-I-I didn't want to keep you waiting..." Tereya hiccuped.

"Tereya, I meant to be early. I wanted to be early." Tony said.

"I-I'm sorry..." She sounded heartbroken.

"It's okay Tereya..." Tony petted her back. Tereya sighed. She felt so safe in his arms, like nobody on the train, or even on earth could hurt her. But there was something wrong... She didn't know what it was, but something was off. "Tereya, hold onto me tightly." Tony said. Tereya strengthened her hug as the two twisted out of sight. They reappeared at a station. Tereya, still holding onto Tony, would have lost her balance otherwise. After a moment, she had calmed down enough that was convinced she could stand on her own. She let go, but it was not the case. She stumbled back and fell to her rear. "You want to get going?" Tony asked, chuckling as she rubbed her bottom. He lowered his hand to help Tereya up. She seemed to fight something in her head. Raising her right hand, she grabbed onto his hand. Tony's eyes widened as he looked at her hand and, as her sleeve fell back, the rest of her arm and everything he could see in the small hole that was her sleeve. The entire appendage was covered in pitted scars. The skin of her arm was very distorted and discolored. It also had keloids running on it like muscle. She looked terrified again, trembling horribly. It startled Tony to see it, but he knew that if he pulled away, if he rejected her, he would destroy not only his relationship with this girl, but her entire self esteem and self worth.

"..." She looked from his hand in hers to his eyes. He pulled her to her feet and into his arms.

"You know, you're very pretty." Tony whispered to her. Tereya blinked a moment in disbelief. A tear welled in her eyes, but she closed her eyes and smiled a small smile.

"Thank you..." She mumbled. She sniffed and wiped her eye again. They spent a few moments like that. She sighed, finally regaining full control over herself. She looked around. "So what do you want to do?" She asked.

"I dunno, surprise me?" Tony chuckled. Tereya smiled, grabbed Tony by the hand, and began walking.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

"Hey Miyuki, what do you think Masuta meant when he told Tsukasa to move in with Tony?" Kagami asked as the two walked back to meet up with the Hiiragis, though faster than the family had walked off so they could catch up before they left.

"I think he meant for them to simply live together. She take a separate room from him during the night, nothing you would disapprove of." Miyuki explained.

"You sure?" Kagami asked.

"Though he may act different, Kanpeki-san knows less about... "That"... than Tsukasa does." Miyuki smiled.

"Hm, really? That seems unlikely... Wait..." Kagami thought for a second. "I know you talk to Masuta a lot, but how does that even come up in conversation?" Kagami asked.

"He discussed the possibility of the two living together with me before. I had the same concerns that you did. He assured me that it's unlikely anything will happen between the two that didn't happen as they were several days ago." Miyuki said. "Only what has happened will happen in larger quantities."

"Oh... Still, suggesting something like that while they're broken up?" Kagami asked.

"Tsukasa and Konata-san are the only two people Masuta really trusts with Kanpeki-san's care that there's a chance of it happening." Miyuki said.

"Does Tony really need taking care of?" Kagami asked.

"In a manner of speaking, I believe he does. He would never admit it, but he does tend to get rather lonely at home when he's alone. Besides that, the person he's living with is kind of a "moral anchor", as Masuta put it. He secretly relies on that person for a multitude of things. He depends on them to be there for him no matter what happens. He needs them to have unquestionable morals, especially strong ones. I believe the best candidate would be Tsukasa in the event that Kanpeki-san can manage to gain her forgiveness." Miyuki said.

"But wasn't he living by himself for a while?" Kagami asked.

"Yes, and we all know how enjoyable he was during that time period." Miyuki retorted. Kagami was cut the quip on that one.

"... Well yeah... You know, you've changed a bit since you've met Masuta." Kagami said.

"How so?" Miyuki asked.

"Well, you're mostly the same, but you've gotten a bit more aggressive since then. Miyuki two months ago wouldn't have said something like that, you were much too polite and formal." Kagami said. Miyuki blushed a bit.

"I'm sorry..." She apologized.

"No, you don't need to apologize! It isn't a bad change! Everything that's happening... Everything that's gonna come to light... I think we all could use a bit of aggressiveness..." Kagami said. "Maybe you can use that a little bit on Tony..." Kagami chuckled.

"Perhaps." Miyuki smiled, wondering if she hadn't already. "Hopefully Tsukasa will forgive him, regardless of the argument."

"He's gonna have a lot to do to get that and her trust back." Kagami said. "If the idiot would have just told Tsukasa about... about..." Kagami was almost floored. _Why didn't I think of that! I could have told Tsukasa about Tony's move and why he didn't name it after her!_ She mentally scolded herself. She briefly considered going back to find Tsukasa, but she was all too likely gone by now and they were almost back to the tournament. She took out her cell phone and clicked Tsukasa's speed dial. After several rings, it went to voice mail. _Damn, she must have left it at_ _home... _She sighed.

"About what?" Miyuki asked.

"You know what the argument was about?" Kagami asked.

"No, I'm afraid not." Miyuki said.

"Tony named a move after another girl." Kagami summed up. Miyuki gasped a little, but her surprised expression was quickly replaced.

"After the girl he asked out at the tournament?" Miyuki said, though more a statement than a question.

"Yeah. What he didn't tell Tsukasa was the reason he did that." Kagami said. Her interest piqued, Miyuki raised an eyebrow.

"And why is that?" She asked, curious as to Tony's reasoning behind such a horrible action. Kagami chuckled.

"It wasn't perfect." She said simply.

"P-Pardon?" The answer caught Miyuki off guard.

"He refused to name it after Tsukasa because it wasn't perfect." Kagami said. Miyuki was dumbfounded for a moment.

"What reason can he have for not giving that information to Tsukasa?" Miyuki asked.

"He didn't think he should have to!" Kagami said.

"..." Miyuki let her brain compute it for a moment. She hated to use the word, but there didn't seem to be any other way to describe it. "He's an idiot." Miyuki said.

"I know, right?" Kagami smiled. "I understand wishing you didn't have to, but when that plan doesn't work out, back down and tell her!" Kagami said. Miyuki sighed.

"He knows nothing of love. Masuta was correct again." Miyuki said.

"So are you two together yet?" Kagami asked. Miyuki's face erupted in a blush, but before she had time to say anything on the subject, they arrived at the tournament, just in time to see the Hiiragis piling into the van. "Hey, can we come too?" Kagami shouted with a smile.

"Huh? Kagami, Miyuki? What are you two doing here?" Inori asked.

"I thought you would have been with Tsukasa!" Miki said.

"Well, she wanted to go alone." Kagami shrugged.

"That's odd... Sure, you need a ride Miyuki?" Miki asked.

"Yes please, thank you very much." Miyuki bowed. She, along with the rest of the Hiiragis, got into the van.

"So, little Kan-chan has got himself into some deep crap this time..." Inori sighed.

"Yeah. He's gonna see the light though." Matsuri said. "Like I said, he showed me what happened. There was nothing between those two when they first met." Matsuri said.

"There was nothing between Tony and Tsukasa when they first met either. One day, they just started liking each other." Kagami sighed. "All I know is that I better not see him any time soon." She growled.

"Unless it's to apologize." Matsuri said.

"Unless it's to apologize, yeah." Kagami sighed. "I don't know how he'd make it up to Tsukasa though..."

"He loves her. He'll think of something." Matsuri said.

"You're defending him an awful lot Matsuri..." Kagami said.

"Tsukasa was happy with him. Happier than I've ever seen her, even with Itsuwari. If there's any chance those two can get back together, I hope he'll pursue it when it doesn't work out with this other girl." Matsuri said. "Tsukasa wasn't entirely the girl she used to be. She was stronger and smarter and happier than she ever used to be. Tony was good for her. And she was good for him." Matsuri said. Inori, Kagami, and Miyuki all sighed.

"That's true..." Inori said.

"I wouldn't worry." Miyuki said. "Those two are going to get back together before we know it." She smiled.

"I feel bad for the other girl." Miki said sympathetically.

"Why's that?" Kagami asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Miki laughed.

"So how are you and Konata-san?" Miyuki asked.

"We're doing great!" Kagami said. "She showed me some really cool Wing Chun moves that are something like top level Wing Chun! There was a move that can kill a man with one strike!" Kagami said excitedly. Miyuki giggled at how easily Kagami was sidetracked by the introduction of Konata into the conversation.

"I wasn't aware that Konata-san was fluent in martial arts." Miyuki said.

"Yeah, she can take on fifteen of the best students in her old school! I think at this point, she's more at the point of simply mastering what she's learned. I don't think there's even anything left for her to learn!" Kagami said.

"Oh, now I don't think that's true." Miyuki said. "What rank is she?"

"I think she said it was something like Sigung." Kagami said.

"Ah, if I remember correctly, that's a rather high rank. But still, I'm sure she would disagree that she knows everything about the martial art." Miyuki said.**  
**

"Doubt it..." Kagami mumbled. Silenced passed in the car for a moment. "So you never answered my question." Kagami said slyly. Miyuki blushed.

"Question? What question?" Matsuri looked at them with a smile.

"No-nothing!" Miyuki said.

"Come on Miyuki~!" Kagami chimed. Miyuki looked back in an ever so rare glance that was as sly as Kagami was trying to be.

"Konata-san is rubbing off on you." She said, knowing the comment would send Kagami on the defensive and allow her crush to remain out of the topic. Kagami smiled a bit wider.

"Yes she is." Kagami replied. "So, are you and Masuta going out yet?" Kagami asked again.

"We're not going out..." Miyuki replied feebly.

"Don't give me that. You like him, you know it, you want it." Kagami replied.

"How..." Miyuki began to ask.

"You forget I went through this same thing with Kona. I remember you used to flat out say that you weren't dating him. Now, you can hardly even respond! Obviously you're going through the exact same thing I was going through. You so obviously like him! And he likes you! You even went out together to a diner!" Kagami pointed.

"So who's this Masuta guy?" Matsuri asked, having listened in.

"Tony's brother." Kagami said.

"Oh, the guy who suggested Tsukasa move in with Tony?" Inori asked.

"Yeah, him." Kagami said.

"Aaaaah, so little miss Miyuki has a crush on Tony's brother, does she~?" Matsuri said in a teasing tone. Kagami giggled as Miyuki's face became a great deal darker.

"Yep, she sure does." Kagami said.

"But its that. Just a crush..." Miyuki mumbled.

"Hardly! He's paying your rent Miyuki!" Kagami pointed out.

"He's WHAT?" Inori almost shouted.

"He got a super hard job and so now he's paying most of her rent in her house. He's also moved in with her." Kagami said. Inori and Matsuri's respective jaw dropped. "She visits him at work every day he works." They both started snickering.

"How did you know...?" Miyuki asked.

"Tsukasa told me." Kagami smirked.

"But what if-" Miyuki started.

"Miyuki, all of us went out on a limb for love. Kona went out on a limb when she confessed to me. I went out on a limb to tell Dad about it. Tony went out on a limb when he kissed Tsukasa at the festival, and Tsukasa went out on a limb by even getting close to him considering what happened to Itsuwari! Love takes guts! In twenty years, you're gonna regret what you didn't do more than you'll regret what you did. Take a risk Miyuki. Go out on a limb." Kagami said. Miyuki blushed.

"...Very well put... I believe Masuta would have said much the same thing if he knew of my predicament." Miyuki said.

"No. If he knew of your predicament, he would say 'Why yes! I'd LOVE to go out with you!'" Kagami laughed.

"Okay, so hang on. You two live together. He pays your rent. You visit his work. You both celebrated together at a diner, it was a date!" Matsuri shouted. "You two like each other. Come on!" Miyuki sighed.`

"Ih..." Miyuki started to respond.

"Yes~?" Kagami poked Miyuki in the rib with her elbow.

"I don't think it's the right time right now." Miyuki said.

"What? What does that mean?" Kagami asked.

"That means it isn't time. I think at the very least, if it happens, it should wait until after Kanpeki-san and Tsukasa get back together." Miyuki said.

"Geezy Creezy Miyuki..." Kagami sighed. Matsuri burst out laughing.

"Im-Imoto! Did you just say Geezy Creezy?" Matsuri laughed. Kagami blushed at having been caught using her older sister's line.

"Y-yeah... Kinda..." Kagami rubbed the back of her head ruefully.

"Kinda saying something is like kinda being married. It's either yes or no!" Matsuri teased.

"Hey! Weren't we talking about Miyuki?" Kagami shouted.

"Ah, but it's my stop." Miyuki smiled as she opened the door. They were indeed at Miyuki's home, something Kagami hadn't noticed.

"Oh, well, see ya Miyuki. Say hi to Masuta for me!" Kagami smirked as she waved. Miyuki looked back and eyesmiled.

"I would, but I'm afraid he isn't home at the moment. He went home with Konata-san, remember?" She smiled a bit sadly before walking into her home.

"Alright, now those two have to get back together soon..." Kagami commented as she closed the door and the car drove away.

* * *

_I wonder how Tsukasa's doing..._

* * *

**POV Konata**

Konata stood outside Tony's house for a seconds. She hated hating Tony. She shook it off once she heard footsteps approaching the door. She leaped from in front of the door and crossed the distance between Tony's house and her own in three strides before she jumped up to her house door. She opened it and walked in, hearing Tony and Masuta come out as she closed the door. She sighed. She walked to her room and opened the door. She hadn't read a good manga in long time, or at least it felt like it. She opened the door and walked in, grabbing a manga from her shelf. She plopped on her bed and opened it, but there was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" Konata shouted. The door cracked open for a moment, revealing Yutaka. She was peaking through the door and looking very shy.

"Onee-chan?" She asked. Konata smiled.

"Come on in, what's going on Yu-chan?" Konata closed her manga and sat up. She patted the spot next to her on the bed. Yutaka walked over.

"Um... Onee-chan, I think I'm... weird..." Yutaka mumbled. Konata catgrinned a bit wider.

"For Minami?" She asked. Yutaka got a confused look.

"What about Minami-chan?" She asked. Konata jumped a bit and scratched the back of her head. She chuckled nervously.

"Um- Nothing! What's going on?" Konata corrected her error.

"Well, I'm growing hair... down there..." Yutaka mumbled.

"Down... there?" Konata asked.

"Yeah..." Yutaka pulled up her pant legs to reveal a small amount of hair on her slender legs. Konata giggled.

"Oh~, I thought you meant..." Konata trailed off.

"Meant what?" Yutaka asked innocently.

"Never mind." Konata waved dismissively. "It's okay, it just seems that the transformation has begun earlier than usual..." Konata said. Yutaka blinked a few times.

"Tra-transformation?" Yutaka asked, hair on her head a little on edge from surprise. Konata giggled again. She looked around deviously, looking to make sure the two were indeed alone.

"Yeah. Well, I shouldn't be telling you this, but when you turn eighteen, you begin to transform into a full grown werewolf. It looks like you're maturing unnaturally quickly, much faster than usual..." Konata said in a hushed voice. Yutaka's eyes were very wide by the point, this information hitting her like a level five hurricane.

"Wh-what?" Yutaka asked, very afraid. After all, this was extremely frightening for her to think that things like werewolves could ACTUALLY exist!

"Yeah, you see, Dad is the leader of the pack, the one who gets meat for our meals. The reason Yui-nee-san is always out is so she can collect blood to sneak into our food to calm our werewolf instincts so that they don't overwhelm us." Konata said informatively. Yutaka jumped off the bed and began to run out of the room.

"OJI-SAA-" She hit the door, stunning her for a second. Konata made a fist from sheer moe with tears of happiness flowing down her cheeks.

_Yu-chan, you're so MOE!_ She shouted in her head jealously. "You okay Yu-chan?" Konata asked, giggling.

"That hurt..." She mumbled, rubbing her forehead as she fell onto her rear. She pushed herself up and slowly turned to Konata. Her eyes were round balls of white with a single suspended tear directly under her eye, a large lump on her forehead. Konata finally lost it entirely. She burst into laughter at the sight of her poor moe packet. "Don't laugh at me!" Yutaka stomped her foot on the ground and threw her fists to the sides of her hips in a pitiful attempt at anger. All it ended up doing was making her look twice as cute as she did a moment ago. This didn't help Konata much, but she did manage to quiet herself to a small giggle.

"I'm sorry Yu-chan, you're just so dang moe!" Konata cheered. "But you can't tell Dad I told you. I'd get in so much trouble!" Konata giggled.

"O-okay Onee-chan." Yutaka mumbled. "Could you help me with something else Onee-chan?" Yutaka asked. Konata smiled.

"Sure, no problem!" Konata agreed. "What do you need help with?"

"I want to wrap up a present, but I don't know how..." Yutaka said. Konata grinned a catgrin.

"And is this present for Minami~?" She asked. Yutaka jumped and blushed a bit.

"How did you know?" She asked, leaning forward a bit in curiosity. Konata's grin widened a bit.

"Lucky guess." She shrugged as she followed Yutaka to her room. "So what did you get her?" Konata asked.

"A box set of one of her favorite book series! She hasn't been able to finish it yet though, so now she will!" Yutaka chimed happily. Konata raised an eyebrow.

"Which set of books?" She asked.

"It was something like... In-hair-it-ance." She sounded out to herself. Konata huffed.

"Sounds expensive. How much was it?" The two arrived at Yutaka's room.

"About 8000 yen!" Yutaka chimed. Konata whistled.

_That's a lot for someone who doesn't have a job... I wonder how she got it..._ Konata wondered. The two sat down with the book set in between them. "So is it Minami's birthday?" Konata asked.

"No, it's... Um... Not." Yutaka smiled a small smile. Konata smiled, now knowing why her little cousin was getting the gift. With that knowledge tucked away, she concentrated on helping wrap the present. It was no wonder she couldn't figure it out, Konata realized, Yutaka hadn't gotten as much wrapping paper as she would have liked.

"Okay, so now we do this..." Konata folded the paper around the book set, it barely fitting over the decent sized books. "Okay, get a strip of tape." Konata said. Yutaka got a roll of tape and took a moment attempting to tear it off. Konata would have helped, but she had her hands full just trying to keep the paper on the present. Finally, Yutaka tore the piece of tape and tried to take it off her finger to put on the present. Once she tried, however, the tape still got stuck to her other finger. She waved her hand around to try and get it off. She repeated the process with her other hand.

"Aw~! It likes me!" Yutaka chimed. Konata, despite having to hold the paper as so for about five minutes, almost had to hold her nose to stop a nose bleed from pure moe.

_It's not fair! You're just too cute!_ Konata squealed. Yutaka finally got the tape off her finger and onto the present, sealing it. "And there you have it!" Konata held the present out to Yutaka.

"Thank you so much Onee-chan!" Yutaka cheered.

"My pleasure Yu-chan." Konata smiled. "Have a good time with Minami." She got up.

"I will. Thanks again..." Yutaka smiled.

"Any time!" Konata giggled as she left the room. She then realized something was missing.

"Tsuki?" Konata asked to no one in particular to see if she was in ear shot. "Tsuki?" She asked a little louder. She walked down the hall and looked around. The girl was no where to be found. _I wonder where she is..._ She wondered. She walked into the living room to see her father. "Hey Dad, do you know where Tsuki went?" Konata asked.

"Last I saw, she left this morning to go to the tournament. She hasn't come back yet, I thought she was out with you still!" Sojiro said. Konata began getting worried.

_She's in a town she doesn't know, probably lost, probably broke, and no way of contacting anyone. Sure she has powers, but still!_ Konata thought. She sighed. "No, she wasn't. She left after me, so I don't know where she is." Konata said. "I'm going to go find her."

"Hurry back, I'd hate to lose you too!" Sojiro chuckled jokingly.

"Sure thing Dad!" Konata waved as she left the house. She started running. _Where could she be..._ She wondered. _Maybe Kan-kan knows..._ She thought. She reached down to take her phone out and call him, but she found she didn't have her phone. _Man! I must have left it at home. I suppose that's okay, his phone is probably still off. Wouldn't want anyone interrupting his date, after all..._ She sighed in her head. She continued searching the town.

**A Few Hours Later**

Konata slowed to a walk. She had been looking for hours, searched everywhere she could think that Tsuki would go. Now, she was just looking around where she was and hoping that she got lucky.

"Tsuki!" Konata shouted. "Tsuki!" She sighed. She ran towards her home, hoping Tsuki had found her way there. It was another half an hour before she got there. She opened the door and entered. "Hey Dad, did Tsuki come back?" Konata asked as she walked into the living room where her father and cousin were, her father casually drinking coffee from his mug, her cousin fighting sleep.

"No, she never did. I'm a little worried, do you have any idea where she is?" Sojiro asked.

"Absolutely none..." Konata said as she grabbed her phone. Sojiro sighed, gulped the rest of his coffee down, and got up.

"Let's go out and search." He said.

"Who are we looking for?" Yutaka asked sleepily, yawning loudly.

"You can go to bed if you want Yu-chan." Sojiro said.

"No, I wanna help." Yutaka rubbed her eye as she stood up. Sojiro shrugged.

"I'm gonna run, it'll be faster if we split up." Konata said as the three left.

"You sure? It's dark." Sojiro said.

"Yeah, no problem." Konata said. With that, Sojiro and Yutaka climbed in the car and drove off. Konata sighed and ran off.

* * *

**POV Tereya**

Tereya was walking with Tony. He looked distracted, as he had the entire time. She studied him. He blinked for a moment and looked around.

"How are you going to make it up to Tsukasa?" Tereya asked casually. Tony sighed.

"I know, right?" He said. Then, very suddenly, he looked at her, eyes widened. But it was too late. Far too late...

Tereya sank to her knees, her hands on her head. Tony hit himself on the head.

"I knew it..." She muttered, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Tereya, it isn't- No you mis-..." Tony started, but found he couldn't bring himself to lie. He sighed.

"No one... No one can love me..." Tereya muttered, trembling. Tony couldn't handle it. He fell to his knees and hugged her.

"No Tereya, someone can and does!" He said. Tereya jumped a little. Suddenly, she moved.

"Get OFF of me!" She shouted and pushed him off. "Why did you name that move after me? Why not Tsukasa?" Tereya shouted.

"Tereya, I didn't-" Tony started.

"Don't lie! WHY?" Tereya shouted again.

"It wasn't perfect!" Tony shouted back. He suddenly looked as if he'd been struck. The world seemed to screech to a halt around them.

"She's perfect... I'm not..." Tereya muttered.

"You aren't confident enough." Tony sighed. He started moving closer. "Look, Tereya-"

"St-stop!" She shouted. "Are you THAT stupid?" She shouted, tears still coming down her face. "You love Tsukasa! Only her! GO GET HER!" Tereya shouted at him. Tony backed up, stunned. His head hurt. He knew where he would have to go get his head clear.

"I'm sorry..." Tony muttered. He took most of the energy in his ring and apparated.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya Luckies! I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami!" Akira chimed.

"And I'm the assistant, Minoru Shiraishi!" Minoru said.

"He messed up again..." Akira sighed.

"He really did..." Minoru sighed.

"Where do you think he went?" Akira asked.

"No idea." Minoru said.

"But was that an Avengers reference I spotted in there?" Akira giggled.

"I saw a few of them Akira!" Minoru said.

"Minoru, I'm glad we're friends now..." Akira sighed contently.

"Me too. I wasn't so much a fan of the way you lost control and turned into an enormous green rage monster." Minoru said.

"HEY! I... Kinda deserved that..." Akira blushed.

_Thought she was gonna snap at me! Whew..._ Minoru chuckled in his head.

*Music Tone*

"I guess that's all the time we have for today! I'll see you all next chapter! Bye nii~!"

"..."

"So~..."

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

Yeah, it was two months since I last updated. No, I do not intend on this being the new update time. I've got a few reasons... I got hit by a car for one thing! The computer that I type on has been being used and there's only so much one can type on the phone without losing some of it in the process, ya know? Plus, this chapter didn't have nearly as much as I thought it would. When I was originally writing it, (When I said I had something like half the chapter written) It was mostly things that... didn't happen in this chapter. So between getting my Associates degree all in my first year of college, I have about full time work. Excuses, I know, but normally when I'm not at school, I'm at work, and when I'm not a work, I'm asleep. But I meant what I said and said what I meant! My guarantee's one hundred percent! These chapters are spread out, but they are coming until I say otherwise! I'll keep you all posted.


	45. Chapter 45: Someone to Watch Over Me

Chapter 45: Someone to Watch Over Me

Woot, I officially got this chapter out in way less than a month! AWWWW YEAAAAAH! I hotfooted this chapter as much as I could, I hope you like it! This was the chapter that had a lot written already, so I had a great idea of what I was going to do with it. I had to retype some of it unfortunately, so I think it may have lost a bit of it in the transition, but I still think it's alright! Holyriot, I dunno, she kinda broke down. Is that taking it well? I suppose she DIDN'T go into a blind rage, but still. She isn't the type. It's good you like the sibling relationship, I like writing it! Tony is like Misao in a way that I'd see him and Konata being either hated, despised rivals, or the very best of friends. Gigarot, ya gotta think, this is an area Tony knows nothing about! Where would he learn something like this from? Masuta hardly had time for any of it. As far as we know, at least... Lizard, I don't think Miyuki ever DENIED she likes Masuta, she denied she was dating him! And the song? I'll give you a hint! It's from a movie... I wonder if I said too much... Shouldn't have said that, should NOT have said that... Sqweebs, does that make this story a zombie? Three chapters to forgive him that much you say? Chapter 41, 42, 43 makes three chapters before Chapter 44! See, I can pace the story! And when I said by the end of this bit, you'll be confused, I didn't mean by the end of that chapter, the end of this arc, practically everyone will be confused! And you never got a response with the chapters because I kind of lost them... Glad to hear it was worth the wait Duff! Hopefully this is too! Now, ON WITH THE STORY!

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony twisted into sight at the entrance to his destination. The old and familiar scent of Cherry Blossoms filled his nose. It took him back. He walked into the forest in front of him and looked around. It was weird, Cherry Blossoms generally only bloomed a few weeks out of the year. This place, however, had the same Cherry Blossoms all year. They never fell, nor did they create cherries. Even with all the years that had passed, he remembered his way like it was his own home. He walked around still though in a successful venture for nostalgia. He could walk any of the paths blindfolded and he wouldn't need to worry about getting lost. Finally, he walked the path he originally intended. He came to a clearing that was large enough to allow about twenty yards of space in an almost square, yet somehow be mostly covered by blossoms to give it a mystical look. He saw two stumps located near a rock on the other side of the clearing. A tear found its way to his eye.

_Ah, Sarnia._ He smiled. He could almost see a younger version of himself and the girl who had been his mother incarnate sitting on the stumps, talking away. At that moment he saw, he saw a snapshot of simpler times. No gods, no life threatening fights. A couple songs, but they were generally songs thought of before they were sung and not by the two kids. There were no periods outside school and only one girl made any sense. Sure, he had had training that he had been convinced would kill him, but he knew now that his brother would have never let it go that far. Simply remembering all of this made him cry in nostalgia. _It's been too long._ He walked over. It was weird. With all the years, the place seemed to have been sectioned off and completely untouched by time. Neither of the stumps, or even the trees themselves looked as if they hadn't aged a day. Tony chuckled to himself as he couldn't help but wonder if his mother hadn't had something to do with this. He sighed in happiness and sat down on the stump he had so many years ago. He chuckled and laid back, but found it not nearly as comfortable, his head almost over the edge of the massive stump. _Guess some things do change..._ He sighed and shrugged as he sat up again. He heard a clacking sound. He looked down to see the white stone. _Tsukasa..._ He involuntarily thought. He grabbed the stone and held it in his hand. He sighed and put his hands together. _Father... Mother... Help me. I need your guidance from above! What should I do? What am I supposed to do to get my love back?_ He prayed. There was a moment where he simply listened to the trees and grass blow. He sighed. _It was worth a shot to ask. Maybe the answer will come to me soon, in a sign or something. _He got up.

"I was wondering if you'd ever come back." He heard a voice say from behind him. His ears twitched.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Kagami and her family arrived at home.

"So Matsuri, why do you have so much free time? You too Inori?" Kagami asked her sisters.

"What do you mean by that?" Matsuri shouted, pointing accusingly at Kagami.

"Shouldn't you be in college or something?" Kagami asked. Matsuri chuckled.

"They closed the colleges down, remember?" Matsuri said as they entered the house. Kagami smirked.

"Well what about a boyfriend? Can't get one of those?" Kagami smirked. Matsuri crossed her arms.

"What's THAT supposed to mean?" She shouted.

"I wasn't saying anything!" Kagami laughed.

"Maybe I'll one up you Imoto!" Matsuri shouted.

"What do you mean "One up me"?" Kagami asked.

"Albeit it's cute, you did go weird on us with dating Konatan!" Matsuri shouted, pointing accusingly at Kagami once again. Kagami, deciding to humor her sister, smiled.

"And how's that? You think you can get closer to someone than I am to my Kona?" Kagami asked in a tone suggesting she wanted Matsuri to attempt just that.

"Sure! And I'll up the weirdness factor!" Matsuri shouted.

"Go ahead." Kagami smiled. Matsuri turned away from her younger sister.

"Inori~!" Matsuri chimed.

"Yes Matsuri?" Inori smiled.

"Will you go out with me~?" Matsuri asked, hugging onto her older sister. Inori's smile widened.

"Of course I will!" Inori hugged her younger sister.

"Let's go see a movie!" Matsuri suggested.

"My pleasure!" Inori and Matsuri threw arms over each other's shoulders and walked out of the house. Kagami blinked a few times.

"What... What just happened?" Kagami asked.

"I'm... not sure I can accept that..." Tadao mumbled.

"I couldn't even tell if they were serious or not... They could have been, or... um..." Miki said. She sighed. "And then there was one." She turned to Kagami. "Well, what do you want to do?"

"I dunno. I'd like to be here when Tsukasa gets back. But I'm still a little tired from being waken up." Kagami said lazily.

"Are you sure you want to go back to sleep? What if Tsukasa comes home and you're still asleep?" Miki asked. Kagami thought.

"Hey Mom... Could you do me a big favor?" Kagami asked.

"Anything Kagami." Miki smiled.

"Well... I do see a future with Kona, but I don't want to be the one who always has to be cooked for. Could you help me? Like, teach me how to cook something without hurting myself or the kitchenware?" Kagami asked. Miki's smile widened as her heart warmed.

"Sure Kagami. I'll teach you everything I know. We'll keep at it until you're as good as me!" Miki said enthusiastically. Kagami cheered.

"Thanks a lot Mom!" She shouted. Miki giggled at her daughter, unknowing exactly who she was about to try and teach...

**Several hours later**

"Kagami, you left it on too long again!" Miki said as she took the top off of what was now rice gruel. She sighed at the failed attempt at making steamed rice. She had since lost count of how many times her daughter had failed.

"I'm sorry Mom!" Kagami apologized again. She luckily hadn't hurt herself other than a small burn from when she had forgotten to put on a cooking mitt.

"It's okay Kagami, I told you we'll keep at it. You just need practice." Miki offered a sympathetic smile to her daughter. Kagami sighed as she sat down at the table.

"No, I don't think so..." She mumbled, greatly disheartened.

"Why not?" Miki asked.

"Mom, it's been hours. I still can't even make rice. The only thing I've ever really successfully cooked were pancakes for Kona." Kagami sighed. She had told everyone that she made her and Tsukasa's lunches every other day and even Tsukasa had been convinced of it. The fact of the matter was that they were simply left overs that Tsukasa had forgotten about.

"Alright, let's do it." Miki smiled.

"Do what?" Kagami asked.

"Make pancakes!" Miki said. "If you don't want to try for dinner right now, we'll perfect your breakfast!" Miki said excitedly. Kagami smiled tiredly.

"We can try, but I tried making them again for me and Tsukasa. They were no good." Kagami said.

"Well, you've made them well once. You just need to channel that into this time as well! What made you able to make them so well last time?" Miki asked. Kagami thought back. She had used the same ingredients both times. She had kept the pancakes on the burners for the same amount of time. She had made Konata's into a shape, but that wouldn't affect the taste, would it?

"Hey Mom, does the shape of a food affect the taste of it?" Kagami asked, figuring she might as well get it from the mouth of the expert.

"No, I don't think so." Miki said, though Kagami could tell there had really been no thinking involved.

_Now I feel stupid..._ Kagami sighed.

"The person." Miki said. Kagami looked at her mother, clearly confused.

"What?" Kagami asked.

"It's the person." Miki smiled. Kagami thought, since she could tell by the look her mother was giving her that she wasn't going to get any information out of her about what she had seemingly discovered. So she wondered who the person was.

_I made it for Kona... She was sick and hadn't eaten in a day..._ She had a good idea of what it was now. "It was because she hadn't eaten..." She felt a little heartbroken.

"What?" Miki asked.

"Kona hadn't eaten in more than a day! No wonder it tasted good, anything would have! A rusty nail would have seemed like a delicacy!" Kagami said. Miki giggled.

"No, that's not it. It would take more than a day to improve something to that degree." Miki said. Kagami opened her mouth, but stopped. She hummed.

_I made it for Kona... She loved it and even wrote about it in her diary, so I know it was true... Then I made it for me and Tsukasa, but it was horrible... That's it..._ Kagami realized what it was her mother had been trying to tell her as she recalled what her little loli had said.

_**"Is it really that good?" Kagami asked in amazement. She didn't remember anyone ever reacting like this to her cooking before.**_

_**Konata swallowed before saying "Yeah, totally! This is better than I've ever made! Kagami must have put a lot of love into this!"**_

"It's because I made it with love." Kagami smiled. Miki clapped her hands together.

"You made it for Konata. She put in that effort to make it good so that she would eat all of it. You just have to channel that love into the cooking every time you do it." Miki smiled.

"But I'll still never be good like you or Tsukasa..." Kagami sighed. Miki walked over and sat next to her daughter, putting an arm around her shoulder.

"Kagami, don't hold yourself to Tsukasa in terms of cooking. I honestly don't think anyone is as good as her." Miki giggled. "As for me... Well, I used to be worse than you." Miki smiled.

"Impossible." Kagami said immediately. Miki laughed.

"Want to bet? Did I ever tell you about my first birthday cake?" Miki asked.

"No... I never heard about that, what happened?" Kagami asked.

"You know you're supposed to put in a tablespoon of Vinegar and a cup and a half of water?" Miki asked.

"Yeah..." Kagami said.

"Well, I made a slight boo boo..." Miki said.

"Yeah, but you didn't ruin the cake!" Kagami said.

"I switched the Vinegar and water. I put in a cup and a half of Vinegar and a tablespoon of water." Miki said.

"That's!... Wow, really?" Kagami giggled.

"The stray dog that lived by our house wouldn't even eat it." Miki said. Kagami giggling, she decided to add the biggest rejection. "He wouldn't even pick it up with his mouth to bury it. Soon as his tongue touched the thing, he turned tail, tail between his legs, and ran."

"Wow Mom... That's insane..." Kagami said. "But you're so good now!" Kagami said.

"Thanks. I've worked hard to become so. Just like you'll have to." Miki said. "Konata is good because she's had a lot of practice. I'm pretty sure Sojiro doesn't cook well and so it's either take out or she cooks. That's why she smokes you." Miki giggled.

"Actually, I think I'm the one who does the literal smoking..." Kagami commented. Miki giggled harder.

"You just have to work at it Kagami. It won't all come in one day. You've gotta take time and learn from your mistakes. You're good at almost everything else you do, it's only natural that you have at least one thing you're not innately good at. You just have to pick yourself up, buy yourself new pots and pans, and get cooking again!" Miki said, fist balled up in front of the two to show her excitement. Kagami found it contagious.

"Yeah!" She shouted, balling up her hands into fists and pumping her arms to her sides once. She smiled and sighed, calming down a bit. She leaned on her mother's shoulder. "Thanks Mom." She smiled.

"It's my pleasure Kagami." Miki leaned onto her daughter a bit, rubbing her shoulder.

"Hey Mom?" Kagami asked.

"Yes Kagami?" Miki asked.

"Can we... keep cooking?" Kagami asked. Miki giggled a bit and got up.

"Of course!" She cheered.  
**"You** think that you can't really make stuff?  
Your cooking is debris?  
Once we're through, you will be a,  
Chen **Kenichi!"** Miki sung as the two continued, only making pancakes where they made rice before. Kagami would master one thing tonight if she could help it.

* * *

**POV Konata**

"Tsuki!" Konata shouted again. Her throat was getting hoarse from overuse. It pounded with every shout and the pain only heightened each time she yelled. "Tsuki!" She shouted again. She slowed to a walk. "Damn it..." She cursed under her breath. She brought out her phone and dialed her father's number.

"Hello?" Her father answered.

"Hey Dad, did you find her yet?" Konata asked.

"No, not yet. Anything on your end?" Sojiro asked. Konata sighed.

"No such luck." Konata said.

"It's getting kind of late Konata. We have to trust that she'll come back when she wants to." Sojiro said.

"Dad, she doesn't know the town! She's probably lost!" Konata said.

"Konata, I don't want you out this late if we can help it." Sojiro said.

"Dad, why are you being so protective? You know I can take a hundred guys myself!" Konata said.

"What about when you're tired and can't see because it's so dark?" Sojiro asked.

"I'm fine Dad. No one is going to get me." Konata said.

"...Fine. Just don't stay out here too long. If you get tired, let me know and I'll come pick you up." Sojiro said.

"Okay Dad. I didn't call to get a lecture, let me know if you find her." Konata said.

"Didn't you just meet her yesterday?" Sojiro asked. "You're pretty protective yourself." He said.

"I have reasons." Konata said. Over the past day, she had really grown attached to her future nephew, if that was who Tsuki was. Her father sighed.

"Just come back soon, okay? I don't want you out here too late. Yutaka is asleep, I'm going to go home and put her to bed." Sojiro said.

"No problem. I'll be home later." Konata said.

"I'll see you then Konata." Sojiro said.

"See you then." Konata hung up. She sighed and walked into a convenience store to buy herself a drink, hoping the coolness would help sooth her throat.

**POV Kagami** - **Several more hours later**

"It may be a little rough, but I put love into it..." Kagami said as she set the plate of pancakes in front of her father. "Now, please be completely honest with me. I need to know how it is." Kagami requested. Tadao smiled and looked down at the food. He gulped. It looked ordinary enough, but he knew Kagami's cooking. And he wasn't looking very forward to the expense of new pots and pans. He looked up at his wife as if to ask if his sacrifice was truly necessary. She smiled and nodded smartly. He gulped again. He took a piece of the pancake and put it in his mouth. His nose wrinkled in preparation, but upon tasting the actual pancake, he unwrinkled his nose and smiled.

"It's pretty good." He said. Kagami's demeanor lit up noticeably.

"YES! WOOHOO!" She started dancing around table, clearly happy with herself. Tadao swallowed and made a weird face.

"What... was that crunch?" Tadao asked, almost frightened of the answer. Kagami, however, didn't miss a beat, but made a new one as she began strutting around the table.

"THAT would be the cinnamon!" She said proudly. "That's right! I got the cinnamon right!" She boasted. Miki leaned in next to her husband.

"She accidentally used cumin more than once..." Miki whispered to her.

"Well Kagami, it's delicious." Tadao smiled. "You should be very proud of yourself." He said. Kagami cheered.

"I am! This is one of the greatest moments of my life!" She shouted before giggling giddily. The front door opened and closed. The living room quieted down and looked, hoping to see Tsukasa. Matsuri and Inori walked in. "What movie did you two see?" Kagami almost shouted, wondering what movie could have possibly taken the two to watch as that had. Matsuri picked up on the fact that Kagami wasn't curious about the movie itself, but rather why the two were back as late as they were.

"Well, once we were finished with the movie, I treated Inori to dinner." Matsuri smiled.

"So, what was that? A date?" Kagami asked.

"Well, I don't know. What I do know is that it was pretty good reconnaissance. Kan-chan went on a date to the movies." Inori smiled.

"Oh~, so THAT'S what that was... I thought you two were on a serious date!" Kagami laughed.

"Maybe we were." Inori smiled.

"Maybe we weren't." Matsuri smiled.

"I could certainly do worse." Inori shrugged.

"So could I." Matsuri said.

"You two are being very vague..." Tadao commented.

"Maybe we're just testing the waters? Hell, maybe I've had my "True Love" here all the time!" Matsuri laughed.

"But... You're siblings..." Kagami commented. Inori huffed.

"We don't have to take this! Come on _darling_, let's go!" Inori elongated the word darling in a manner that made it difficult to tell if she was joking. Inori put her elbow out. Matsuri looped her arm through Inori's and the two of them walked out of the room.

"..." Everyone was quiet for a moment.

"Those two have gotten very weird..." Kagami commented. There was another opening of a door, followed by a closing. Tsukasa wandered into the living room and sat down. As the three others in the room waited for an explanation, she turned to the television.

"Tsukasa?" Miki asked.

"You okay?" Kagami asked.

"...Yeah. I'm alright." Tsukasa said in a wistful voice.

"Where have you been?" Tadao asked.

"Well..." Tsukasa started.

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

Tsukasa walked through the park. She had been walking around in the night for several hours, trying to get a handle on her thoughts. She missed Tony. She recognized after calming down a little that she too had been at fault. She HAD been the one to break up with Tony. Maybe there was a reason he had looked at Tereya first? She sighed and sat down on a bench. _  
_

_Why was I being such a hothead?_ She wondered. _He wasn't just trying to avoid the situation. He might have wanted to talk it out later, after the match. That wasn't really the place to talk about something like that._ Tsukasa thought to herself. She put her head in her hands. _I've got a lot to learn. Maybe he's better off with her..._ She thought. She could feel despair beginning to creep into her heart.

_When despair grips you, sing my song._ The memory rang out in her head. She sighed.

_"Alone for a while, I've been searching through the dark,_  
_For traces of the love you left,_  
_Inside my lonely heart._  
_To weave by picking up the pieces that remain_  
_Melodies of Life - Love's lost refrain..."_

_"Our paths, they did cross, though I cannot say just why,_  
_We met, we laughed, we held on fast, and then we said goodbye..._  
_And who'll hear the echoes of stories never told?_  
_Let them ring out loud 'till they unfold..." _

She sang out, her singing attracting a bit of a crowd. They all heard the melancholy in her voice and knew she was singing from the heart.

_"In your dearest memories~...  
Do you remember loving me~?_  
_Though you're gone..._  
_I still believe that you can call~, out my name..."_

_"A voice from the past, joining yours and mine._  
_Adding up the layers of harmony_  
_And so it goes, on and on..._  
_Melodies of life,_  
_To the sky beyond the flying birds~!"  
"Forever andbeyond..."_

She stopped, figuring if the song were to do anything, it would be done by now. She ignored the crowd completely, along with their applause, until she heard one particular thing.

"Hey." She heard a voice that made her cringe. She looked up and found the song had attracted a very unwelcome guest.

"Hello Tereya." Tsukasa said, allowing as much venom to enter her voice and tone as possible. The girl sighed.

"I understand your response. I would feel the same way." She said. "Look, I just want to talk." Tereya said.

"Then talk." Tsukasa commanded.

"Will you listen?" Tereya asked. She seemed almost fiery. Tsukasa thought for a moment, sighed, and nodded.

"Yeah. Keep it short though." Tsukasa sighed. She would listen to everything Tereya had to say, but she had to show some semblance of resistance. She went on the offensive. "How was your date?" Tsukasa asked. Tereya looked almost shocked.

"He never came to tell you?" She asked.

"...No..." Tsukasa said cautiously. Tereya stood a moment in a daze at the boy's stupidity. She regained control of herself.

"He really is something special." Tereya said dreamily as she sat down next to Tsukasa.

"Don't I know it." Tsukasa almost spat. Tereya giggled in spite of the situation.

"No. You don't. Not for the reason I saw during the date, at least." Tereya said. Tsukasa raised an eyebrow, interest piqued as she turned and fully faced Tereya.

"What does that mean?" She asked. Tereya smiled an odd smile.

"He was thinking of you during our date. The whole thing." She looked tired. He smile faltered, but never left completely. Tsukasa's jaw loosened.

"How would you know something like that?" She asked.

"First of all, he didn't even pay any attention to the movie we were watching." Tereya said.

"How do you know he wasn't?" Tsukasa asked.

"Well, he didn't laugh at the funny parts, he didn't aw at the cool parts, or really even respond in general." Tereya said.

"What did you go see?" Tsukasa asked.

"The Avengers. I thought it'd be comforting for him to see other Gods as well." Tereya said almost sarcastically. Tsukasa started giggling, surprised at how much the girl was opening to her, at how comfortable she seemed to feel. Tsukasa hadn't much of an impression of the girl from their one, debatably two interactions, but she seemed to be extremely shy given how she had approached Tony the first time they had met. Tereya giggled as well.

"Trust me, he's no God." Tsukasa giggled. "He even tried switching his fighting name off of Ryu Tora no Kami." Tsukasa said.

"Well that's news! What did he try to change it to?" Tereya asked.

"Tetekai no Kenja." Tsukasa said.

"The Sage of Fighting, eh? Wonder what made him change his mind..." Tereya said.

"It was something big..." Tsukasa said.

"Guess this is sorta personal, even we did kind of go out." Tereya said.

"Ask him. He might tell you." Tsukasa said.

"I don't know if I'm really going to be seeing all that much of him soon." Tereya sighed. "Like I said, he told me he only thought about you during out date."

"Why would he say something like that?" Tsukasa asked.

"He didn't say it in as many words, but I asked him and responded before he had the chance to think." Tereya said a bit sadly. "He was... wondering how he would make it up to you..." She said.

"Yeah, but he still named that attack after you because it was pretty." Tsukasa crossed her arms and huffed. Tereya laughed, again in spite of the situation. "What's so funny?" Tsukasa asked.

"Do you know why he named that attack after me and not you?" Tereya asked forcefully. Tsukasa almost reeled back. It was in small movements like that one that showed that Tereya even hurt from what had happened.

"He-... No, he never did explain it to me... I kind of asked him about it after he did it, but he evaded the question..." Tsukasa said.

"I asked him... I cornered him on it and made him tell me..." Tereya said. Her voice cracked and she took a second.

"And...?" Tsukasa was understandably curious.

"It was because it wasn't perfect. It was pretty, but it wasn't... perfect." Tereya said. Her words seemed to sting her more than Tsukasa, but Tsukasa was in shock none the less.

"Not... perfect..." She murmured to herself, almost under her breath.

"That's right. Look, I'm his friend. But you're obviously the most prominent thing in his heart. On a date with another girl and he could think of nothing but you. I know I should be bitter at you, that I should hate you." Here, Tereya smiled. "But I don't. Honestly, I'm happy. I hope you'll remember what I said to you and I hope you'll give him a second chance. He's stubborn, but he loves you with all his heart." Tereya said. "If you let him back into your life, I'm sure you two will be happy, and that will make me happy." Tereya said.

"You're... not bitter?" Tsukasa asked in a daze.

"No. I knew in my heart that I didn't have a chance, ever since I saw you two on the train. I just wanted to live a fantasy, if only for one day. Will you give him another chance?" Tereya asked. Tsukasa sighed.

"I... think I can do that..." Tsukasa smiled. "Thank you for coming here and telling me this." Tsukasa said. Tereya smiled back.

"If I could have just one thing." Tereya said, more of a question than a statement.

"What's that?" Tsukasa asked.

"Could we all be friends? Me, you and Tony?" Tereya asked. Tsukasa thought for a moment and smiled.

"Call him Kan-chan." She giggled. "Yeah. We can be friends." Tsukasa smiled warmly.

"I'm so glad. Be happy." Tereya said as she got up. She began walking away, Tsukasa watching after her in, still in a daze. Tereya didn't hold back the tears in her eyes anymore, though she was genuinely happy for the two. Tsukasa smiled and got up. She began walking home.

**Back to the present**

"That's what happened... Onee-chan... Mom... Dad..." Tsukasa looked back at them, tears in her eyes. "He... He thinks I'm perfect!" She said, pure joy in her voice.

"Hang on Tsukasa. I'm sorry, but could you go over what happened with the date again?" Kagami asked, in a daze.

"Yeah, he was thinking of me the whole time!" Tsukasa said.

"..." Kagami was laughing like a hyena inside. She wasn't so much excited at the fact that Tony probably really hurt Tereya. In fact, she was really sad about that. But she found it ironically hilarious that his date with a girl other than Tsukasa ended in almost the exact same way that his date with Kagami had ended. It only further served to prove to Kagami that there must have been some sort of divine intervention to get Tsukasa and Tony together.

"So what do you think Tsukasa?" Miki asked.

"I think I might have overreacted about the whole thing... Maybe if I had been a bit more level headed, he would have been too. Then Teri-chan wouldn't have gotten hurt like that..." Tsukasa said.

"Wow, that's..." Kagami muttered.

"Onee-chan, do you know where my phone is? I want to call him." Tsukasa said.

"Um! I think it's in your room, want me to go get it?" Kagami asked. Tsukasa shook her head.

"No thanks. I'll get it." She got up and left the room. She walked down the hall way and entered her room. In short order, she found it. She dialed his number.

"This number is unavailable. Please call again tomorrow." The female voice said. Tsukasa blinked a time or two. The voice sounded extraordinarily familiar. Not to mention it had specified tomorrow instead of later. She hung up and called again. After a moment, the same voice came on.

"The number is unavailable. Please call again tomorrow." It said. The. Tsukasa was pleased with herself that she had noticed such a small detail. The voice had said "This" the first time, but "The" the second time. And the voice sounded no less familiar this time. This time she could place it though. It had been the same one that had taught her the song when she had fallen asleep watching the tournament in Lohan. She sighed, frustrated with the inability to contact Tony and very freaked out by hearing a voice from her dream on the phone. She flopped back on her bed and sighed.

_I wonder where he is..._ She thought.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony's ears twitched.

"S..." He started and turned. "Sar-...Mom?" He asked. "Ho-Whe-... What's going on?" He asked as he beheld the salmon haired girl.

"It's complicated." Sarnia said. Tony ran over and hugged the girl with all his might. After a couple seconds to process his actions, he realized exactly HOW much might he was hugging her with and put her down, considering she was still the same age as when she died. Surprisingly, she seemed entirely without negative effects, but continued to smile happily.

"Well please explain! I... I can touch you! You're here! How are you alive?" He asked. Sarnia sighed.

"I'm not. I'm here, but I'm not... It's weird. It's the judges, please don't ask me to explain, but they watch over everyone. They granted me the ability to come talk to you one last time." Sarnia said. Tony blinked.

"By judges, do you mean the gods?" He asked.

"Please don't ask." Sarnia said. Tony huffed.

"Well in any case, tell them thanks..." Tony sighed, sitting back onto the stump. Sarnia took her seat on her own.

"I already did. Several thousand times." She smiled. They were silent for a moment. "Are you okay Tony?" She asked.

"I'm sorry, but this completely blindsided me. I came here to clear my head, but... you're here... my Mom is here..." Tony said, dumbfounded. Sarnia smiled a bit wider.

"It's been too long since you called me that." She leaned a bit back on her arms. They stayed silent for a small time.

"How long do I have with you?" Tony asked.

"I'll stay here for as long as you want, but I'll need to go back once you leave the forest." Sarnia said.

"I'm so happy to see you, even if it's only this once..." Tony sighed happily. "Mom, I've... gotten myself into a bit of a pickle." Tony said.

"Right down to it, huh?" Sarnia smiled.

"I would be as happy talking about anything." Tony said. Sarnia giggled.

"No, I'm glad. You've become a lot more serious since the last time I saw you." Sarnia said.

"I had to! I never wanted death so close to me again. I didn't want to lose anyone else that I let get close to me." Tony said seriously.

"To be forgotten is worse than death." Sarnia said in as serious a tone.

"I've never forgotten about you!" Tony said forcefully, jerking to attention.

"But you tried to forget about Tsukasa." Sarnia retorted.

"Yeah, but-..." Tony started his comeback before he had come up with one. He failed to retort, knowing he would be wrong to do so considering exactly how correct the girl was.

"That's what you wanted to talk about, right?" Sarnia asked.

"Yeah. I really did." Tony sighed. "Mom, am I really that stupid? I know I'm in the wrong with asking out Tereya, but what about the original argument? Did I do the right thing?" Tony asked.

"It's not my opinion you want. It's my approval, correct?" Sarnia said.

"And do I have it?" Tony asked.

"That isn't important." Sarnia said.

"What are you talking about? Of course it is!" Tony said.

"No it isn't." Sarnia said. "Would you change your mind about things even if I said I agreed with Tsukasa?" Tony was caught off guard by this question.

"Um..." He mumbled.

"Exactly." Sarnia said. "If you truly want my opinion, I think you should be more considerate of Tsukasa's feelings." She said. Tony sighed.

"I think she should be more reasonable." Tony folded his arms.

"My point." Sarnia said. "You're still as stubborn as when you wanted to see that movie." She said. Tony jumped and looked at her in disbelief.

"I- I can't believe you just said that!" Tony shouted. "You- This is a fight between two people that will probably resolve itself soon, THAT was a disagreement that caused you to DIE!" Tony said, furious at the incident being brought up so casually, and in a manner that insulted him no less.

"Do you disagree that you're stubborn, even now?" Sarnia asked. Tony opened his mouth, but didn't answer immediately. He fumed in silence for a moment for a few minutes until he sat back down.

"No. I'm stubborn." Tony sighed. "But she is too." He decided.

"You two are so cute together though." Sarnia giggled, dropping her serious persona for a moment. "So, now that you know what I think, did that influence what you're going to do at all?" Sarnia asked seriously. Tony sighed.

"Maybe. I dunno..." He sighed. "Do you think I should say I'm wrong?" He asked.

"Well, I really think you should tell Tsukasa why you named that attack after another girl." Sarnia said.

"You think?" Tony sighed.

"It'll shorten the war by five years and save millions of lives." Sarnia giggled. Tony chuckled.

"There's that sharp-enough-to-shave-with wit I told them about..." Tony chuckled. He sighed. "I'm sorry Mom." He apologized.

"For what?" Sarnia asked.

"My stubbornness. It caused you to die. If I hadn't been so insistent of on that damn movie... If I had listened to you... Maybe you'd be..." Tony started to crack. Sarnia saw this and rushed over.

"Hey, who knows what would have happened? For all we know, what you did was the best move!" She said and brought him into a hug. "Sometimes life is just too uncertain to have regrets." Sarnia said. She petted his hair and held him as only a mother could. Tony could feel it.

"Thank you..." He muttered.

"I'm always there for you, you know." Sarnia said. "Even if you can't see me. I'm always watching over you." She said comfortingly. The two stayed like that for a moment.

"So, am in as much trouble with you as I am in with Tsukasa?" Tony asked. Sarnia giggled.

"No, I shouldn't think so. She may be angry, but she loves you very much. Why else would she get so protective over you?" Sarnia asked.

"True. True." Tony smiled as Sarnia retook her seat on her stump. "But man am I in some trouble though..." Tony sighed. Sarnia giggled.

"Listen, when you love somebody, you're always in trouble. There's only two things you can do about it: either stop loving 'em, or love 'em a whole lot more." Sarnia said.

"I guess I'll... love her a lot more than I did before then." Tony smiled.

"Atta boy!" Sarnia cheered. Tony leaned back on his stump.

"I didn't even know that was possible." Tony chuckled. "Hey." Tony said, almost inquisitively.

"Yes?" Sarnia asked, interest piqued.

"You're the one who nicknamed me Tony. As Sarnia. Why?" Tony asked curiously.

"Because you weren't Kanpeki anymore." Sarnia answered.

"Er... what?" Tony asked.

"You weren't the same boy I raised. Technically speaking, you were, but you had been changed. The training. The scorn and ridicule you got from your classmates... It all changed you. I named you what I named you because you were perfect to me. But you weren't anymore." Sarnia said. Tony chuckled.

"I'm still not, nor will I ever be." Tony said.

"And Tony shall you ever be." Sarnia said in an ominous voice before breaking into giggles.

"So why Tony? Why not Bob?" Tony asked.

"Oh, that was legitimately the reason I gave you back then." Sarnia giggled.

"You like the name?" Tony asked sarcastically.

"I'm not sure why." Sarnia responded.

"You know, I remember one of the reasons I liked you so much." Tony smiled.

"Why's that?" Sarnia giggled.

"You laugh a lot. I like the sound of your giggle. It's nostalgic. Probably shouldn't do it so much though." Tony said. This confused Sarnia.

"And why's that?" Sarnia asked.

"You keep laughing like that and you'll put every Nightingale out of a job." Tony chuckled. Sarnia laughed.

"I thought that was funny when you said that." Sarnia smiled.

"It was true though. Every word of it." He sighed. Tony chuckled and sighed once more, though this time contently. "Mom..." He said quietly.

"Yes?" She asked.

"I love you." He said. Sarnia hummed with joy.

"I love you too son." She said. The two began talking about everything, from life and death philosophies to the silly way a Caterpillar crawls.

* * *

**POV Konata**

Konata jogged sleepily along.

"Tsuki..." She mumbled kind of loudly. She was exhausted from the constant running, her fight from before, and just the time. She stopped and leaned against a building to rest. She instantly knew that was a mistake. She was much too exhausted to get started again. She pushed herself off and began walking home, knowing her search was finished. She stumbled a bit before catching herself and yawning.

"Kurono says HI!" She heard someone yell. She looked back just in time to see a flash of steel. As the knife approached her kidney, her life flashed before her eyes. She saw her birth, her early years. She saw the last moments she spent with her mother. She saw... The knife had stopped. It quaked inches from her kidney. The boy looked surprised. Adrenaline ran through Konata's veins as she let her instinct take over. She burst into motion, throwing a one inch punch that came from over six inches away, causing it to lose more than half its power. It being completely unmitigated and to the boy's face, it didn't make much of a difference. The strike at least broke the boy's nose and sent him off of his feet. Konata backed up a step and coughed, beginning to shake. She gasped for breath, the adrenaline subsiding. She shakily grabbed her phone and dialed her father's number.

"Dad... Yeah, I need you to come pick me up... Yes, I know it's late and I stay out way too long... Please just come?" Konata asked. She told him where she was. "Thanks..." She sighed and hung up. She backed up to the wall and sighed. _Why didn't that attack connect?_ Konata wondered. She walked over and picked up the knife. Upon examination, it seemed no different from any other knife other than some engraving on it. She looked at it in particular, but it was too dark for her to make out what it was. Seeing as it was the only thing that separated it from an ordinary knife, she assumed that to be what had saved her. She put it close to her arm, but felt no resistance. She placed it against her skin, and again felt no resistance. _What on earth..._ She wondered. She looked over at the boy, his head a bloody mess. She walked over to him and held the knife in front of his face. "Where did you get this?" She asked forcefully.

"I..si...bo..." He muttered. Konata sighed. She left herself get too carried away and damaged the boy past the point where he could speak normally. She took a leather case for the knife from his side and decided to keep it to examine later and see if Tony could find something different about it. Konata couldn't imagine what he could find that unless someone in Kurono's little gang had powers. And then why would they use them to help her instead of hurting her? None of it made sense. Sojiro pulled up as she slipped the knife into her pocket. She figured that the fact that the boy was bleeding out of his face would be enough punishment. If he died, it served him right. If he lived, he would serve as an example to his fellow "gangsters". Hopefully, the lot of them would learn from the boy's example. She got into the car.

"Konata, do you even know how late it is?" Sojiro shouted as soon as the door clicked closed. Konata began leaning on it as exhaustion took over.

"I... Hashbrowns?" She said uncertainly.

"What would you have done if you were mugged? Or if someone had tried to stab you?" He scolded.

"The knife woulda stopped a couple inches from my kidney..." Konata mumbled sleepily.

"Listen to yourself Konata. You're so tired, you're delusional." Sojiro sighed. "You have a tournament tomorrow! How are you gonna get up for that?" Sojiro asked.

"I don't wanna... sprouts..." She mumbled, mostly out again.

"It's past midnight, just for your information." Sojiro said. They finally got home. "Alright Konata, we're home. Let's go inside so you can go to bed." He said.

"Five more minutes..." She muttered.

"Come on Konata. Let's go." Sojiro shook her sternly.

"I don' wan..." Konata mumbled sleepily. Sojiro sighed.

"I guess it can't be helped then." He said. He got out of the car and walked around to her side of the car. He opened the door and picked up Konata. He carried her into the house and past the living room. He entered her room and set her in the bed. "What am I going to do with you..." Sojiro sighed.

"No... Nosferatu..." Konata snuggled into the bed and breathed deeply. Sojiro sighed again.

"I guess you'll figure something out..." He commented before he left.

* * *

**POV Masuta**

Masuta walked into the kitchen, having packed the rest of his items. He looked into the pot of dengen that had mostly been forgotten to see there was a massive amount of dengen still. He took some and put it into a cloth bag that he carried around, one not unlike the one Tony had for carrying it. He looked to see that the amount he took was so negligible, though it was enough to fill his bag, he barely saw a difference in the level of dengen left. He looked around and sighed.

"It's boring here right now. I've already gotten all my stuff together, I was just thinking of staying here for one more night." Masuta commented. He sighed and took out his phone, walking into the living room. He clicked onto his speed dial. After a few rings, they picked up.

"Hello?" The person on the other end asked.

"Hey Miyuki." Masuta said.

"Hello Masuta." Miyuki's tone changed instantly.

"What's going on?" Masuta asked.

"Nothing much at the moment. I was simply reading a novel." Miyuki said.

"Oh, if you're busy, I can call back later!" Masuta said.

"Please don't hang up." Miyuki said. Masuta smiled.

"As you wish." He said warmly.

"Thank you." Miyuki said. Masuta wasn't sure how she did it, but Miyuki had a way of making her voice smile in the same way her eyes did. He loved to hear that smile.

"So what are you reading?" Masuta asked.

"A delightful fantasy novel series Kagami-san introduced me to." Miyuki answered.

"What's it called? I'm not really up to date on the current novel series." Masuta said.

"The original series was called Warcraft. This one, however, is several series ahead of the original." Miyuki said.

"Ah, which one is it?" Masuta asked.

"It's called Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War." Miyuki said.

"What's it about?" Masuta asked.

"Well, there had always been these two factions that begrudgingly tolerated each other. But everything changed when the Horde attacked..." Miyuki began explaining the plot of the novels in order with an almost eidetic attention to detail. Masuta wasn't exactly sure of who each character was at first, but as Miyuki continued, it began getting clearer. He smiled as Miyuki seemed more than happy to describe everything about the characters. He made hums to let her know that he was, indeed listening to her and committing it to memory. It seemed a silly thing for him to do, but he wanted to take an active role in learning about Miyuki's interests.

"Ah, so the dude went back in time and rescued himself as a baby from bandits?" Masuta asked.

"Well, not really. He was sent to destroy the caravan that he was a part of. He found himself, left for dead when the band of mercenaries he was sent with slaughtered his caravan. He delivered himself to where he knew he was supposed to be at the time instead of saving his parents and getting his legendary weapon back." Miyuki explained.

"Wait, did he lose it?" Masuta asked. Miyuki began explaining once again. Masuta smiled with eyes closed as Miyuki got more and more into it. "So it was a dragon made up of the other dragons?" Masuta asked after a while.

"In a sense, it had all of the attributes of the others, but the others no longer had the Aspect of Earth, so they needed his help again." Miyuki said. Masuta smiled and hummed to let her know he was listening. He looked at the clock to see it was five minutes until midnight. He couldn't help but wonder where his little brother was. Miyuki sounded like she was full of energy from talking about the book series however, and Masuta would stay up with her until she was too tired to continue.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony laid on the stump in his mother's lap. She hummed a soothing tune to him. It was almost midnight by this time and she knew he would be asleep soon.

"Tony." She said.

"Mmm?" He hummed.

"I have something for you." She said.

"Hmm?" He hummed inquisitively.

"But you have to get up." She specified softly.

"Mm." He hummed curtly in disapproval of the idea.

"It was something that belonged to your father." She said. Tony's eyes popped open.

"Orly?" He asked.

"He wanted you to have it." She said.

"And it just happens to be here? You can't leave the forest, remember?" Tony said.

"It's buried between the trunks of these trees." She said, gesturing to the area between her stump and his. Tony got up and felt the ground. "Move." He commanded. The earth didn't budge. "Er..." He mumbled. Sarnia giggled.

"Wait for it." She said.

"Hm?" He hummed, but his inquiry was answered soon enough as the earth directly below his hand split in two. It didn't look as if there was anything there. "Ummm... Are you sure somebody hasn't come and taken it while you were away? It's been a few years." Tony said sarcastically.

"No. It's there. It's just difficult for you to see it." Sarnia smiled.

"Okay then..." Tony sighed. He put his hand down the fissure and commanded the energy in front of his hand to work as if it were his hand. Again, nothing occurred for a time. "Mom?"

"Wait for it." She said. Soon, the energy followed Tony's will and extended downward. He felt around the fissure, but felt nothing. Finally, after an exhausting minute of searching, the spell taking almost all of his energy, he felt the energy grip onto something. He pulled it towards him and eventually into his physical hand. He sighed in exhaustion and rested a moment on the ground before pulling his hand out of the crevice. In his hand was a blade made of what looked to be a metallic white, though the origin of it was impossible for Tony to place. It looked almost serrated, but the spaces for it were far too spread out along the blade to actively be used as a saw. The blade also had next to no guard to speak of. It looked to be a little less than three feet in length. If Tony had to put a description to it, he would say the blade looked like a stalk of beewort.

"This is... Thank you." Tony smiled. "I'm proud to wield my father's sword." He swung it. It felt surprisingly light, even in comparison to his own blade, which was made of mostly glass so it wasn't heavy. "So why did I have to "Wait for it"? Tony asked.

"It's complicated. Basically, this place is my sanctuary. It was kind of asking me permission for it to allow you to move the earth." Sarnia said.

"So wait, are you a god or something? Or are you a human who has powers?" Tony asked. Sarnia giggled.

"Neither. The Gods just gave this to me when they let me back on earth. It was where I went when ever I needed to think when I was a little girl. I came to clear my head. It's always had a special place in my heart." Sarnia smiled wistfully. "Nothing happens in this forest without my permission." She said. The exhaustion from his spell hit him in force as he reclosed the earth. He went back to his previous position after laying the sword against the trunk. Sarnia dutifully began stroking his hair again.

"Mom..." Tony started.

"Yes son?" Sarnia asked.

"Tell me about Dad..." He requested. Sarnia giggled warmly, happy with his query.

"A great man. Powerful, charming, smart... Incredibly so." Sarnia described.

"Was he bald?" Tony asked. Sarnia laughed.

"Yes, a little. Balding is more like it though. That doesn't take anything away from him though." Sarnia said warmly.

"Except for his hair." Tony muttered sleepily. Sarnia giggled again.

"Yes, except for his hair." She said.

"Did you two love each other?" Tony asked.

"Yes son... yes." She answered.

"Does he know you got resurrected as a child?" He asked in a very silly manner. Sarnia giggled, but apparently didn't see it fit to respond. "Mom?" Tony asked.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Could you sing it... Please?" Tony asked. Sarnia smiled.

"Of course." She answered. She breathed deeply. She looked up to see a dove flying over the clearing, though very obscured by the presence of tree branches.

_"So far and away, see the bird as it flies by  
Gliding through the shadows of the clouds up in the sky  
I've laid my memories and dreams upon those wings  
Leave them now and see what tomorrow brings."_

As she sang, the dove flew away.

_"In my dearest memories,  
I see you reaching out to me. _  
_Was it fate  
that brought us close and now leaves me behind?"  
_

_"A voice full of love, joining yours and mine  
Adding up the layers of harmony  
And so it goes, on and on  
Melodies of life,  
To the sky beyond the flying birds-forever and beyond."  
_

_"Though I shall leave this lonely world behind  
Your voice will still remember our melody  
Now I know we'll carry on  
Melodies of life  
Come circle round and grow deep in our hearts  
As long as we remember..."_

Sarnia looked down to see her son fast asleep. She leaned down and kissed him on the forehead.

"Good night, son." She smiled.

* * *

**In the Morning**

Tony woke up to the sound of his mother humming. He opened his eyes slowly with a smile on his face.

"Man, I remember I used to fall asleep like this years ago..." Tony smiled.

"I remember that too." Sarnia smiled. "You were much smaller back then though."

"I'm not too heavy, am I?" Tony asked. Sarnia giggled.

"No, don't worry. I'm dead, remember? I can't be hurt, no matter how much you weigh." She teased.

"Are you sure? If I am, I can-" He began to get up, but Sarnia lightly put him back into her lap.

"Oh, now don't try to fight me." She giggled. A thought occurred to Tony.

"Fight..." He mumbled. "Crap, the tournament! I used most of my energy to get here, what time is it?" He shouted, jerking up. He looked up and saw it was around a couple hours until his first match. "Crap, crap, crap, crap!" He shouted. "How am I going to get back in time?" He turned to his mother desperately. She looked as calm as always as she stood from the tree stump.

"Take up your father's sword." She requested. He blinked a time or two and did so. "Is there anything left you have to ask me before you go?" She asked. Tony blinked and thought, though his thoughts were in disarray from just waking up and his still general exhaustion from the previous day's spell working.

"I..." He started before words formed themselves. He fell silent. "Mom..." He looked her in the eyes. "Thank you. Just... Thank you for everything you've ever done for me... I wish I didn't have to say good bye, but I need to see Tsukasa... I need to tell her that I love her, to apologize... You helped me so much last night. Thank you." He said again. Sarnia smiled.

"It's my pleasure to help you. In any way I can." She said.

"I love you Mom..." Tony said. Sarnia came up and leaned Tony down, kissing his forehead.

"I love you too." She smiled. "One last thing before you go." She said.

"Yes?" Tony asked. Sarnia sighed.

"Don't feel like you're betraying me when you call Miki your Mom. I want someone to do my job since I can't and she's the best person for that job." She said. Tony smiled and nodded, a tear coming to his eye. "You know, seeing as how you're in love with Tsukasa..." Sarnia teased.

"True." Tony smiled.

"Are you ready to go?" She asked.

"I think so..." Tony said.

"Then come here." Sarnia said. Tony complied and walked to her. "Here." She said as she placed a hand on Tony's chest. "This is my last gift to you..." She said as the world spun into itself as there was pressure on all sides, pressing everything into him. Then, it was gone as soon as it had begun. Tony stood outside on the streets of Saitama with full energy. He subconsciously looking into his ring to see it brimming with as much energy as it had when he left. His heart was beating quickly. "Know that I'll always be with you..." Sarnia's voice echoed in his head. Then it was gone, and the world seemed a bit of a darker place. A tear came down Tony's cheek.

"Thank you..." He mumbled. He took off, knowing exactly where he was going to go, taking out his phone.

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

Tsukasa woke up, a smile on her face. She honestly felt immensely relieved at hearing Tony's failure, even if it had hurt her new friend. It was a guilty relief, but one all the same. Tony loved her, he thought she was perfect. She smiled happily. She took her phone, remembering the strange female voice had told her to call today. She clicked his speed dial and got extremely frustrated with the voicemail she received.

"Hello, you have reached Kanpeki Otokonoko. I'm either fighting Gods, kicking thug butt, or in the restroom." She hit her futon on the side. Then, however, the message continued. "And if this is Tsukasa wanting to call me so I can apologize.. Well, that kind of stuff has to happen in person." It said. It finished as it always had after that and Tsukasa stayed there stunned for a moment. He was coming... She smiled and leaped from her futon. She left her room and ran out.

"Kan-kun's coming!" She cheered. Matsuri was the first to hear and react. She stuck her head out and looked at Tsukasa, hair in a mess.

"Imoto, keep it..." She noticed that Tsukasa, in her excited airhead rush, had failed to change from her pajamas. Tsukasa turned excitedly.

"What Onee-san?" She asked with a cute, airhead smile that she hadn't had in a while. Matsuri sighed, unable to take this happiness away from her little sister.

"Keep it cute." She said as she pulled her head back into her bedroom. Tsukasa giggled. She walked into the living room to see practically the rest of the family save Matsuri up.

"Hey Tsukasa." Inori smiled back at her sister. "What's up?"

"Kan-kun is coming!" Tsukasa said cheerfully. Inori scrunched up her nose.

"Good, I want to give him a piece of my mind." Inori said.

"Onee-san, no! He thinks I'm perfect and he's coming to apologize!" Tsukasa defended Tony. Inori let it sink in for a moment.

"How do you know that?" She asked, as coming up with such a specific statement was a sign of denial that a relationship was over. And so Tsukasa told her eldest sister what Tereya had told her, followed by telling the entire room about Tony's new voicemail. "Well then, that's different."

"I'm going make breakfast! Is anyone hungry?" Tsukasa asked.

"I just woke up myself, soooo..." Kagami smiled.

"Great! Anyone else?" Tsukasa asked.

"I could eat." Inori said.

"Mom, Dad?" Tsukasa asked.

"I fed us when we got up." Miki said. "Now I wish I had waited though." She smiled.

"Okay, breakfast for four!" Tsukasa cheered. Kagami got up.

"Hey Tsukasa..." She said in an inquisitive voice.

"Yeah Onee-chan?" Tsukasa asked.

"Do you think... We could..." She walked over and whispered in her sister's ear. Tsukasa nodded, then nodded again, then smiled widely.

"Sure! I'm happy to help." Tsukasa smiled.

"Awesome, thanks!" Kagami cheered as the two walking into the kitchen. Inori looked at her parents.

"What was that?" She asked. Both shrugged simultaneously. Inori sighed.

"I'm gonna go see something..." She got up and left the room.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony was standing outside the Hiiragi household, fist suspended in the air for a knock that never came. He wasn't sure how long he had been there, but he was sure it had been a good while. Ever since he had started on his way here, a seed of doubt had been sprouting in his head and making him wonder if Tsukasa could really forgive him. That and his encounter with Tereya's friend had shaken him a bit...

**Earlier**

Tony ran along, having just changed his voicemail. Suddenly, Tereya's friend shot out of the alley way and grabbed him by his collar.

"Why did you do it!?" She yelled.

"Oh, I don't know, why does anyone do it?" Tony asked.

"Now you've done it!" She shouted as she drew a fist back. Tony thought quickly and apparated the two an inch to the right. It accomplished little other than making the girl disoriented for a moment. That was all it took for Tony to escape her grasp.

"Well you'll have to clean it up, I'm in a hurry." Tony began walking away before stopping. He turned and looked the shaky girl in the eyes. "No, seriously. I left Tereya in a mess. I was an idiot for asking her out. Please, help her in the ways that I can't. I may not love her, but I do care about her." Tony said. Tears came to the girl's eyes.

"Idiot!" She shouted as she ran away. Tony sighed and continued in a run towards Tsukasa's house, trying not to let the encounter phase him.

**Present**

He HAD been a massive asshole.

_Asking out Tereya right in front of Tsukasa... She was right. I AM an asshole..._ He said to himself. _Come on man, just knock. Maybe they'll let you in? You're going to apologize!_ His head tried to convince him, but at this point, he had heard every argument his head could come up with to go inside and yet, here he was. Standing outside his love's door. Like an idiot. "Damn it, I can't do it! I'm too nervous!" He said. "I wish I could just character change." He looked up as if he suddenly would, but no such luck. "Where are Guardian Chara when you need them?" Tony shouted exasperatedly.

"So were you ever going to come in?" Inori asked as she suppressed a giggle when Tony jumped at her sudden appearance.

"I was just about to and..." Tony began trying to explain, though his words were coming faster than his brain could conjure them.

"Don't try to lie to me kiddo, I've been watching you from the window for ten minutes." Inori said as she failed at suppressing her laughter.

"Well, um, you see..." Tony blurted out before Inori took him by the shoulder.

"Come on." She said comfortingly. "Tsukasa is waiting for you." She said warmly as she led the younger boy inside. "Tsukasa~, your _boyfriend_ is here!" Inori laughed as she put as much emphasis on 'boyfriend' as she could. Tsukasa poked her face out of the kitchen and stepped out, complete and total poker faced. Everyone around couldn't help but be impressed that Tsukasa of all people could successfully keep a mask on her emotions at a time like this.

"Yes?" She asked, sounding disinterested. Tony stepped forward once, then twice. Then he stopped.

"Tsukasa..." He muttered. He sighed and slowly got on his knees, then bowed his head to the ground, his hands on the floor next to it. "Please forgive me." He said in complete fealty. The move was so extreme, Tsukasa's poker face was shattered as her jaw dropped. She had been expecting an apology, but Tony had gone way beyond what she had thought he would. "I was a proud, arrogant, foolish, _stupid_ asshole who doesn't even begin to deserve you. But in the months I've known you, you've become an irreplaceable part of my life. I haven't felt right since what happened and life can't be the same if I can't be with you! You're the sunshine of my life. And there is no sunshine when you're gone!" He looked up and looked in her eyes. "You could give me a million good reasons to spit in my face and stay away from me and I can't give you one to forgive me... Please..." He returned his head to it's bowed position. "Forgive me anyway?" He asked. Tsukasa shook off her surprise and smiled. She had already decided to forgive him, but she couldn't let this opportunity pass so easily...

"Will you quit the tournament?" She asked.

"Yes." Was the immediate response.

"And never speak to Tereya again?" Tsukasa asked. The response came with a slight delay.

_This can't be her speaking, she'd never ask for me to do something like that..._ Tony thought. "Yes." He said.

"Hmmm, I don't know..." Tsukasa tapped her foot pensively, but there was a giant smile on her face from watching Tony shift uncomfortably, comfortable herself in the knowledge that he couldn't see her smile.

"Anything Tsukasa..." He said. Tsukasa giggled.

"How about we forget the last two things and just go back to the way things were?" She asked warmly. Tony looked up at her.

"Seriously?" He asked.

"Two conditions." She said.

"Name them." Tony responded.

"You have to win the tournament and you have to be friends with Teri-chan." Tsukasa smiled. Tony pushed off the ground and hugged Tsukasa.

"As you wish." He said quietly. Tsukasa hugged him back. "I love you Tsukasa." Tony said as he tightened his hug. Tsukasa smiled.

_I dunno. Love just doesn't seem like the right word to use..._ She thought for a moment. "Kan-kun, what's the word for when it feels inside your heart that everything in the world is alright?" She asked.

"For me, that's love Tsukasa." Tony answered. Tsukasa hummed.

"I love you Kan-kun." She said. Tony smiled.

"You want to know the reason I didn't name that move after you?" Tony asked.

"Why?" Tsukasa smiled, already knowing what was to come. She wanted to hear it from Tony himself though.

"Tereya was pretty. The attack was pretty. But you're beautiful. In every aspect of the word." Tony said. "You're the epitome of beauty." Tony said. Tsukasa blushed and giggled. Tony, seeing her weakness, began to get more and more grand in his movements, breaking the hug to do so. "If you looked "beauty" up IN THE DICTIONARY!" He pointed at his open hand to symbolize that there was an imaginary dictionary in it. "You'd see a picture of you in it." Tony said a little quickly, having made the entire statement in a very "Bill Cosby"ish fashion. Tsukasa giggled harder, along with the other two women in the room, the father chuckling.

"Tsukasa?" Kagami asked from the kitchen. Tsukasa seemed to remember something and smiled.

"I made breakfast Kan-kun!" Tsukasa pecked Tony on the lips and rushed into the kitchen. Tony was dazed for a moment. Over the course of ten minutes, his life had gone from depressingly miserable to amazing. Tsukasa loved him again and had made breakfast!

"Come and sit." Miki smiled and patted the table. Tony walked over and sat. It was odd, being out of the loop and suddenly being yanked back in.

"Thanks..." Tony hesitated. Miki giggled.

"You can still call me Mom." Miki clarified.

"Thanks Mom..." Tony smiled. Tsukasa and Kagami suddenly came out of the kitchen with plates full of pancakes. "Awesome!" Tony said as a plate was set down in front of him. He looked at it for a second, feeling a bit awkward.

"Well? Eat!" Kagami commanded. Tony shrugged and took a piece, eating it. He swallowed.

"Tsukasa didn't make this." He said the instant to food was down his throat. Kagami was disheartened.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Don't get me wrong, it's really good, but Tsukasa didn't make this." Tony said. Kagami sighed.

"How did you know?" She asked.

"These taste like pancakes that would be served at a high class restaurant or something." Tony said. Kagami squealed a little.

_I'll take it!_ She thought.

"Tsukasa's taste like pancakes that the Gods would be honored to eat." Tony said. Tsukasa blushed.

"Thanks Kan-kun..." She smiled a little smile.

"But did Kagami make these?" Tony asked. Kagami posed proudly.

"Yep, sure did!" She said. Tony looked suspiciously at the pancakes.

"And how many pots were killed in the making of these pancakes?" Tony asked.

"WHY DOES EVERYONE KEEP ASKING THINGS LIKE THAT?" Kagami shouted. Tony laughed.

"Well, from Kitchen-Killer Kagami..." He trailed off.

"Ahg! Why did we let him back into the house?" Kagami asked. The family shared a laugh at the Tsundere's expense. "Where did you even hear that?" Kagami shouted.

"From who else?" Tony laughed. "My lovely sister!" He said.

"Me and Kona are gonna have to have a talk..." Kagami huffed.

"Oh Tsukasa, before I forget, I've got something for you." Tony smiled.

"What is it Kan-kun?" Tsukasa asked. Tony took something out of his pocket and opened his hand to reveal the white stone Tsukasa had been given by Amaterasu.

"They look to be the same in all but color. I couldn't notice any other differences." Tony said.

"And I got this from Amaterasu... Where did you get that one?" Tsukasa asked.

"A fighter from the tournament in Lohan." Tony answered. "It floated away from him and back to me later that day. Plus, it's not the only one of its kind. A friend of Konata's who happened to be there recalled a golden one a few years back that had passed through the same town at the same time." Tony said.

"That's kind of weird..." Tsukasa said.

"Yeah, maybe they're gifts from the gods to those who need them. Or something like that." Tony shrugged.

"So then we'll... need these for something?" Tsukasa asked.

"I don't know. I'm just thinking out loud here. Maybe Dart needed it before, but he didn't any more..." Tony thought. He shrugged. "It makes sense, he told me he was on a quest for revenge a few years back." Tony said.

"Why do you need it?" Tsukasa asked.

"I don't know yet. I would absolutely love to go on a quest for revenge on this Sasuke, but..." Tony sighed.

"Kan-kun." Tsukasa said curtly.

"I know, I know. He probably has a family or something." Tony sighed.

"No... I understand..." Tsukasa said sadly.

"Wait, you do?" Tony asked.

"You had one too." Tsukasa said. A moment went by before she clarified herself. "But it still won't bring yours back if you kill him!" She said. Tony chuckled.

"Yeah, I know. Still, this is a very curious thing." Tony took out his own. Due to it's proximity to Tsukasa's stone, it and her stone let out a bright shine, interrupting the conversations that each of the others had gotten into.

"Whoa..." Matsuri mumbled as she came out of her room. "What's going on?"

"We don't know. Every time they're close to one another, they light up like that." Tony said.

"That's pretty crazy." Inori said.

"I know, right?" Tony chuckled. "I haven't even found out what it does yet." Tony twirled it around in his hand.

"Well, it's a god given gift. It must do something!" Miki said, looking closer at it.

"I would think Amaterasu would have given this one. It IS red." Tony said.

"True. Hey..." Kagami began thinking.

"What is it, Kagami?" Tony asked.

"It's red, like fire, right?" Kagami said.

"Right..." Tony confirmed, a bit confused at the question considering the stone was right in front of her and Tsukasa had put her away, causing the glow to fade.

"Well, remember when the fire guy from your last fight hit you with fire and burned your clothes off, but you weren't hurt in the slightest?" Kagami said.

"Damaged probably suits it better, I still felt the flesh being seared from my bones..." Tony said.

"Alright then, you weren't damaged by the fire!" Kagami said. "Maybe that stone gives you some kind of immunity to it! Like, you can't be burned!" Kagami said. Tony hummed.

"That.. would make sense... I had it with me at the time. And maybe it was given to Dart by Amaterasu a few years ago." Tony smiled.

"I wonder if it will cause you to transform like Dart did?" Kagami said.

"You saw the tournament?" Tony smiled.

"Yeah, it was pretty awesome!" Kagami said.

"Then you know your girlfriend's a badass." Tony chuckled. "She completely owned our fight. I don't think there was really ever any chance of me winning without my powers." Tony chuckled.

"Actually I never got to see that fight! I was looking forward to it too." Kagami smiled. "Not that I wanted to see you get beat up or anything!" Kagami added.

"I understand!" Tony laughed. "It was pretty epic! I wouldn't mind watching it myse-OW!" He yelled as something burned his neck. Energy knocked the burning clothes iron away from him. "What the hell was that?" He yelled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Nope! No burn!" Matsuri said.

"Geez! That hurt a LOT Matsuri!" Tony shouted.

"But it didn't actually burn you!" Matsuri pointed out. Tony rubbed the back of his neck in an effort to ease the pain.

"Still, that hurt." Tony sighed. "I guess that kind of confirms your theory though Kagami. Good job." He said. "I don't think it's what caused Dart to transform though. The light that enveloped him was more silver, I'd imagine this light would be red." Tony said.

"But the light when the two get close is white." Kagami pointed out.

"Good point." Tony said. "If it does make me transform, then how does it though?" Tony thought out loud. Kagami sighed.

"There, I can't help ya. I have no idea how your powers work." Kagami said.

"Honestly, I hardly do either." Tony laughed. "All I know is that I can do things with my mind. I don't know how I do it half the time myself. I think of something with energy, and it happens." Tony chuckled. Tony looked up at the clock to see it was about time for the next fight. He got up.

"Alright, it's time for the tournament that I'm going to win." Tony said.

"Alright, let's go!" Miki said as the family got up. They all piled into the Hiiragi van and Tadao began driving them to the tournament.

"So who are you fighting this time?" Kagami asked.

"I dunno. We aren't told ahead of time." Tony said.

"I guess Kona and Tsuki will just meet us there..." Kagami said.

"I hope so!" Tony laughed. They pulled up close to the tournament grounds to see a giant crowd of people gathered outside. Everyone got out of the van and Tony ran up. "Hey, what's going on?" He asked.

"Ryu? The tournament arena is being repaired, but your fight was never called off or postponed. Where is it taking place?" A random person asked.

"I don't know, this is the first I've heard of it." Tony said. At the sound of "Ryu" though, the crowd turned around and started flocking him with questions about the match. Tony struggled with answering them for a moment, then grew exasperated with the sheer volume. He jumped out of the crowd, to their astonishment, and landed near the entrance. He tried opening it, but the door was locked.

"It's locked Ryu." A girl said.

"No kidding." He chuckled. "Isn't that cute." He commented on the locked door. "Open." He commanded. The lock clicked and the doors swung open, to resounding gasps from the audience. He took a few steps in and, just before he could be stampeded, he smirked at the crowd. "Close." He commanded. The doors closed behind him and the lock clicked shut again. Tony ran around the grounds, trying to find anyone who could answer his question. If he was still fighting, he had to know where.

"Hey, how did you get in here?" A worker asked.

"I'm Ryu Tora no Kami." Tony answered.

"That doesn't answer my question!" The man protested. Tony smirked.

"Yes it does." He said before he continued. Finally, he met Akira. "Akira, what's going on?" Tony asked.

"Kan-chan? Hey, what do you mean?" She asked.

"Where am I fighting? Was the match postponed?" Tony asked. Akira scratched the back of her head.

"Well, the arena repairs took longer than we thought, so we're holding this round outside." Akira said. "Yesterday, one of the fighters tripped and fell into one of the holes made by the Fire Ferrets, so it was decided that we needed to fix it before matches could be held in there again."

"So it's just outside?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, unfortunately since there's no protection of any kind out there, the audience will be forced to watch a live filming of it." Akira said.

"Damn. That's understandable though." Tony said. "So when is it?" Tony asked.

"I was actually on my way there right now to start the fight. Where's your team?" Akira asked.

"I assumed they'd be meeting me here." Tony sighed.

"They might be in the crowd outside! I'll see if I can stall the match, meanwhile they set up a big T.V. out front where the crowd gathered. You'll be able to see when I can't stall anymore and come back. I'm sure they're in the crowd though." Akira said.

"Got it. Thanks!" Tony shouted as he ran back. _Where are you two?_ Tony thought.

* * *

**POV Konata**

"Konata, wake up!"

"Five more minutes..." Konata mumbled.

"It's time for the tournament, we're gonna be late!"

"No... Bed..." Konata mumbled, growling as she buried her face into the pillow. There was a giggle.

"Get up before drastic measures need to be taken."

"Drastic..." Konata mumbled. She was about to turn around, but it was too late. A shrill scream followed. "How could you do that?" She shouted as she bolted from the bed and backed away from the girl. Her face was a deep crimson as she rubbed her now sore bottom, which had been spanked by the now hysteric Tsuki.

"You wouldn't get up, I had to!" Tsuki laughed. Konata realized who was there.

"Tsuki! Where have you been?" She shouted.

"Not important, we have to go! The tournament, remember?" Tsuki said. Konata smacked herself on the head.

"That's right! Crap!" She shouted as the two bolted from the house. They ran as fast as they could without tiring themselves out since they would be of little use to the fight if they were exhausted upon arrival. "Can't you apparate like Tony?" Konata asked.

"Apparate? What's that?" Tsuki asked.

"Teleport!" Konata answered.

"I don't know how to do that!" Tsuki said. Konata almost cursed as they continued to run. They made it in short order to see a big screen television mounted on the wall. On it was Tony, standing alone in front of three familiar faces.

"Team Taiseishiki versus Team Kakashi!" Akira shouted. "Fight!"

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya Luckies~! I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami~!" Akira shouted.

"And I'm the assistant, Minoru Shiraishi!"

"Minoru, it's been too long since you were in the story, you need another part!" Akira said.

"Weren't you complaining that I had a part in it way back when?" Minoru asked.

"But I..." Akira started. "I was threatened by you before. I'll admit it." Akira sighed. "But now I want you to succeed! We're gonna rise to the top together!" Akira threw her arms out excitedly.

"Together, eh?" Minoru smiled. Akira suddenly looked over at him.

"N-not like that!" She blushed quickly.

"I didn't say anything about anything." Minoru smiled. Akira gasped a bit at her own outburst. She sighed.

_Who'd think I'd turn out to be a Tsundere?_ She thought to herself. "Whatever." She averted her gaze away from him and the camera.

*Music Tone*

"Well I guess that's all the time we have for today, join us next chapter, bye-nii." Akira mumbled, still looking off camera at anything she could.

"..."

"You okay Akira?"

"I gotta go do something."

"Akira, wait!"

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

I haven't had as much school the past couple days due to events occurring around here, so I've had a lot more time to work on this. I hope this chapter reaches you all in good health and that none of you have been affected too badly by the Hurricane that's hitting the Eastern US. Luckily, the biggest real tragedy for me recently is that I lost my flash drive. However, that's very bad news considering 90% of what has been up to date on what's going to happen was on it. So I either have to find it or retype most of the future events of Luckier Star, which I'm sure won't be nearly as good as what I have stored away. At the very least, I have a couple of old files I can use for the time being. I do really, really hope that I can find it soon though, because this is kind of frying my brain trying to remember everything I have on there (likely way more than ten MBs by this time) Well, wish me luck and have a safe day everyone!


	46. Chapter 46: The Semi Final Round

Chapter 46: The Semi Final Round

Ah Sqweebs, yes it was a reference to Flygon! And Nosferatu was an old German film that was kind of an adaptation of Dracula, if I'm correct. Gigarot, I think a spank was the best idea ever. It was not my idea, it was another reference to Flygon, however. A hurricane has no chance against me! A flash drive, however, will be devastating. And I have yet to find it, after looking around my house. Literally tearing some of my couch apart. An Inori and Matsuri story? Interesting idea. I have a couple ideas. Still in color form in my head. I'm not sure which color yet though. I think it's going to be a good color though. Maybe I can look into it. And I don't really have to wait for new ideas entirely, it's more the issue of how I wrote it. I write much better when I'm writing on the spot, not really from a previous thought, so it was likely a lot better than what I'm going to write once I get there again. Duffquick, way to give me a shot of confidence about the flash drive... I kid. Still, I think it's probably gone for good. Which sucks. I've begun rewriting some of the things already, and a couple will probably turn out better, but for the most part it will probably be worse. A guest... Or is it two? I can't tell since it only says guest. Glad to see the guests are liking it though! HolyRiot, you needn't wait anymore! It is here, so read on for the knife! If it's in this chapter...

* * *

**POV Tony**

"Hey Naruto, we never got our match!" Tony shouted upon seeing his opponent.

"Yeah, true! Looks like we're actually going to get it after all!" Naruto shouted.

"Well, shall we get this out of the way?" Kakashi sighed.

"Sure thing." Tony smiled. "Ready?"

"Go!" Naruto shouted, running up and throwing a punch. As Tony guarded, Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke the instant his fist made contact. Tony lowered his guard a second to see nothing where Naruto had been.

"..Wha-" Tony started before he realized the other two were gone as well. "Whoa... They really are ninja..." Tony muttered.

"CHA~!" He heard from above. He didn't waste the time to look up, but jumped back, dodging a punch from Sakura that practically destroyed the ground it landed in. She looked up with a smile.

_These guys are trying to kill me..._ Tony thought as he threw a kick at the girl, but failed as she caught it. She threw a punch that Tony barely dodged. A blue... aura, for lack of a better word, seemed to go from her fist in a wave. It also was covering said fist. _One hit from those and I'm a goner..._Tony thought. He had never seen her fight before, but in his experience, glowy things coming from otherwise normal humans generally meant a lot of pain. Tony kicked Sakura's stomach with enough force to kick her back. As she flew through the air, Kakashi flash stepped over and caught her. He set her down and started a flurry of hand signs. _What is he-_ Tony thought.

"Water Style: Exploding Water Shock Wave!" Kakashi shouted, putting his hand to the ground and causing water to come out of freaking _nowhere_ and flood the area.

_What the hell?_ Tony yelled in his head. _What is this?_ Kakashi started another series of hand signs that were fast enough, Tony couldn't even see what signs he was forming.

"Water Style: Water Dragons!" Kakashi shouted. Several dragons made of water came up from the flood around Kakashi and started rushing at Tony. Tony looked in horror.

_**That's it!**_ Tony yelled in his head, jumping back. The dragons pulled up just before hitting the ground and kept rushing towards Tony. Tony started running, the dragons giving chase. He glanced back at Kakashi to see him making another series of hand signs. _**More? What's next...?**_ Tony wondered. However, his main concern was dodging water dragons so the thought didn't really go anywhere.

"Lightning Style: Electrified Water Dragons!" Kakashi shouted. Electricity coming from the ninja's hand surrounded the dragons.

_**As if they weren't deadly eno-woah!**_ Tony thought as he dodged Naruto, a dangerous looking blue sphere in his hand.

"Rasengan!" Naruto shouted. Naruto's momentum kept him going, however, straight into one of the dragons. He disappeared in a puff of smoke. Again.

_**What the hell...**_ Tony thought.

"Ice Style: Frozen Thunder Shards!" Kakashi shouted as his dragons turned into giant shards of ice with electricity flowing around them. Tony skidded to a stop as he turned around.

_**Alright, that tears it...**_ He thought, putting his hands to the ground. He willed a barrier come between him and his opponent. He felt his energy diminish as an invisible slanted wall was made in front of him. The shards of ice shattered off into different directions. He looked over by chance to see Sakura was a millisecond away. He threw her back in a desperation spell, causing his energy to dip much lower. _**Damn... Hmmm...**_ Tony hummed, developing an idea. _**I wonder...**_ Tony smiled. He put his hands together. The three ninja stopped, wary of the boy's smile and sudden hand sign. "**Hachi Style: God Seal Release!**" Tony yelled. He could see the three flinch from his sudden change of voice. A presence entered his mind.

_Hey kid, what's up?_ Hachiman asked.

_**I've got a fight here I think you would enjoy.**_ Tony smiled.

_Cool, let me see... Ooh, three at once, huh?_ Hachiman asked.

_**Yup, there's nothin' to do but to knock 'em all down together! **_Tony smiled.

_Alrighty!_ Hachiman shouted as energy started to flood into Tony. He could feel Hachiman watching his moves and the enemies' moves.

"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto yelled as what seemed thousands of Naruto's appeared.

_**Boss...**_ Tony thought nervously.

_Easy._ He heard. Tony could feel Hachiman working a spell through him. Somehow, he knew what he was supposed to do.

"**Almighty Devastation!**" Tony yelled, throwing his right hand up. Everything in front of him suddenly seemed to shatter as a force went out in front of him, cutting or otherwise destroying just about everything organic in front of him. Everything but the original Naruto disappeared in an enormous puff of smoke. Naruto was thrown back. _**Whoa...**_ Tony thought with astonishment.

_Two to go!_ Hachiman shouted, obviously having fun.

"Naruto!" Kakashi shouted. He lifted his headband to reveal a red eye. Tony looked over, but Hachiman stopped him.

_Don't look in his eyes!_ Hachiman practically hissed. Tony stopped.

"Fire Style: Massive Fireball!" Kakashi shouted. Just as he said, a massive ball of flames erupted from his masked mouth and shot forth, incinerating everything that it touched. As the fire came towards him, Tony smirked.

_**May I?**_ Tony asked his partner.

_Absolutely._ He heard.

"**Fire Style: Divine Flame Jutsu!**" Tony shouted, taking the same pose as his opponent. A fireball made of blue flames went from him, much bigger than Kakashi's. Tony smiled and hummed in satisfaction as barely any of his energy left him because of the God bolstering his strength and the fact that fire was coming easier to him. Hachiman seemed to take interest in this fact, but decided to comment later. Kakashi's eyes widened as his fireball was consumed, a larger fireball coming closer.

_Is that... God's Fire? What on earth... How does he know the second most powerful Fire Jutsu? The only fire that's more powerful is Amaterasu..._ Kakashi thought. He made two hand signs. "Water Style: Water Wall!" He shouted, causing a giant water barrier to form between him and the fire. It was barely enough. As the water and fire settled, Kakashi took to a knee in exhaustion. He made two simple hand signs and the world seemed to melt around Tony. Leaves started to circle all around him. He leaped backwards, but something seemed... weird. He saw Tsukasa, beaten, limbs broken, and bloody.

"Kan-kun... Why didn't you-..." Tsukasa coughed up more blood and fell on the ground, her face making a sickening crunch as a pool of blood surrounded her. Tony walked over, eyes wide, and collapsed to his knees, tears pouring down his face. He picked her up in his arms.

"**Tsukasa... What-...**" Tony muttered in a cracked voice, cursing himself. _**Damn it! I got caught up in the fight!**_ His voice cracked in his head as well. He was about to lose it completely until his heard:

_Kid, that's not her! You're in an illusion; the white haired one put you in it!_ Hachiman shouted.

_**Wait... What?**_ Tony asked.

_Tsukasa is fine. He put you under an illusion to make you THINK she wasn't!_ Hachiman explained.

… _**That son of a bitch.**_ Tony seethed. _**Release the illusion.**_ Tony thought. Reality followed his will as this world melted away and the previous one returned. He opened his eyes and saw Kakashi. A deep growl erupted from Tony's throat. Kakashi looked visibly shaken by it. "**Are you ready to die you bastard?**" Tony asked.

"Wa-wait, I thought this was a friendly match?" Kakashi asked.

"**It was. Until you showed me my future wife dying in my arms. That kinda put me off.**" Tony said, putting as much scorn in his voice as he could. He started walking towards Kakashi, who looked panicked. Kakashi took out a food pill and hurriedly ate it before starting another series of hand signs.

"Hidden Mist Jutsu!" Kakashi shouted as mist shrouded the field and him. Tony arrived where the ninja had been. He wasn't there anymore. Tony started building energy.

"**LOK VAH KOOR!**" With a powerful roar saturated with energy, he dispersed the mist. Kakashi came out of the dissipating mist, his hand filled with electricity.

"Lightning Blade!" He shouted. Tony caught Kakashi's hand by the wrist, squeezing it with enough strength to break it. Kakashi winced in pain, but started to turn white. Tony stepped back, but it wasn't enough to get him away as Kakashi's Lightning clone exploded in a flurry of electricity. As Tony took the shock, he barely flinched, his rage keeping him from even feeling it. However, he was stunned for a moment as electricity waved back through the water he was in from the flood.

_**I'll have to think of a way to stop that lightning...**_ Tony thought. A piece of paper was also stuck to his forehead.

_Good, the clone got him. I don't know how he got such a powerful being to lend him strength, but he didn't even flinch when my clone hit him. Whatever is helping him though, the sealing tag should take care of it._ Kakashi thought as a black and white image showed him using his Eye Mind Reading technique he had copied from Hanare to see a very powerful being helping Tony. It then showed his clone slapping the tag onto Tony's head just before exploding. Tony felt his energy drop a bit.

_What's this then?_ Hachiman laughed. _You won't be taking this son of Izanagi down without a fight!_ He shouted. The tag burned up.

_What's going on?_ Sakura wondered, having just gotten back from the massive force that had pushed her back. Kakashi stepped back.

_How powerful is this thing?_ He wondered. "Sakura!" He shouted. The girl looked and nodded.

"Right!" Sakura shouted. _He's more dangerous than we anticipated..._ She said. She took a deep breath and pounded the ground, causing said ground in front of her and up to Tony to crush and break into boulders. Tony looked around very quickly to see what was around. The sun was now at his back. Tony got an idea. He jumped off the boulder that was lifted under him just enough that the sun blinded Sakura. He was falling towards the girl, deciding on exactly what to do. Hachiman agreed vehemently.

"**CHA~!**" He yelled as his fist was empowered. He made contact with his face, sending her crushing into the ground.

_Two down!_ Hachiman shouted, glee radiating from him. Tony looked back at Kakashi and saw chakra gathering around him. Tony got a look at Kakashi's eye to see it was red with three Tomoe around the pupil.

"Lightning Style: Massive Lightning Beast Running Jutsu!" Kakashi shouted as a massive beam of lighting rushed at Tony. He grunted; stunned for a second by the fact that electricity was running through the water he was standing in. He shook it off, however, and thought.

_Kid, don't forget, it is lightning._ Hachiman said.

_**Hmm... Got it!**_ Tony smiled. Hachiman was interested in Tony's idea, as the boy had withheld his thought. Tony braced himself and put a hand out. Tony let the lightning make contact, surprising and scaring Hachiman a little bit.

_What the hell kid?_ Hachiman shouted. Tony, however, paid no attention to the god.

_**Lighting is just disturbed energy seeking to restore balance. So if I can channel my own energy and give it direction, maybe I can lead it back!**_ He thought. He started to control his energy and allowed it to flow up his arm. The lightning began to go straight to the other arm, but Tony very quickly detoured it down through his stomach. It was an intense, exhilarating, and terrifying experience. Tony knew that, had he not directed the lightning through his stomach, it would have gone through his heart. And he knew he wouldn't be able to heal that. He then lead his energy up to his other arm, and finally through his hand. To his immense satisfaction, the lightning followed his energy and out through his other arm without causing damage. He directed the lightning at Kakashi.

_… Damn kid. Never would have thought of that..._ Hachiman said. Tony, quite happy with himself, shot forth at where Kakashi would stop dodging. He ran up correctly and smashed Kakashi in his face, throwing him back. He turned to water midair, said water splashing into the ground.

_**Why won't he give up?**_ Tony sighed in his head. Suddenly, the water around him started to stir. Tony looked around and added a large amount of energy to the environment around him. Water suddenly came up in spirals around him, about to maim him. The energy he added, however, increased the temperature around him significantly enough to cause the water to evaporate before it hit Tony. Tony looked up to see a giant wolf made of water. Tony's eyes widened. _**What in the living hell is that!? How much energy does this guy have?**_ Tony wondered. _**Does he have a god helping him too?**_

_I suppose that's possible, there may be beings as powerful or more so than me or the others. If that's the case, we're gonna have to be smarter about how we spend this energy._ Hachiman said. Tony started thinking about the fight thus far. A strategy struck him.

_**Gotcha. Hey boss, I have an idea, what do you think?**_ Tony asked as he relayed his thought to Hachiman.

_A tad reliant on an assumption, but why not? Give it a shot!_ The god replied. Tony started to focus as much as he could while dodging water blasts aimed from the wolf. Tony put out two of his fingers, controlling the energy around them to the extremes of his ability, separating the yin and yang energy in the air around his fingers. Holding it for an instant, he let it go, causing the energy to come crashing back together. A powerful bolt of lightning surrounded his fingers. As he moved his hand, the lightning followed. He moved his hand up, but the lightning shot from his hand into the sky. He scowled.

_**I can't control that nearly as much as I like...**_ Tony sighed.

_That was pretty awesome kid._ Hachiman commented, referring to Tony's production of lightning.

_**I don't have nearly the energy or strength that you do, so I have to be too able to come up with ways to do things with as little energy as possible!**_ Tony smiled, happy to have genuinely impressed the god. He replicated it, making more lightning. Tony jumped, barely able to keep the lightning at his fingertips. The wolf shot more water at Tony, but this time, Tony let the lightning go directed at the blast. Not only did the water vaporize in a huff of smoke, but electricity shot through the wolf, down through it and into the flood water. The wolf shook off the electricity in an instant. It drew its claw back, but suddenly splashed to the ground. The water all started to evaporate. Kakashi could be seen on one knee, barely able to keep himself up.

_And that's the lot!_ Hachiman shouted. Tony could somehow tell he was smiling. Sakura got up on very shaky legs, putting her hand to her cheek. Her hand started glowing green. After a moment, she had healed the broken bone in her jaw.

"Okay, we seriously underestimated you..." Sakura muttered as she looked over to where she thought Naruto was. He wasn't there. "Where... Where did he go?" Sakura wondered. She looked around, along with Kakashi. A moment passed where no one could find him.

_**Boss?**_ Tony asked his partner.

_He's okay, I just pushed him._ Hachiman said. Tony looked to his right. Naruto stood there, yellow irises, horizontal bar-like pupils, and reddish-orange pigmentation around his eyes, arms folded.

"Good job, I didn't think I would have to use this Ryū." Naruto shouted.

_I guess I didn't get him good enough, eh? I held back on the real one to avoid killing him..._ Hachiman commented. Two Naruto's appeared behind the original, each forming a Rasengan in each of the ninja's hands. Naruto dashed forward, on Tony in seconds though he had been at least twenty meters away. The sudden movement surprised Tony, barely having time to dodge as both spheres went above him, Tony having to bend backwards to dodge. While he was dodging, Tony put his hands on the ground behind him and brought his feet up, kicking Naruto in the stomach and throwing him into the air. Tony got back on his feet to see Naruto coming at him with another Rasengan. Tony leaned back, avoiding it at the last instant and grabbed the ninja's wrist as he had Kakashi earlier and broke it. The clone disappeared, but no electricity attacked him this time. As the smoke from the clone cleared, Tony saw a massive Shuriken that seemed to be made of air. Tony back flipped high enough that he stayed in the air long enough that the Jutsu passed harmlessly under him and curved up into the sky.

"**Something tells me that was lethal...**" Tony commented.

_You're right about that... If most of these attacks had hit you, you probably wouldn't have survived without my assistance. That one you just dodged might have even killed you before I could do anything._ Hachiman confirmed.

_**Damn... These guys mean business...**_ Tony smiled.

_That's what makes it fun._ Hachiman said.

"Sage Art: Super Giant Rasengan Barrage!" Naruto yelled as a large amount of clones appeared out of nowhere and formed massive spheres in their hands from above.

_**Isn't this overkill? Is beating me really this important?**_ Tony yelled in his head.

_Look at it from their point of view kid. They're trained ninja who have been trained since birth to be able to beat opponents. Suddenly, they find some random person who's beating them badly. You know how infuriating that is?_ Hachiman asked. Tony laughed.

_**Yes, yes I do Shin.**_ Tony thought to his partner.

_Oh yeah..._ Hachiman laughed. _Still. In their eyes, you're a lot stronger than you should be. And I think the white haired one saw me earlier, so they might know that I'm helping you._ Hachiman said.

_**How?**_ Tony asked.

_That red eye._ Hachiman said.

_**What's with that, anyway?**_ Tony asked.

_It's their innate ability, like your powers were. The eyes also connect very closely to the brain, plus the fact that their eyes have more cones and rods than the normal eye, so they can perceive things at a much higher rate and thus memorizes things much quicker. Plus, their eyes are able to communicate energy to others, giving them the ability to put you into illusions._ By this time Naruto was about on him. Tony took a deep breath.

_**Ultra sonic level REACHED!**_ Tony shouted in his head. "**HOWLING VOICE!**" Tony let loose a roar absolutely saturated with energy, blowing the ninja and his clones away. Naruto landed on his feet.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted as two clones appeared and formed a Rasenshuriken in the ninja's hand. Kakashi huffed.

_I might have enough chakra for one more... _Kakashi thought. "Hidden Mist Jutsu!" He shouted as the battlefield was once again obscured in a blanket of mist, effectively blinding Tony.

_**Damn, I can't see...**_ Tony covered his eyes. _**Shall I?**_

_You know what to do._ Hachiman said. Tony smirked.

_**Gotcha boss.**_ He said. He breathed in. "**LOK VAH-**" He began shouting.

"Now!" Naruto shouted as he burst through the mist with a Rasenshuriken in his hand. As he neared, Tony could hear his heartbeat.

_**Wha...**_ Tony thought incoherently. One.

"Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!" Naruto shouted. Two.

_KID!_ Hachiman shouted. Three. In that instant, Hachiman's energy exploded to many times its previous capacity. The sheer power overwhelmed Tony as Hachiman put an armor of pure energy around Tony. The power of the attack began scraping against the armor. The sound of energy grinding against energy filled the air, not dissimilar to the sound of metal screeching against metal. It hurt his ears immensely. As the energy subsided, Naruto was on his knee, eyes normal again. There was a great feeling of mental exhaustion coming from Hachiman.

_**Boss... What was...**_ Tony began to ask. With a powerful lethargy, Hachiman spoke slowly.

_Later... Try not to call on me for a little while..._ And his presence vanished.

"Winner! Team Taiseishiki!" Akira announced.

"... WHOA! Man Ryū, you're WAY stronger than I thought!" Naruto shouted. Tony blinked a few times as he eased off. Sakura ran over and started to heal them both, having an okay amount of chakra since she didn't fight much. Big surprise there...

"... Um... So that seemed really easy for you to heal." Tony commented.

"I've had a lot of practice." Sakura said. Kakashi got to his feet.

"How did you create such powerful lightning without using hand signs?" He asked. "I tried to copy your technique, but all I could see was you adding chakra to the air. And then lightning." Kakashi said.

"Disturb the balance of energy, and the energy will try and restore it. In the process, lightning is created." Tony said.

"Ingenious..." Kakashi mumbled.

"How did you take my Rasenshuriken without a scratch? No one has ever done that!" Naruto exclaimed. Tony chuckled.

"All I can say is that the True God of Fighting had a trick up his sleeve." Tony said. He was extremely confused as to what exactly Hachiman had done, but he wouldn't really have much time to contemplate it.

"Kan-kun~!" Tsukasa shouted as she ran up and hugged him. He hugged her back and twirled her around, pecking her on the lips. "You won!"

"Hey, it's the girl you like! You two got together after all, huh?" Sakura smiled.

"That's so cool!" Naruto cheered.

"Right?" Tony said excitedly.

"I thought you said you loved her though..." Naruto said. Tsukasa was standing to the side of Tony bashfully, a red glow on her face around a large smile. He had his arm around her shoulder.

"I did say I love her and I do! It's pink hair over here who said like." Tony pointed at Sakura, not able to remember her name. She looked quite annoyed by her new name.

"My name is Sakura." She said sternly.

"Well, I didn't know that." Tony chuckled.

"You... said you loved me... Back then?" Tsukasa smiled a bit wider.

"Of course. Tsukasa, I've known I've loved you since the Cosplay Cafe incident." Tony smiled. "I hugged you, I loved you. Simple as that." Tony rubbed her on her shoulder.

"Aw~!" Tsukasa whined. Tony chuckled.

"What is it?" Tony asked.

"You knew you loved me before I knew I loved you!" Tsukasa whined. "I loved you when you were in the hospital after your fight with Shin~!" Tsukasa said. Tony laughed.

"I win!" He cheered.

"When did you start liking me?" Tsukasa demanded. Tony thought back.

"Um..." Tony hummed. "I think the first time I began thinking of you as more than a friend, it was right after we sang in that bar, but romantically, I'm not sure." Tony said. "Probably didn't even begin to think like that until I saw you getting held hostage by that thug though..." Tony thought back. Tsukasa whined and started hitting Tony on the chest.

"You even knew you liked me before I knew I started liking you!" Tsukasa shouted.

"Face it Tsukasa, you're just so much more lovable than I am!" Tony said. She stopped hitting, tired.

"Am not." She crossed her arms and looked away with a blush.

_Is she..._ "Tsu-chan~..." Tony hugged her from behind. "Be very careful, you're acting a little like your sister and you know how we turned out." He teased, laying his head on her shoulder. She blushed.

"And you're acting like Kona-chan..." She said. Tony blinked.

"Our siblings are rubbing off on us..." He smiled.

"Yeah..." Tsukasa smiled.

"Have they forgotten that we're here?" Sakura mumbled.

"Looks like it..." Naruto scratched his head.

"Ryu." Kakashi interrupted Tony and Tsukasa.

"Hm?" He looked over. Upon seeing the serious expression on his face, he let go of Tsukasa and stood more attentively. "What's up?" He asked.

"I just wanted to tell you that I've heard a few things about Recoome. Apparently, he's angry with you, and he has people looking at you. He knows he can't take you himself, but he might be planning something. I just want you to watch your back. I don't know what kind of information he's trying gather, but it can't be good." Kakashi said.

"Thanks for the heads up." Tony smiled.

"No problem, but now we have to return to the village." Kakashi turned. He jumped and disappeared in a thin air.

_I must find out how he does that..._ Tony thought.

"Aw, looks like we're going... See you Ryu!" Naruto waved as he and Sakura jumped, both vanishing in the same manner Kakashi had.

"See ya Naruto!" Tony waved. He smiled and sighed contently. "So where are the others?" Tony asked.

"Back, probably watching all of this on the television..." Tsukasa said.

"Is that still running?" Tony asked, looking back at one of the cameras.

"Yeah, but I couldn't wait..." Tsukasa giggled. From the other side, the television quickly switched to that particular camera. Akira got in focus with Tony. Tsukasa, realizing that she was in the camera when she probably wasn't supposed to be, stepped out to the side, hopefully out of the camera's view.

"I'm here with Ryū Tora no Kami, a world champion fighter and, if I may say so, a real dream boat! So, Ryū, I know you and Tsukasa are an item and all, but you have to give the everyday girl some hope! Now tell us, what can the average girl do to steal you away from Tsukasa?" Akira asked playfully. Tony sighed. On any day prior to what happened with Tereya, he would have said it was very unlikely. Now, however, he knew it was impossible. Still, he knew that unless he gave the answer people would want to hear, he would be asked it in any future interviews of any kind. He looked over to Tsukasa, who gave a sympathetic look that told him it was up to him what to say. He knew she wanted him to tell the truth though, that nothing could be done.

_So, be hounded about this forever or make Tsukasa upset again..._ Tony sighed in his head. It was Tereya all over again, a no win situation.

"I know you'll probably say that nothing can be done to steal you away, but there's gotta be something, right~?" Akira asked. Tony sneaked one more glance at Tsukasa before sighing.

"Fine then. Listen closely." Tony said, causing Tsukasa and most every girl watching to lean forward.  
**"If **you wish to win o'er my hands,  
Every rose grows merry with time,  
Then you must follow all these commands,  
Then, you will be, a true love of **mine."** Tony started. Tsukasa perked up, but her spirit dropped as she realized Tony was_ actually_ about to tell people how to steal him from her.  
**"Tell** her to make me a cambric shirt,  
Every rose grows merry with time,  
Without no seams, nor needlework.  
Then, she will be, a true love of **mine."** Tony sang. Tsukasa got a bit confused.

_How can you do that?_ She wondered.

"**Tell** her to wash it in yonder dry well  
Every rose grows merry with time,  
Where water ne'er sprang, nor drop of rain fell  
Then, she will be, a true love of **mine." **Tony sang. Tsukasa continued puzzling.

_But how would someone do that? What does he mean?_ She kept wondering.

"**Tell** her to find me an acre of land,  
Every rose grows merry with time,  
Between the salt water~, and the sea strand.  
Then, she will be, a true love of **mine."** Tony sang. Tsukasa's puzzler was sore.  
_**"**_**Tell **her to reap it with a sickle of leather  
Every rose grows merry with time,  
And tie up the sheaves with a rope made of heather  
Then, she will be, a true love of **mine."** Tony continued. Tsukasa came to a realization.

_That's the point... You CAN'T do these! These are all impossible... He's giving out tasks that can't be carried out!_ Tsukasa giggled to herself. Tony had never intended to allow any girl to have any chance at stealing him. As if deciding to reveal the secret almost instantly after Tsukasa had realized it, Tony continued.

**"Love** imposes impossible tasks,  
Every rose grows merry with time,  
Though never more than your own heart asks,  
And I must know you're a true love of **mine."** Tsukasa smiled to herself.  
**"Dear,** when thou hast finished thy task,  
Every rose grows merry with time,  
Come to me, my hand for to ask,  
For then thou art a true love of **mine."** Tony finished. Akira was stunned for a moment at the thought Tony must have put into the response. She recovered quickly enough.

"Well, you heard it here first! Any girl who can complete this list is gonna be Ryū's true love!" Akira shouted. "Maybe I~ should compete..." Akira giggled playfully. "I guess that's all the time we have, Ryū has a life too, ya know! I'll see ya all next time! Bye-nii~!" Akira shouted with her signature wave. She waited a moment, and then turned to Tony. "And we're off the air. I'll be honest; you've got a pretty good voice on you Kan-chan!" Akira complimented.

"Thank you." He smiled.

"Recently, my entertainment at the bar has been calling in sick a whole lot. If you ever wanted to come fill in for him... You'd be welcome!" Akira said. Tony smiled a bit wider.

"I'll consider it! I have to win this tournament first though." Tony said. He thought for a moment. "And maybe Tsukasa could come up with me too!" Tony smiled at his girlfriend.

"Sure! She has a pretty voice!" Akira chimed. Tsukasa blushed.

"It isn't that good..." She mumbled. This was only the second time she could recall that her singing was complimented outside a karaoke place.

"Nonsense, when the gods want something high class for them to listen to, they put on a recording of a scratched up record of a guy listening to you singing Tsukasa." Tony said. She blushed deeper, but giggled at how silly and overdramatic he was being.

"Yo, Kan-kan!" Konata ran up, along with the rest of the group. Tony glanced quickly and noticed his two latest friends were missing.

_Guess it makes sense; they'll need a bit of time to forgive me for being such an asshole._ Tony thought. "Hey Kon-kon. Where have you been?" Tony asked.

"Tsuki here disappeared on me, so I spent most of the night trying to find her. When I didn't, I overslept. Then Tsuki came back and woke me up!" Konata said. Tony turned to the girl.

"So it was your fault! You were why I had to fight three freaking ninjas by myself!" Tony pointed accusingly at Tsuki. This gave her pause. It was a long pause. It almost seemed like a mental yawn. After a few seconds, she knocked herself softly on the head; winked one eye closed, and stuck out her tongue.

"Whoops!" She said simply. The issue seemed a lot less important that it had just a moment ago. Neither Tony nor Konata felt it odd enough to inquire about her absence any more. "I gotta go do something, I'll meet you back at the house later Konata!" Tsuki said and, just like that, ran off. Tsukasa hugged Tony's arm and leaned on his shoulder. He smiled.

"Kan-kun..." She sighed contently. Tony almost squealed. The joy he heard in her voice made him happier than he could describe with words. "I heard what you said..." Tsukasa said with a subdued delight in her voice.

"What did I say? I've said a lot of things. And when did I say it? I've said a lot of things recently." Tony teased, though he honestly had no clue what she was talking about.

"It was after you woke up from that dream during the fight... You were really angry when you said it, and I was really scared 'cause I thought you were really going to kill him, but... Well, you didn't. But you called me... You called me your future wife..." She said with even more pleasure in her voice than before. Tony smiled, chuckling softly.

"Well, I have every intention of removing the "Future" from that phrase someday." He said, leaning his head on her's.

"I'm never going to leave you again." She said.

"If you do, I'm coming with you." Tony said. Tsukasa giggled. Kagami and Konata smiled at their siblings getting along so well, but it reminded the Tsundere of something.

"Kona, Oban started yesterday. When are you going to tell your Dad about us?" Kagami asked, a little annoyed.

"..." Konata sighed.

"Tomorrow?" Kagami suggested. Konata sighed again.

"Yeah... I'll do it tomorrow... The tournament is going to be delayed for a day so that they can repair the arena. Or at least, that's what the guy at the gate said..." Konata said. Kagami smiled and put a hand on Konata's head.

"Thanks Kona. I know how hard this is for you. Do you want me to be there when you tell him?" Kagami asked. Konata thought for a moment.

"I... don't think you can be." Konata said.

"What do you mean by that?" Kagami asked a bit sadly.

"This kind of thing isn't something I think I'm just going to be able to approach him and say like you did with your Dad. I don't know why I can't, but I just can't. You're right, by all means; he's going to love it. He took a full day out of his life to drive probably a few prefectures and back again just to pick up a Yuri game. I just have this nagging feeling in the back of my head that tells me that things aren't going to go so smoothly." Konata sighed. "I'll tell him tomorrow." Kagami smiled.

"Hey, don't be so nervous. We've got one thing going for us." Kagami said.

"And what's that?" Konata asked.

"Things always seem to work out the opposite of what we think will happen. Way back when, to be honest, I didn't think Tsukasa could make any more friends with how withdrawn she was. Then she met you and now she has plenty of friends. I never did get to thank you for that." Kagami smiled. She hugged Konata softly. Konata smiled.

"You don't need to thank me. With how cute Tsukasa is, how can anyone not want to help her?" Konata giggled jokingly. Kagami sighed.

"She was so depressed back then. You really have no idea how much you helped her by being her friend." Kagami said softly. Konata smiled a bit wider.

"It's been my pleasure. As long as they aren't gonna try and steal you away, fail though they might, I'm happy to make any friends." Konata said.

"And that's one of the things that I love about you." Kagami said. She decided to let the conversation rest a moment before continuing on her original train of thought. "Then, I thought she would never get a boy. Hell, I even thought that she and Miyuki might have been going out a few times with how clingy Tsukasa got to her." Kagami giggled. "Now she's in love. Then with Dad. By the gods with Dad. I thought I was going to get disowned and kicked out of my house." Kagami said.

"You could have stayed with me Kagami." Konata said. Kagami giggled.

"Yeah, 'cause that wouldn't tip off your Dad at all." Kagami teased. "Still, it turned out fine. Every time we seem to think something will happen, the opposite tends to occur. And you think so adamantly that your Dad will reject you." Kagami said. "Well I say let yourself think that! If you thought he was going to accept you, I might actually entertain the thought that he might reject you. But you're too paranoid. It won't happen." Kagami said soothingly. Konata smiled.

"Thanks Kagami." She said. She then remembered something important. She hated to break up the moment she was having with Kagami, but her curiosity simply would not allow her to wait. She turned and pecked Kagami on the lips. "I have to ask Kan-kan something, is that okay?" She asked, still in the arms of her girlfriend.

"No." Kagami said. Konata giggled as Kagami released her, albeit reluctantly. Konata approached her brother and Tsukasa.

"M-my brother suggested that, huh?" Tony's face was the reddest it had ever been.

"Y-Y-Yeah..." Tsukasa mumbled.

"Hey Kan-kan, can I ask you something? I need your help." Konata said.

"Sure thing Kon-kon, what is it?" Tony asked, hoping to get the request out of the way quickly so he could go back to this conversation with Tsukasa. As bad as that sounded, he really wanted to talk to her more about the current subject.

"Well, it kind of has to be in private." Konata said quietly. Tony sighed and turned to Tsukasa.

"Hey Tsu-chan, can we talk about this later?" He asked. Tsukasa smiled through her blush and nodded.

"Yeah..." She said.

"And I mean it." Tony said, his face slowly returning to its ordinary hue. "I really want to talk about this." He said seriously.

"So do I." Tsukasa smiled cheerfully.

"Awesome." Tony smiled.

"How about we head back to my place and I cook us something to eat. Just watching you made me hungry! Then I can ask you the thing." Konata said.

"Sounds like a plan!" Tony cheered.

"I guess that means we're going home too, huh Tsukasa?" Kagami came up to her younger twin, who nodded in assent. Kagami lowered her voice to a whisper. "So you decided to go after what Masuta suggested, did you?" Kagami asked. When Tsukasa replied, it was in a similarly quiet tone.

"Yeah... He seemed excited... and like he actually wanted to try it..." Tsukasa said with a smile.

"Well, as long as you two sleep in different rooms, I guess I can give you my blessing." Kagami smiled and hugged her sister. Tsukasa felt overwhelming joy at hearing those words as she hugged her twin back. "You've grown up so much Tsukasa. I'm really proud of you." Kagami said into her ear. Tsukasa could feel tears stinging her eyes.

"Thank you so much Onee-chan." She tightened her hug and let her tears flow into Kagami's shoulder. Unlike how it may have happened in the past though, this time was for joy. Not tears of mourning, but tears of happiness. Her entire life, though Kagami had always discouraged the act, Tsukasa had looked up to Kagami with a sort of awe. Her older sister had been just that; her older sister, whether they were ten minutes apart, or three years. Kagami had always been ahead of her in almost every aspect of life. Now, it felt as though she were truly being recognized as being on level with her older sibling. Now, at least in one thing, she was her equal. The two of them indulged in their sentiment for long enough that their parents finally worked up the heart to break them apart.

"Hey guys, we should probably go." Miki said. Kagami and Tsukasa sighed and reluctantly broke apart. They looked around to see that they were alone with their parents.

"Where'd Inori and Matsuri go?" Kagami asked; Miki pointed at the Tsundere's phone. She looked at it to see a text message.

_Hey, me and Matsuri are going to lunch together! Tell Tony that his fight was really cool and Tsukasa that she should totally go for trying to live with him! Ciao~! -Inori_

Kagami stared blankly at the text message.

"Where'd they go?" Miki asked. Kagami sighed and put her phone away.

"On another date. They went to lunch." Kagami said. Tsukasa looked around.

"Wha? Date? Are they really dating? But they're siblings!" Tsukasa said.

"We're not sure, actually. They're being very vague about it." Kagami said. A question mark appeared above Tsukasa's head.

"Well... I support them!" Tsukasa decided. Kagami smiled a little.

"You know what..." She sighed. "If they're really serious about this, I do too. If this makes them happy, who are we to stand in their way?" She asked.

"Exactly!" Tsukasa said.

"Shall we go home?" Miki asked.

"Yeah, I think a day at home will be nice. It's been so long since we've stayed there for a whole day." Kagami laughed as they got into the van.

"I'm gonna cook when we get home, okay?" Tsukasa asked.

"But... We've already eaten..." Kagami said.

"I know. I just want to cook though." Tsukasa said.

"Maybe you could show Kagami a thing or two while you're at it?" Miki suggested. Kagami smiled again.

"Could you? Please?" She almost begged. Tsukasa sat there for a moment, taking it in.

_Onee-chan is asking for my help with something... And not just to make me feel good. She legitimately needs my help! It feels so cool to be on this side of it._ "Of course Onee-chan. I'd love to help." Tsukasa said. They arrived at home. "Let's go Onee-chan!" Tsukasa said excitedly, a fire in her eyes as she grabbed Kagami's hand. Kagami giggled as she was pulled out of the car and into the house. Kagami was dragged through the house, through the living room, and into the kitchen. "Alright!" She shouted, letting go of Kagami's hand and turning around. She clapped her hands together in delight at the situation.

"So, what are we doing now?" Kagami asked. Tsukasa smiled widely at the question.

"You're gonna make me your very best pancakes! I didn't get any before, so I wanna try them!" Tsukasa said happily.

"Okay then!" Kagami cheered. She set out to work with Tsukasa watching closely, getting out some of the butter from the refrigerator. She measured out the baking soda and flour. She got the milk out and began measuring that out as well.

"Um-!" Tsukasa began to say, but interrupted herself as she began thinking she was about to be rude.

"What's up?" Kagami asked, not pouring any more milk.

"Maybe... A little less milk?" She suggested. Kagami looked at the milk in the measuring cup. Her and her mother had spent hours finding what they thought was the perfect amount of milk. She looked back at Tsukasa, who was shifting her weight from one foot to the other, fidgeting nervously and biting her bottom lip. Kagami smiled. Unfortunately, the milk was sullied by the baking soda and flour, so she couldn't replace it. She smiled to Tsukasa.

"Just tell me when." She said as she began pouring out the milk down the sink. Tsukasa lit up. After a small amount of milk was gone, Tsukasa nodded.

"When." She said.

"So, how do you know how much milk I should have?" Kagami asked as she poured it into the mixing bowl. Tsukasa giggled nervously.

"I dunno, really... It's just kind of something I... know." Tsukasa said.

"You just... know? How?" Kagami asked.

"I don't know how I know, I just know that I know, you know?" Tsukasa asked uncertainly. Kagami had no idea what she was saying, but she nodded and smiled.

"I guess I can understand. It's kind of like a sixth sense, right?" She asked. Tsukasa smiled and leaned forward a bit in excitement.

"Yeah! That's it!" Tsukasa said. Kagami got out an egg and put in a part of it. She took some of the butter and put it in, starting to mix again. "Uh-!" Tsukasa interrupted herself once again. Kagami smiled and looked back at her little sister.

"Got any suggestions?" She asked.

"A... A little more?" Tsukasa suggested meekly. Kagami nodded and put her utensil to the butter once more.

"Like here?" She asked. Tsukasa stared for a moment before shaking her head. Kagami moved it back a tad. "Here?" She asked. Tsukasa smiled and nodded a bit. Kagami took off that much more butter and put it in.

"I'm sorry Onee-chan..." Tsukasa apologized. Kagami smiled.

"For what Tsukasa?" She asked.

"I asked you to make me your best pancakes, but all I've done is tell you what to do with them..." Tsukasa said guiltily. Kagami shook her head, pouring the batter into a sprayed pan on the oven.

"Don't worry about that Tsukasa; I need all the help I can get. Please, if you see anything I can do to improve my cooking, let me know! I don't want to be the girl that has to be cooked for every day. Even though I do intend to be the rice winner, I also want to know how to prepare it if I want to give my little Kona a special day." Kagami said. Tsukasa smiled.

"I understand that Onee-chan." She said. Kagami inhaled sharply as she remembered the vanilla. She looked at the batter that was almost starting to solidify.

"Hey Tsukasa, could you help me with something really quickly?" She asked in a hurry. Tsukasa rushed to her side.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"I accidentally forgot to put in an ingredient, what should I do?" Kagami asked. Tsukasa thought quickly.

"What was it?" She asked.

"Vanilla. I also didn't put in any cinnamon, like I was going to!" Kagami said, upset with herself. She had worked so hard to get this perfected, and yet she was still making mistakes like this! At the very least, she hadn't used cumin instead...

"Hmm." Tsukasa thought. "Can I see?" She asked. Without a word of assent or rejection, Kagami set down the spatula and let go of the pan. Tsukasa took it and tossed the pancake in the air, the unfinished pastry getting just enough air time for Tsukasa to get a look at both sides. She smiled and caught all of the batter back in the pan. "Well, we can't put it back in the mixing bowl. The bowl is plastic and at this temperature, it might melt it. Maybe..." She thought for an instant. She reached over and grabbed the vanilla from the cupboard, almost hurting her arm from having to stretch so much. She took it and looked at Kagami. "Onee-chan, about how much do you put in to it?" She asked. Kagami thought a moment.

"Usually... about a tea spoon, I think." Kagami said. Tsukasa nodded and turned back on the batter. She squirted the vanilla into it and began swirling it around with the spatula. Occasionally, she would begin moving the pan in a circular motion. "Why are you doing that?" Kagami asked.

"Helps keep the batter from becoming a pancake just yet." She said. She took out a container of cinnamon with a sprinkler cap on it and began shaking it, every shake tapping on the spatula. Kagami stood in awe watching her sister work. She tapped out about the amount of cinnamon that Kagami would have put in herself. She flipped the cinnamon back up so that it didn't come out anymore. When some flew out, Tsukasa expertly caught the flying cinnamon with the spatula. She smiled and handed the spatula back to Kagami.

"Thanks a lot Tsukasa." Kagami smiled back as she came back to the pan. She carefully picked up the pancake, it finally turning into an _actual_ pancake. Her hand trembled a little.

"You can do it Onee-chan." Tsukasa said reassuringly. Kagami breathed deeply and moved the spatula out from over the pan. She flipped the pancake and it hit the pan successfully. Kagami cheered loudly.

"Yes!" She shouted triumphantly. "I've never been able to do that before! It usually hits the stove or the floor!" She said.

"Good job Onee-chan, I'm proud of you!" Tsukasa congratulated, lightly hugging Kagami around her shoulders. Kagami sighed contently and closed her eyes for a moment, letting it sink it.

_This must be how Tsukasa feels whenever I help her with something. I really feel good. I'm happy I was good enough to get her praise._ Kagami thought. She opened her eyes and took the pan off the burner, and put it on one that wasn't on. She got the pancake on a spatula and turned to see Tsukasa had gotten a plate already, along with eating utensils. Kagami smiled and put the pancake on the plate.

"First bite is yours Onee-chan!" Tsukasa cut a piece off and poked at Kagami with it. Kagami smiled and bit it. She hummed.

"I think it's actually better Tsukasa!" Kagami said.

"Yeah?" Tsukasa asked.

"Yeah! I didn't think that little bit of butter and milk would make much of a difference." Kagami said. Tsukasa took off another piece of the pancake and popped it into her own mouth. She hummed.

"It's really good." She said. "That was awesome Onee-chan." She praised.

"Well, it isn't quite on your level, but I'm proud of it." Kagami smiled.

"You should be proud, this is excellent! I think it's better than mine!" Tsukasa said. Kagami blushed.

"There's no way it's that good! I had Tony taste test it, remember?" Kagami said.

"Well, still. It's really great Onee-chan." Tsukasa smiled.

"Thank you so much Tsukasa!" Kagami giggled. She had gotten word from the master! She was good!

"So, want to work on some dinner?" Tsukasa asked.

"Sure!" Kagami said. "Just let me go get something really quick!" Kagami said as she left the kitchen.

"Hurry back Onee-chan!" Tsukasa waved as Kagami ran to her room. She opened the door and walked in. Suddenly, she heard a door slam.

"Who is i-HUF!" Tadao could be heard, along with a loud thud that Kagami could only guess was him hitting the ground. The door to her room flew open as the intruder appeared.

* * *

**POV Konata**

Konata and Tony ran home.

"So, what is it you need to ask me?" Tony asked.

"Well, you see... Last night while I was looking for Tsuki... Something happened." Konata said, slowing to a walk. She saw that they were almost home and so decided a walk would be a sufficient speed to get them home after the conversation was finished.

"What kind of thing?" Tony asked.

"Some kid tried to kill me because of Kurono." Konata said. Tony's eyes widened.

"Wait, what?" He asked. "And you stopped him?"

"That's the weird thing... I didn't. I was too tired and didn't see him until it was too late." Konata said. "He stabbed at my kidney, but it halted about an inch away." Konata said. Tony sighed.

"And what did you need to ask me?" Tony asked. Konata took out the knife.

"This is the blade he used. It had some inscription on it, but I haven't gotten the chance to look at it. I was also wondering if maybe you could look at it to see if it was enchanted or something that might have helped me. I don't know, maybe there are other people like you out there who can use powers, you know?" Konata asked. She tossed the knife to Tony, which she felt was okay considering it was in its sheath still. He caught it without incident and took the blade out. The inscription, he saw, was more something he would assume was a gang sign. To be certain, he examined the blade with his mind to see if he there was any enchantment or latent energy that could be the result of an enchantment coming into effect.

"And it wouldn't go near your body?" Tony asked.

"That's another weird thing. It didn't offer any resistance when I put it to my skin myself." Konata said. Tony took out his phone and looked around online for a moment.

"The engraving is just a gang sign." He said. "And there are no enchantments on this blade. There never have been. It's about as enchanted as a potato that rolls into the sunset." Tony said. Konata giggled, though now thoroughly confused.

"Well, if that's the case, what saved me?" Konata asked. Tony thought.

"I dunno. I'll have to think about it more." He said. They arrived at Konata's home and silently agreed that that should end their current topic of conversation considering the company they were likely to be in in a moment. They walked into the house.

"Hey Konata, you home?" Sojiro asked.

"Yeah Dad!" Konata said.

"Awesome." He said. Konata smiled.

"Alright, I'm gonna start cooking." She said as she went into the kitchen. Tony followed her. "Uh-uh!" She protested. "No boys in the kitchen!" She shoved Tony out.

"Hey! Come on!" He shouted. Sojiro chuckled.

"She doesn't let me in there when she's cooking either." He said, scratching his cheek. "So, I saw your fight with those three today. That's some pretty crazy stuff!" Sojiro commented. Tony chuckled.

"Don't I know it? I was there." He said.

"True, true." Sojiro said. "So that's a pretty awesome looking sword." Sojiro gestured to the sword at Tony's side. "Why didn't you use it in the fight?" Tony thought for a moment.

"I'm not sure. I think I kind of forgot about it." He chuckled. Suddenly, the door burst open.

"Ojii-san, Onee-chan! I'm in love, I'm in love, and I don't care who knows it!" Yutaka exploded into the room, causing Tony to jump up. She ran up to Tony and glomped him around the neck, flying around in a circle. "Onii-chan, I'm in love!" Yutaka shouted. Tony chuckled at how moe the girl was. Sojiro smiled as Konata opened the door, coming halfway into the room.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Onee-chan, I'm in love!" Yutaka repeated. Konata gulped. Sojiro chuckled.

"Well? Don't keep us in suspense! Who is he?" Sojiro asked.

"Minami-chan!" Yutaka said innocently. Konata could have felt the mood shift from the kitchen, even without having come in.

"What?" Sojiro asked, a stony expression on his face. Yutaka blinked a few times.

"I'm in love with Minami-chan." She said again, convinced Sojiro had simply not heard her. Sojiro sighed.

"It's okay Yutaka. We can help you." He said, getting up. "Right Konata?" He turned to her. She remained silent. "Konata? You ARE with me on this, right?" He asked.

"..." Konata was afraid of what she might say if she opened her mouth.

"Tell her it's good to love a boy. Tony, you agree, right? You're dating Tsukasa." Sojiro said, looking around for support.

"Dad..." Konata mumbled. "I can't... I'm in love with Kagami." Konata said, coming into the room fully and walking a few steps. Her father tensed up.

"Konata... There are ways to help you with this. It's just a phase, you're going through." Sojiro said. "We can get you well." He said, started to walk slowly to his daughter. Konata backed up a step.

"I don't need help, Dad, I'm not sick... I'm just in love." Konata said.

"But this isn't natural!" Sojiro protested. Konata glanced at Tony. He threw her a look telling her that he would beat Sojiro within an inch of his life if she but asked. She smiled a little bit, letting him know it wasn't necessary. His support, however, in this rejection was uplifting for her. She gained confidence in these actions.

"What about the girls in your games, Dad? Are they "not natural"?" Konata asked. "You play girls with lesbians in them all the time. All the time! You just got back from getting a game with only lesbians in it! Do you know how much of a hypocrite that makes you right now?" Konata asked.

"But it's never in my home! In my family!" Sojiro said. Konata looked Sojiro very hard in the eyes.

"Dad, don't make me choose between you and Kagami. You aren't going to like what happens." She said very seriously. Sojiro was taken aback and rethought his strategy.

"You still don't get it! People get beaten for things like this, beaten and killed! Now stop this right now!" He ordered.

"That's why I took martial arts! So I can defend myself!" Konata shouted defiantly, taking her most lethal stance.

"You shouldn't have to!" Sojiro yelled. "Konata, I know you think this is the path that's going to make you happy, but this isn't the way to go about it! This isn't what your mother and I wanted for you!" Sojiro said.

"You're wrong! Mama would want me to be happy, truly happy! Being with Kagami is what's gonna do that! I love her!" Konata shouted.

"It isn't love!" Sojiro yelled. "I loved your mother and she loved me! That's love!" He said.

"It's the same!" Konata shouted.

"It's different!" Sojiro shouted.

"It's the same and you know it! My love and Mama's!" Konata said. She sighed.

"THAT'S ENOUGH KONATA!" Sojiro yelled.

"Mama would be so disappointed in you... Not wanting what's best for your daughter." Konata spat venomously. In that moment, Konata saw her father lose all composure. He spun, all logic, all restraint, everything gone. He flew at her in a blind rage, ready to hit her with all his strength. Adrenaline coursed through Konata's veins. Had she been of sounder mind and more stable mental being, she would have dodged or parried the blow. However, her stance taken, the target coming in, her head clouded with adrenaline and emotion, a burning hatred for this man, time froze. She burst into movement, unleashing the full extent of her fury into one punch, made from an inch away. The instant it made contact, Konata's heart sank and her stomach curled. She had only just realized what she had done by the time Sojiro was sent hurtling through the air. He crashed into the wall on the other side before he hit the floor again. _A one inch punch..._ Konata felt horror so great, she trembled. It had been the only seamless "One inch punch" Konata had ever been able to deliver, not only flawlessly transferred power from the ground and her entire body, but turned the opponent's momentum against them, sending him flying through the air. Konata ran over, along with Tony and Yutaka, the latter of which had been cowering behind the former as the fight grew more heated.

"Konata, what the hell was that?" Tony shouted as he dropped to his knees. The damage was clearly visible from the outside as Sojiro's chest was easily broken in.

"I didn't mean to!" Konata shouted. Tony surveyed the damage with his mind to see most, if not every one, of Sojiro's ribs were broken. His right lung was punctured. His heart was pumping way too fast and he was probably bleeding internally.

"Damn it!" Tony shouted. "Heal!" He shouted. His energy began to repair the man's chest, but Tony knew it wasn't going to be enough. Not nearly enough. His energy reserves soon ran dry. His body began trembling in a pitiful attempt to stabilize the man.

"Use my energy!" Konata said.

"Mine too Onii-chan!" Yutaka offered. Without a word, Tony wove the spell through Konata's energy, though he excluded Yutaka figuring that she was much too fragile to be able to give much assistance without taking serious damage. It was then that Konata saw the true cost of these types of spells. Even with her greater than average energy reserves, her knees buckled after several seconds of the spell draining what felt like her life. As her vision dimmed a moment, Tony cursed.

"Damn it, come on!" He yelled. He turned the spell's energy drain onto the air and building. It barely made a contribution before it was far too cold for Yutaka without having her collapse. Finally, he turned it back onto himself. He poured everything he had into the spell until there was barely anything left to even sustain himself. As his own vision began to fade, however, something made itself known in his mind. It was a, for lack of a better word, well of energy. In his present condition, he couldn't readily discern a limit to it, but he guess that it couldn't be too large considering how little he could really perceive at the moment. As coldness began to creep into his limbs, he grew desperate. He closed his eyes to brace for whatever may come from his next action. He didn't know what it was, or why it was there, but he made the spell take directly from the well. As power from it flooded in, the remaining five ribs reattached themselves perfectly, his lung closed itself to seamlessness, and his heart beat slowed to a normal pulse. Yet the well of energy didn't seem to have been diminished in the slightest. It frightened Tony to think something so powerful could potentially be hostile. With so much power, whatever it was could overwhelm him in a heartbeat. The energy well disappeared before Tony could examine it further. He opened his eyes to see Sojiro groaning and rubbing his chest.

"Dad!" Konata shouted. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hit you like that!" Konata apologized. She may be hating him at the moment, but he was still her Dad, right? She waited a beat. "But you deserved it!" She added.

"It's alright Konata, just..." Sojiro began. Konata's jaw dropped.

"Dad, if you say one thing about "getting me help", I swear..." She growled.

"But Konata..." Sojiro groaned.

"I can't believe you!" Konata shouted. She got up and ran to the door before glancing over her shoulder. "Come on Yu-chan, let's go. There's nothing for us here." Konata said. Yutaka, scared out of her mind, followed Konata faithfully as the two began to walk out.

"Konata, if you leave this house, you're dead to me!" Sojiro shouted. Tony growled and ran after the two, stopping only half way to turn back for a moment.

"How can you reject your own daughter?!" He shouted. With that, Konata left with Yutaka in tow, Tony following closely.

"Stupid..." Konata mumbled. "I hate him..." She said a bit louder, getting a bit faster. "I wish you hadn't healed him!" Konata shouted and began running her hardest.

"Konata!" Tony shouted as he made to follow her, but he realized he couldn't. Yutaka had absolutely no chance of keeping up with them. Even if Tony got her on his back, there was a very good chance she could get hurt. Tony sighed as he realized he would have to let his sister go for now. "Come on Yu-chan. We can go to my house for now." Tony said as he opened his door. Yutaka mumbled something unintelligible and walked in. She had long since realized that she had lost control of the situation and likely caused events she couldn't help, so she figured she would just do as told for now. They entered his house.

* * *

**POV Yutaka**

Yutaka walked in, Tony entering after her, and was hit by a wave of aroma. She followed her nose to the kitchen to see Tsuki, an apron on and hard at work cooking. She turned with a smile on her face, her eyes surprisingly closed while she cooked.

"I make a pretty cute housewife, doncha think?" She asked. While Tony would admit in his head that she was indeed cute, there was a more pressing issue than that, even other than the incident with Sojiro.

"Oh no, come right in. Make yourself at home." Tony commented.

"I already did!" Tsuki said cheerfully.

"I see that." Tony looked around. Things were clean. Everything was in its place. He would be able to find things without having to search for ten minutes. It was almost revolting. "How did you even know where I live?" Tony asked.

"Details!" Tsuki turned back to her cooking.

"Right..." Tony sighed.

"Muo! Why the sour mood?" Tsuki complained, crossing her arms and stopping cooking again. Tony sighed.

"Whole bunch of crap happened that got me tired." Tony sighed.

"Who's the cutie you have with you? Are you cheating on your girlfriend~?" Tsuki teased.

"No, she's my cousin." Tony mumbled sleepily. "Her name is Yutaka. Could you do me a big favor Tsuki?" Tony asked.

"Sure, what is it?" She asked.

"Could you take care of Yu-chan for me for a bit? I'm very tired and there's something I need to take care of before I go to sleep." Tony said. Tsuki studied him for a moment, looking into his eyes, a serious expression on her face as if she were concentrating. After that moment, however, she giggled, smiled with teeth showing, and closed her eyes.

"Yeah sure! Have fun~!" She said in a very teasing voice. Tony walked into his room. "Come on Yu-chan, let's see if I can't teach you how to cook great like my Mom taught me!" Tsuki said.

"Wait... Didn't you tell Onee-chan that your Mom was... gone?" Yutaka asked, confused. Tsuki seemed caught off guard by the question. She looked up and seemed to think for a moment, putting a finger to her lip. After a moment, she smiled sympathetically.

"It's complicated." She said, scratching the back of her head ruefully. This only served to confuse poor Yutaka more.

"But...But... How? That doesn't make any sense!" Yutaka protested.

"I know it doesn't, but... um..." Tsuki thought again. She sighed. "It's really, REALLY complicated."

"A-Alright..." Yutaka mumbled. "Do-..." She paused with a blush on her face, a bit apprehensive. She had said one thing along these lines that day without thinking anything ill could come from it, so she didn't want to make the same mistake again.

"Aw~, you don't need to be shy around me Yu-chan~! What is it?" Tsuki asked.

"Do you... maybe... have two Mommies?" Yutaka asked. Tsuki squealed and ruffled her hair.

"You're just too cute Yu-chan!" She said. She looked like she was about to say something else, but interrupted herself. She looked very serious for a moment, but it soon passed with a giggle. The action seemed to make Yutaka feel much less inquisitive about the topic at hand, so she allowed it to switch. "Come on, what do you want to make?" Tsuki asked.

"Um... Can we make Oden?" Yutaka asked. Tsuki smiled and ruffled Yutaka's hair.

"Sure thing. What would you like with it?" Tsuki asked.

"Um... Kombu... potatoes... and..." Yutaka trailed off.

"Yes~?" Tsuki asked.

"Do... do you have wasabi?" She asked hesitantly.

"Oh-ho~! We like it hot, do we?" Tsuki chimed before giggling again.

"Yeah..." Yutaka smiled a small blush on her face. Tsuki looked a little closer.

"Who were you thinking of just now?" She teased. Yutaka jumped and blushed.

"Wh-what? What do you mean?" Yutaka asked.

"Come on, I said you like it hot and you blushed! Was it Minami-chan~?" Tsuki teased.

"H-How did you..." Yutaka looked afraid.

"I heard you when you came into Konata's house, but I left quickly. I could sense the mood from Konata's room. So I came here!" Tsuki said, turning back and looking for the condiment. She looked for a while and pulled out a small shaker. "Gotta love 'em. Rich guy has real wasabi." She smiled. She went over and began sprinkling it over something. Yutaka ran over to see what it was she was sprinkling on to see mostly prepared Oden, complete with potatoes and kombu.

"How did you know?" She asked.

"I'm pretty good at that." Tsuki said simply.

"But... You didn't even know I was coming over!" Yutaka said. Tsuki shrugged.

"I'm REALLY good at that. Sometimes I'll just start cooking something and not know why!" She said. Suddenly, she seemed to think of something. A sly catgrin came across her lips. "Oh~ Yu-chan~..." She chimed, the meal ready. Yutaka grabbed at it, but Tsuki swept it away.

"What is it~?" She whined cutely.

"Wanna learn how to get anything you want from almost anyone? ESPECIALLY guys?" Tsuki asked.

"Can I eat first?" Yutaka asked. Tsuki shook her head and set the plate on the stove to keep it warm.

"Nuh-uh, you have to earn it!" She said. "This... "technique" will work especially especially on Minami~." Tsuki said. Yutaka gulped.

"I'll do it." She said. Tsuki clapped her hands together.

"Great! Let's get "going" then!" She said. Yutaka was too innocent to think of her odd emphasis.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony entered his room, exhausted. He sighed and took out his phone, dialing his second speed dial. Suddenly, "The Greatest American Hero" theme began playing. Konata came over singing.

**"Believe** it or not,  
Ko~-na isn't home,  
please leave a message~ at the beep!  
I must be out, or I'd pick up the phone,  
Where could I be?  
Believe it or not, I'm not **home~!"** She sang before her answering machine beeped. Tony smiled in appreciation of the reference, but was incredibly frustrated that he couldn't get a hold of his sister. He stomped the ground childishly, hurting his foot. He growled and sat down on the bed. He dialed his first speed dial. It rang for a moment.

"Hello~!" Tsukasa happily chimed.

"Hey Tsukasa. Would you mind if we talked some more about... That thing?" Tony asked. He could almost hear Tsukasa blush from the other side.

"Sure Kan-kun... We just have to keep it a little short, Onee-chan should be coming back at any time." She said. Tony nodded before he realized Tsukasa couldn't see him.

"Sure thing. So... Moving in, huh?" Tony asked.

"Yeah... Um.. What do you think?" She asked.

"I love the idea." Tony said. "I'd get to see you so much more." Tony smiled.

"And I'd get to see you every morning. And say good night to you every night." Tsukasa said.

"I have the sweeter deal here though." Tony said. Tsukasa giggled quietly.

"And how's that? I get to spend every day with the one I love." Tsukasa said.

"Ah, but I get to do that AND eat your cooking every day." Tony said. Again, he could hear her blush even deeper. Even at that, he could almost feel her get determined about something.

"Yeah, but I eat it even more than you, so it's more like evening the field!" Tsukasa said. Tony chuckled.

"I suppose. But again, you're still a lot more lovable than I am. I have it better." Tony said.

"I have it better!" Tsukasa argued.

"Still not buying your case~!" Tony said. He waited a beat. "This is getting a little ridiculous. Talk about sickeningly sweet." Tony laughed.

"Yeah, I guess..." Tsukasa said contently. A moment went by. "So... We're actually doing this, huh?" Tsukasa asked.

"I think we are. This is such a big step. My brother just took it with Miyuki though, and they're not even dating yet. I think we're gonna be alright." Tony said. He heard Tsukasa sigh contently.

"I love you Kan-kun." She said.

"I love you too Tsukasa." He said. "So... Want to make some plans for this?"

"Yeah... Onee-chan isn't back yet, I wonder where she went... Let's make some plans." She said. So they began talking about how, and more importantly, when they would move her in.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Kagami sat on her bed, terrified as she heard her father hit the ground. Footsteps slammed on the ground as whoever the person was ran down the hall. The door flew open to reveal Konata, cheeks red with tears and hair a bit of a mess.

"Kona? What's wron-OOF!" She got the breath knocked out of her as Konata head-butted her in the stomach and began sobbing.

"Ka-Ka-Kagamin!" She whined. "I-I told D-Dad about us!" Konata hiccuped. Kagami gasped.

"No..." She mumbled.

"He rejected me, said I was dead to him!" Konata said. "He-He tried and talk me out of it!" She said. Kagami hugged her girlfriend.

"I know how much courage this took Konata. I'm sorry this happened." She said quietly, unsure of what else to say. Konata seemed to be nearing hysterics. Kagami thought, desperate for some way to help her love. She had an idea. _It works with Tsukasa..._She thought. Kagami shifted Konata so that she could hold her closer.  
**"Come** stop your crying  
It'll be alright.  
Just take my hand,  
Hold it **tight."** Kagami said. Konata looked up at her, tears suspended in her eyes.  
**"I** will protect you  
From all around you.  
I will be hear,  
don't you **cry."** Kagami brushed the tears from Konata's eyes, but they were quickly replaced.  
**"For** one so small,  
You seem so strong  
My arms will hold you,  
Keep you safe and warm  
This bond between us  
Can't be broken  
I will be here  
Don't you **cry!"** Kagami sang to her little love. Konata snuggled into Kagami, still looking into her eyes.  
**"'Cause** you'll be in my heart  
Yes, you'll be in my heart  
From this day on  
Now and forever more!  
You'll be in my heart  
No matter what they say  
You'll be here in my heart, **always."** Kagami sang softly. Konata sniffed and smiled a small smile. It made Kagami smile. She sighed a bit though, frustrated with Sojiro.  
**"Why** can't he understand the way we feel?  
He just can't trust what he can't explain.  
I know we're different, but deep inside us...  
We're not that different at **all."** Kagami said.  
**"And** you'll be in my heart  
Yes, you'll be in my heart  
From this day on  
Now and forever **more!"** Kagami sang a little louder, getting into it a little bit more.  
**"Don't** listen to him!  
'Cause what does he **know?"** Kagami asked.

**"What** does he **know?"** Konata giggled a bit, warming Kagami's heart.

**"We** need each other!  
To have, to hold!  
He'll see in time!  
I **know..."** Kagami sang. Konata yawned a bit.  
**"When** Destiny calls you,  
You must stay **strong!"** Kagami said.

**"I** gotta stay **strong..."** Konata said.

**"I'll** always be with you,  
So you've got to hold on!  
He'll see in time.  
I **know."** Kagami said. She put a fist in front of her to show her confidence.  
**"We'll** show him together 'cause,  
You'll be in my **heart!"** Kagami sang.

**"You'll** be here in my **heart."** Konata sang softly along with Kagami.

**"No** matter what they **say!"** Kagami said.

**"I'll** be with **you..."** Konata sang.

**"You'll** be here in my **heart-"** Kagami sang.

**"I'll** be** there..."** Konata laid her head in Kagami's lap. Kagami began to run her hand through her hair.

**"-always."** Kagami finished her line.  
**"Always.**  
I'll be with **you."** Kagami began getting softer and softer.  
**"I'll** be there for you always.  
Always and always.  
Just look over your **shoulder."** She watched her love fall asleep.  
**"I'll** be there **always."** She sang quietly. She sighed and looked at her sleeping loli. She couldn't even begin to say how sad she was by Konata getting rejected. Where was she going to live? Kagami hated to leave, but she had told Tsukasa she'd be back soon. She lightly moved Konata's head onto the bed.

"Not short Kagamin..." She mumbled. Kagami smiled and kissed her girlfriend on the forehead. She left the room, still worrying about her love. Where could she go? She entered the kitchen again. When could she find out?

"Tomorrow then, Kan-kun." Tsukasa smiled with a blush on. "Onee-chan's back. Want to help me out tomorrow then? ... Great! Then we'll start tomorrow." Tsukasa smiled. "Bye Kan-kun." She bade. "..." She waited. "... Hang up!" She said. She giggled. "No, YOU hang up!" She said. She turned to see Kagami. Upon seeing her somber expression, Tsukasa got a bit more serious. "Bye." She said, and hung up. "What's wrong Onee-chan?" Tsukasa asked.

"Konata came over. Her father rejected her." Kagami said.

"Oh no, that's horrible!" Tsukasa shouted.

"I thought definitely her father would accept her... I pushed her to this. I made her tell him..." Kagami said, sounding heartbroken.

"It isn't you fault Onee-chan!" Tsukasa hugged Kagami. "You did nothing wrong!" She said.

"How can you know? Maybe it would have been better if I had never said anything about it!" Kagami shouted.

"Onee-chan, once something happens, it doesn't matter what would have happened! The past is just that! The past! Don't worry about it anymore! All you need to do now is be there for Kona-chan. That's really all we can do at this point." Tsukasa sighed. Kagami hugged her sister back and let tears out.

"Thank you Tsukasa... I just... It IS my fault..." She mumbled.

"No it isn't. It's his fault for being like he is. Don't worry about it Onee-chan. He'll come around." Tsukasa said. Kagami was a little surprised at what her sister was saying, she sounded almost vindictive, especially when assigning blame. It was very weird to hear her say something about it other than no one's to blame.

"I guess..." Kagami sighed.

"So where's Kona-chan now?" Tsukasa asked.

"She's in my room sleeping." Kagami said. Tsukasa sighed.

"I wish we could do somethi-..." She paused. Kagami blinked.

"Tsukasa?" Kagami asked.

"Let's cheer her up." Tsukasa said.

"Gee Tsukasa, I hadn't thought about that." Kagami teased. Tsukasa shook her head.

"No, I mean I have an idea! It isn't going to get her super happy or anything, but maybe it'll help soften the blow, you know?" Tsukasa asked. Kagami smiled.

"Yeah. So, what's this idea of yours?" She asked. However, Tsukasa was in deep thought.

"We'll need... Flour... Chocolate chips... Whipped cream... Salt..." Tsukasa began listing off ingredients to something Kagami couldn't understand.

"What are you talking about Tsukasa?" Kagami asked. Tsukasa nodded, seemingly finished with her mental list. She ran out of the room.

"Mom, Dad, can we go shopping?" Tsukasa asked.

"Oh? For what?" Miki asked. Tsukasa ran over and whispered into her ear. Miki nodded once, then again, then got a very large smile. "I think that's a fantastic idea, Tsukasa. Very thoughtful." Miki smiled.

"Thing is, we don't have any money for any of it." Tsukasa said. Miki looked at Tadao, who smiled. He shrugged, since he didn't really know what was going on, and nodded, as if saying "your call" to his wife. She smiled a bit wider and closed her eyes for a moment.

"We'll cover it." Miki held up a credit card. Tsukasa excitedly hugged Miki.

"Thank you so much Mom! Dad!" She said. Miki started giggling.

"Our pleasure. Just let us know if we can do anything to help." Miki said.

"If Kona-chan wakes up before we get back, could you distract her?" Tsukasa asked. Miki nodded.

"Why did she slam me to the ground anyway?" Tadao asked.

"I think she wanted to get to me..." Kagami said. "Sorry, I think you got in the way." She giggled nervously.

"What was so important?" Tadao asked.

"She told her father about us. He... rejected her." Kagami said sorrowfully. Tadao and Miki gasped.

"Wait, what? Sojiro didn't accept Konata?" Tadao and Miki both seemed surprised. "Why not? Does he have some sort of reason?"

"I don't know the details, all I know is that he rejected her and said she was dead to him." Kagami said. Tadao looked even more stricken than Miki did. He fists were balled and his eyes were wide. His fists trembled.

"Ta-kun?" Miki looked at her husband, a little concerned. This much anger was very uncommon in him.

"Failure..." He muttered.

"What Dad?" Kagami asked.

"That "man" is a failure as a father! It's a father's duty to love his daughter with all his heart, unconditionally! To reject his daughter is completely unforgivable!" Tadao yelled. Miki put a hand around his shoulder to calm him down.

"Don't forget Ta-kun, you almost didn't accept Kagami yourself." Miki reminded.

"But I ultimately decided to do what was best for my daughter. As long as she's happy and healthy, what she does with her life is her own decision. But Sojiro is being selfish to an extreme! I may not have known Kanata as well as you did dear, but I know she wouldn't have wanted THIS! Can you deny that?" He asked Miki. She sighed and shook her head.

"She would be appalled my Sojiro's decision." Miki said.

"Exactly! I think me and Sojiro need to have a little talk..." Tadao got up. Miki jumped up and hugged him around the shoulders.

"Honey, no! We need to be here in case Konata wakes up and Kagami and Tsukasa aren't here." Miki said. Tadao growled and sighed.

"I guess... He's very lucky." Tadao sat back down, visibly disturbed by the news of what Sojiro had done.

"Let's get going Onee-chan!" Tsukasa grabbed Kagami's hand and dragged her out of the house.

"Tsu-Tsukasa, where are we going? What are we doing? What are we getting?" Kagami asked. Tsukasa let go of Kagami's hand, spun around with her hands clasped behind her back. She leaned forward a bit, her eyes closed yet cheerful.

"You'll see~!" She chimed. Kagami smiled.

"Then let's go!" She cheered.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony hung up the phone and set it down, a smile on his face.

_We'll move enough of her room in so that she can stay here the night. Tomorrow... She'll officially live here._ Tony laid down on his bed. He thought for a moment. _How are we going to get that stuff here, anyway? It could take a long time..._ Tony thought. _Too long to do in one day. Hmm..._

_**"Well what if you made it a word? I noticed you wrote "Flash" down the side of the blade..."**_ Konata's voice rang out in his head.

_Oh right. That. Maybe I should get some practice with that..._ Tony thought as he stood up and left his room. He heard scuffling around in the living room that made him pause.

"Go go go!" Tsuki whispered almost inaudibly from where Tony stood.

"Nee-chan, I can't!" Yutaka whispered a little louder. Tony raised his eyebrow.

"Come on! It's a test! And you know the reward~!" Tsuki chimed.

"But-."

"Pleasure~!" Tsuki said. Tony got a little suspicious.

"But-but-but-! Um..." Yutaka seemed to think.

"Come on! You have to practice if you're gonna be any good for Minami-chan~!" Tsuki teased.

"...Fine... I'll... I'll do it..." Yutaka said. She appeared in the hallway, a heavy blush on her face. She shuffled up to Tony and fidgeted nervously. "Onii-chan... Can we..." She started.

"Yu-chan?" Tony asked cautiously.

"Can we... Me, you and Nee-chan, go get ice cream?" She asked. Tony sighed a bit.

_This is the thing she was so hesitant about? _"Sorry Yu-chan, I can't. I'm really busy at the moment." Tony said.

"Do it!" Tsuki shouted from around the corner.

"Onii-chan..." Yutaka started. "Please!" Tony was suddenly assaulted by the most heart-rending puppy-dog eyes he had ever seen as the Yutaka pouted. Tony reeled back, taken off guard by it. As it visually assaulted him, he felt sorrow akin to seeing a puppy's dying moment.

"Okay, okay!" Tony shouted. "We'll get ice cream, but only on one condition!" Tony said.

"What's that~?" Tsuki asked.

"You can never, EVER do that again!" Tony said to Yutaka. "That was cruel and inhuman!" Tony said. When the pout didn't stop he yelled and ruffled his hair. "CALL IT OFF!"

"It's okay Yu-chan, you can stop!" Tsuki appeared in the hall. Yutaka stopped and turned to see Tsuki.

"Did I do good?" She asked.

"Yep! Now we get ice cream!" Tsuki cheered.

"Just give me a few minutes." Tony said. Yutaka turned and faced Tony with Tsuki, both pouting simultaneously. He spun. "NO! Not gonna happen! I need a few minutes!" He shouted. He ran into his training room. He sighed and approached a wall. He placed a hand on it and reworded his teleportation spell, only changing it so that it wouldn't call whatever the seal was on to him anymore. The spell calling the wall to him wouldn't likely be beneficial to whatever situation he was in if he wasn't exactly full of energy at the time. He twisted his hand, causing an intricate circle of Kanji to appear on the wall, reading "Flash". He could feel it in his head, the thing he would stab at with energy to send him to the seal. He cracked his neck and left the room.

"You did great Yu-chan, you may have gotten better at it than me!" Tsuki said excitedly.

"Where did you learn it?" Yutaka asked.

"From my Aunt! She learned it over a long relationship!" Tsuki said.

"You guys ready?" Tony sighed.

"Yeah!" They both jumped up.

"I hope you two are buying. I won't really have any money until after the tournament, so I can't pay for this." Tony said.

"MUO!" Tsuki shouted. "I don't have any money! Yu-chan?" Tsuki asked. She looked in a daze for a moment. She shook her head.

"No, but this reminds me of something that I read in a story once!" Yutaka said.

"Which one?" Tony asked.

"Well... I didn't really read it... Minami read it to me when I was sick and she didn't really tell me the name... But it was a really sweet story and I really liked it!" Yutaka said.

"How will this get us ice cream?" Tsuki asked. Yutaka smiled.

"I'll explain on the way!" She grabbed Tsuki and Tony's hands and pulled them out of the house, an extremely rare, cousin and sister inherited catgrin on her face.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya Luckies~! I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami~!"

"And I'm the assistant, Minoru Shiraishi!"

"You're getting another part in the next chapter Minoru!" Akira shouted.

"Wait, what? When did that happen?" Minoru asked.

"Initially, Ac said no, but I said if you didn't get another part next chapter, then I'm walking!" Akira said. Minoru's jaw dropped.

_She went out on that kind of a limb for me? What's going on with her lately?_ Minoru wondered. "So what did you get me?"

"Huh." Akira said curtly. Minoru jumped.

"W-what?" He asked.

"I risk my job for you and all you can say is "what did you get me"?" Akira asked. "How about a little thank you?"She asked.

"I thought it went without saying, I'm sorry." Minoru smiled. "Thank you so very much Akira." He bowed. She looked surprised for a moment, and covered it.

"It's fine, it isn't that big a part anyway." She looked at her nails, seemingly disinterested, though a small blush was on her cheeks.

*Music Tone*

"I guess that's all the time we have for today! I'll see you all next time! Bye nii~!" Akira chimed.

"..."

"So Akira, what was it, anyway?"

"Maybe I won't tell you. Maybe I'll just let you find out later."

"Oh come on Akira! Please?"

" ! Oh, alright..."

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

So, what did you think? I hated writing Sojiro's part, but I had to do it! Okay, guess I didn't. But still. Anyway, I'll get this out now! It's a few days late! See ya!


	47. Chapter 47: A Visit from Her

Chapter 47: A Visit from Her

Gigarot, but... but... I don't recall referencing Sqweebs in the last chapter! I referenced Flygon a couple times. It is possible I referenced him without realizing it, or I DO just not remember. That's possible too. I have a really bad habit of doing that... Sqweebs, the complete surprise was my complete intention! I wanted to kind of smack people in the face with that. Lizard, he kind of had to do it in a hurry, so he didn't do it nearly as efficiently as he could have... Ah Kitsune, I've talked with you at length about these things, please continue to let me know anything you have to tell me, be as honest as possible! I have to hear everything if I'm to improve! I've even taken some of the advice you've offered and applied it to this chapter, to an extent. LSPK, I'm sorry to waste your time, but I thank you for your time. Beatles, I may just try and Matsori story. Who knows? It might work! Mastodonic, I enjoyed your review (do try and keep the length if you end up reviewing more, if at all possible). I did try to take your advice as well as Kitsune's! Like I said, if people don't tell me, then there's no real way to improve! I do hope I improved a little in this chapter, let me know!

* * *

**POV Konata**

Konata was in a world of dreams. She could still feel it on her forehead. She put her hand to it, but couldn't quite remember what it had been at the moment. Everything was dark. She had had another dream, one that had made her indescribably happy, but at the moment she couldn't recall it. All she knew was she felt much, much better about herself. This was her second lucid dream where she wasn't in control of it, however. All she could wonder was where she was, and what was in store for her.

"Welcome, mortal." A VERY deep, VERY slow voice said. The dream morphed a little bit, becoming infinitesimally lighter. She could make out a form, what looked like a man, but much more... demonic. He had red hair and wore a leopard skin. On his shoulders, he wore a large bag that curved around the back of his neck, one side he held closed. The voice and form frightened Konata so much, she took a stance on nothing but instinct. The voice laughed. "Do you expect me to cower before the mighty power of Izumi? You are nothing to me. Less than that. Had I desired your head, it would be delivered on a pike." The voice laughed.

"Who... who are you?" Konata asked.

"I am the Ancient One, Fujin." Fujin said.

"God of the Wind? That Fujin?" Konata asked.

"The same. Now, perhaps you will cease your pitiful attempt to threaten me." Fujin said. "Time does strange things to those who use it as a form of currency." He said. Konata paused for a beat, then knelt reverently. Fujin laughed a slow, deep laugh. "Rise, mortal." Konata looked up and stood back up.

"Is there anything I can do?" She asked.

"Once every while, there comes an ordinary mortal who is gifted. You are one such mortal. Mastery over martial prowess beyond your years. These are the mortals I enjoy dealing with. To that end, I am going to make you an offer. You must pass a test of your fighting ability. Should you do so, we will negotiate a contract in which I shall grant you my boon."

"Kind of like XXXholic!" Konata smiled. Fujin seemed amused by this.

"If that is the comparison you wish to make, then make it." Fujin said.

"So wait... Contract? Do I have something you want?" Konata asked. Fujin gave a mocking laugh.

"You? What could you possible have? Other than, perhaps, your soul?" Fujin laughed in a derogatory tone. "The contract is little more than something to give this dull existence some semblance of interest."

"Dull?" Konata asked. "I guess after a few millennia it would be pretty boring, huh?"

"I predated the creation of the Earth. Controlling the winds of the Earth only remains interesting for so long." Fujin said.

"So what do I have do?" Konata asked.

"Simply defeat the current holder of my blessing in battle while he uses it. Should you do so, then you will have proven greater battle mastery than the previous owner." Fujin said.

"So what if I don't want it?" Konata asked. Fujin seemed amused.

"If not you, then another. I need only wait for another gifted mortal to come along. All things in time." Fujin said.

"Do I have time to think about this?" Konata asked. Once again, Fujin laughed condescendingly.

"You assume that the pace of the game revolves around your actions. Can you even fathom how preposterous that sounds to a being like me?" Fujin asked. Konata sighed.

"Fine, I'll do it." She said, tired of constantly being insulted. She understood where he was coming from, but still.

"I will assume you wish for your weapons." Fujin said.

"Of course." Konata said. Her knives appeared in her hands. "Quick question though."

"Yes?" Fujin asked slowly.

"If I fight this person, and I accidentally kill him, this being a dream and all, will they actually die? Or will they just wake up?" Konata asked.

"Hm hm hm." Fujin seemed amused. "Does that matter to you, young one?"

"Yes it does." Konata said.

"Hm hm hm... Then they will not die." Fujin said.

"Good. I'll give it a try then." Konata said, now knowing she could use more force than she would ordinarily.

"Very well. I shall let you begin then." Fujin said. A man wearing medium green armor and well kept blond hair who held a spear at his side appeared. He brought his spear in front and planted it in the ground.

"YaaaAAH!" He yelled as a light enveloped him as he threw his arms to the side with his spear in one hand. A large tornado that was as large at the bottom as it was at the top surrounded him. It moved back to reveal the man in a full suit of green armor, a pair of wings on his back. Green and yellow light from the ground rose on either side of him as if he were charging and attack. Konata emptied her mind completely and focused on nothing but the fight. Suddenly, the man rushed forward and thrust his spear. Konata brought the flat of her blade down on it and brought her other knife's flat edge down on the man's armored shoulder on instinct. She instantly noticed the man was slower than both Tony and Haschel. The man seemed to use the blow from Konata to front flip and bring his spear down. Konata used the raised knife she had used to hit the man's shoulder to deflect the spear. Using the momentum from the deflect, she brought her other blade flat to strike the man across her cheek. He was sent away, but spun in the direction Konata had struck him and rushed forth again.

_He attacks from the right..._ Konata observed. She deflected the attack again and struck him across the other cheek with most of her strength. He was sent a large distance away. He seemed to regroup for a moment and rushed back. He stabbed down, but Konata redirected it down into the ground and sent the dull edge of the blade and cracked the man's neck. He was sent to the ground. The light returned and he was replaced with a void. There was a dull green light on the ground.

"You did better than I expected. I had expected you to survive his attacks until his energy ran out, not actually win." Fujin said.

"Okay, I won. What's going to happen now?" Konata asked.

"Now? Now, we negotiate. Take up the gem he left behind." Fujin said. Konata approached the dull light. She bent down and picked it up. It looked like a jade green marble. "That, is my blessing. Now, what will you give for it?" Fujin asked. Konata thought.

_Give up? I can't think of anything..._ Konata thought. Fujin seemed annoyed.

"Decide quickly, there is one attempting to wake you. Her presence irritates me." He said.

"Who?" Konata asked.

"The one you call Kagami." Fujin said. Konata got an idea.

"You can have everything as long as I don't think it has anything to do with Kagami." Konata said. Fujin seemed impressed.

"Very well. The contract is set then." He said.

"So how do I use this power?" Konata asked.

"Simply call upon it. I shall be watching, so I will know by the phrase you use." Fujin said. There was a beat. "I feel nothing. What have I gained from the contract?" He asked. Konata smiled.

"Nothing. Everything has to do with Kagami to me." She said, though she was afraid. She had just tricked one of the oldest Gods to exist, probably one of the more powerful at that. The God took literal minutes to think of what had just happened. When Konata felt his next emotion, it surprised her. He seemed _incredibly_ amused by her trick.

"Hm! So the mortal has brains behind her brawn! And guts! To play such a trick on a being such as I. A being that, if so inclined, could cause your own insignificant thoughts to crush the peanut sized mass of gray matter floating within your skull." Fujin laughed. "Ah, you have amused me greatly mortal! For that, I shall grant you my boon." Fujin said._  
_

"So, will I have powers like Kan-kan?" Konata asked. The God was amused once again, but didn't seem to see it fit to answer.

"I shall return you to the waking world. Use my blessing wisely, mortal." Fujin said. With that, the room went pitch black again.

"Kona, wake up!" Kagami shouted, now clearly annoyed as Konata's eyes cracked open. When she saw Kagami, her jaw dropped.

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

Tsukasa and Kagami walked through the grocery store a ten minutes walk from their house. Kagami was really just following Tsukasa. She had no idea what they were there for. Tsukasa was scampering all around the store, sometimes remembering ingredients that she had previously forgotten and revisiting isles.

"Tsukasa, for the last time, what are we here for?" Kagami asked, getting tired. Tsukasa turned around, shopping basket held behind her back, and leaned forward a little bit.

"Okay, come here!" She said. Kagami came over and leaned forward. Tsukasa whispered in her ear for a moment. Kagami smiled and nodded. Then she giggled. Then, she had an amazing idea.

_Plan Underbelly Mark 2._ She thought. "You should have told me! I have the perfect idea!" Kagami said excitedly.

"What is it?" Tsukasa asked.

"I-!... Don't have it. It's at Kona's house." Kagami said, suddenly very apprehensive. "With what's happened recently, that may not be that good a place to go..."

"He's not a barbarian, Onee-chan. Do you think he'll attack you?" Tsukasa asked.

"I dunno, he's acted really out of character. Maybe... You never know, right?" Kagami asked. Tsukasa sighed and smiled sympathetically.

"Well, I'm sure that you'll be fine, but I have an idea." She pulled out her phone. "Kan-kun?" She asked. "Where are you?" She seemed to listen for a moment. "Ice cream? That's... random." She said. "Well, Onee-chan needs your help. We need something from Kona-chan's house, but Onee-chan is a little scared about going there. You think you could help?" Tsukasa asked "Yeah, Kona-chan is here! She's safe, yeah." . She smiled. "Thanks Kan-kun!" She closed her eyes to think of something she wanted to say. "Wait!" She said in a rush. "...Bring me some ice cream." She said a little too seriously. Her facade broke quickly. "Thanks~! Bye-nii~!" She chimed before hanging up. "Okay, he's going to meet us at his house. We've got everything we need, so we can go ahead and head over." Tsukasa said.

"Awesome!" Kagami smiled. They paid for their things and began walking to Tony's house. "Man, isn't it crazy?" Kagami asked.

"Isn't what crazy?" Tsukasa asked.

"After tomorrow, it isn't going to be meeting him at his house for you. It's going to be meeting at your house." Kagami said.

"I know, it's crazy..." Tsukasa smiled.

"So wait... Does Mom and Dad know you're moving? I don't remember you telling them..." Kagami said. Tsukasa looked up, a finger to her mouth and a pensive look on her face.

"Um... I... don't think so..." She mumbled.

"I thought that part went a little too smoothly..." Kagami said. "You DO realize you need to tell them before tomorrow, right? AND get their blessing at that. This might not happen."

"Well... if it does, then Kona-chan can live in my old room! And you guys can live together too!" Tsukasa said. Kagami paused.

"I... hadn't thought about that..." Kagami said. "But Kona could just live in my room too. You and Tony can't do that at our house! Or really in general." Kagami scratched the back of her head.

"Yeah, I guess that's true." Tsukasa sighed. "I still can't believe Kona-chan's Dad rejected her..." Tsukasa sighed.

"I know... You have a really good idea here though, Tsukasa. This should cheer her up really well." Kagami smiled.

"Thanks." Tsukasa smiled as they walked. They continued their walk in relative silence, starting several conversations, but feeling almost like there was nearly nothing to talk about. There hadn't been much that had gone on for either of the two that the other hadn't been privy to, after all. Every now and again, they would need to switch the hand that was holding their respective load of groceries, or the bag would begin cutting into their fingers. As they got close, the fact that Kagami was constantly being reminded of the items in her bag gave her something to ask.

"Hey Tsukasa." Kagami began.

"Yes Onee-chan?" Tsukasa asked.

"When we get started on these, can I help you?" Kagami asked. Tsukasa giggled warmly.

"No. I'M going to be helping YOU!" Tsukasa said.

"Wait, what? But I've never made..." Kagami started.

"Onee-chan, I know you can do it! You're doing it for Kona-chan, and when you cook for Kona-chan, it's going to be delicious!" Tsukasa said.

"How did you know?" Kagami asked with a smile.

"Because it's so simple! You cook for love!" Tsukasa said. Kagami chuckled.

"I didn't learn that until just recently." She said.

"But you still learned it! That's why your pancakes were really, really good, right? You put love into them?" Tsukasa asked.

"Yeah... Mom taught me that all you need is love." Kagami smiled. Tsukasa cocked her head to the side with a closed-eyed smile.

"All you need is love?" She asked, as if only to get Kagami to repeat herself.

"All you need is love, love!" Kagami repeated. Tsukasa nodded.

"Love is all you need!" Tsukasa said.

"So, if it's all about love, how come everything you make is so amazing?" Kagami asked.

"Because I love cooking so much, AND I love the people I cook for. It's one of the times I'm happiest." Tsukasa smiled. They arrived at their destination. Tsukasa knocked on the door. "Kan-kun~!" She called. The door opened up to reveal Tony with Yutaka and Tsuki in the background eating ice cream. Tony smiled.

"Well hello there pretty ladies. What brings you here?" Tony asked. Tsukasa giggled.

"You know why we're here. Onee-chan needs your help to get something from Kona-chan's house." Tsukasa said.

"Yep! Here's your ice cream Tsu-chan." Tony smiled as he handed Tsukasa a cone of ice cream.

"Yay~!" She grabbed it and joined Tsuki and Yutaka in eating it fervently.

"Hey Kagami, mind if I ask you something about her?" Tony asked.

"About Tsukasa? Of course, what's up?" Kagami asked.

"Well, while I was out..." Tony started.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony walked along with Yutaka and Tsuki, at the entrance to the mall.

"Are you two ready?" Yutaka asked.

"I suppose. After that call from Tsukasa, I kind of have to get ice cream now..." Tony chuckled. "Still, I'm not sure if I can..." He mumbled. Tsuki sighed.

"Pretend I'm Tsukasa." She said. Tony looked at her as if to question her sanity. "Well I look enough like her, don't I?" Tsuki asked.

"Voice, eyes, height, breast size. I can't call you Tsukasa, there are too many differences. I may as well pretend you're Tsukiyomi." Tony said. Tsuki's expression changed a bit, but returned to it's normal self quickly enough.

"Breast size? Have you been looking at my breasts~?" Tsuki said teasingly.

"Yeah. I'm a guy. I look at breasts, this is all I have! Breasts intrigue me." Tony said.

"Well, at least you admit it, unlike most guys." Tsuki shrugged. "But then call me Tsu-chan if it comes to that! You call Tsukasa that, don't you? Well both our names start with Tsu, so it's no problem, right?" Tsuki asked. Tony sighed.

"I'll try." He said. "Hang on, what if people recognize us? We are part of a tournament that has a LOT of viewers." Tony said.

"Muo! Then use some trickety-trick with magic to disguise us and let's get going! I want ice cream!" Tsuki shouted.

"Not so loud! Geez. Fine." Tony gave it a thought that he didn't want them to be recognized and left it at that, having felt his energy taxed a bit. "Let's go." He said. He grabbed Yutaka's left hand while Tsuki grabbed her right hand. They entered the mall and Yutaka began to skip, merrily reciting "The Village Festival". She drove it home by occasionally forgetting a few lyrics and starting over, making the cutest pouting face as she tried to remember the lyrics she had supposedly forgotten. She gained more than a few looks from people who thought she was absolutely adorable. Tony and Tsuki began speaking to each other about things like expenses of the house, how they would make this month's rent, where their food money would come from and the sort. Eventually, they passed an ice cream vendor.

"Look Mommy! Ice cream!" Yutaka shouted and let go of Tony's hand to point out the vendor.

"I see, now let's keep going." Tsuki said.

"Mommy, can we get ice cream~?" Yutaka asked, pouting at Tsuki.

"Sorry honey, but we don't have enough money to buy ice cream." Tsuki said. Yutaka did a great job of looking heartbroken. She suddenly looked like she had an idea and turned to Tony.

"Daddy, can we get ice cream~?" She asked, pouting just as she had at Tsuki. It was so heart-wrenchingly adorable, Tony almost forgot the plan.

"I'm sorry honey, we just don't have the money." Tony said gently, ruffling Yutaka's hair. Yutaka's eyes began to well up full of tears. She looked the ice cream vendor, who looked strangely like the manager of the cosplay cafe and the television announcer for the World Martial Arts tournament, straight in the eyes.

"But..." She muttered and looked at Tsuki. "But..." She muttered and looked at Tony. "Ice cream..." She mumbled, returning to looking the vendor in the eyes.

"Come on honey..." Tsuki began pulling her away. Yutaka used her still free hand to wave at the man.

"Bye bye ice cream!" She waved as a tear dropped down her cheek, making her very best puppy-dog eyes.

"Wait!" The man shouted. Tony and Tsuki stopped, a smile on each face. They replaced each quickly and turned around. "If it will bring a smile to this girl's face, you can have some for free today." The man smiled.

"Thanks, but it isn't that necessary." Tony held a hand up as if to put a barrier between him and the ice cream.

"Nonsense! Come on over, pick out any flavor you like!" The man gestured the three over. Tony looked at Tsuki, who nodded back while Yutaka just looked happy to be alive right now. She grabbed Tony's hand again and began pulling the two over.

"Please~! Please~!" Yutaka begged. The two smiled and walked over, a grateful smile on each face. Tony looked down and saw Vanilla Soda flavor. They each got a cone of ice cream.

"Now what do you say to the nice man?" Tony asked Yutaka.

"THANK YOU~!" She shouted, happily.

"Thank you so much." Tony said gratefully along with a similar thanks from Tsuki. The three made escape onto a nearby elevator. "You two ready?" Tony asked.

"For what?" Tsuki asked.

"I've never tried this before, so hopefully we won't all morph together or something." Tony chuckled. He stabbed at the seal of energy on the wall of his training room and the three apparated home. Both Tsuki and Yutaka began to sway. Tony took their ice cream cones from them as they ran out of the room, seeking the nearest rest room. He sighed and found a way to hold all three ice cream cones in one hand. He took out his phone and pressed a number on his speed dial.

"Yo?" The other line picked up.

"Hey Aniki, could you do me a favor?" Tony asked as he walked into the kitchen to find the dirty pan from the oden and the large pot of dengen. He propped the phone between his shoulder and ear so that he could take some out and eat it.

"What's up Otōto?" Masutā asked.

"Could you put Miyuki on the line? I have something about Tsukasa I want to ask her." Tony said.

"Yeah, sure!" Masutā said as he handed the phone off. Tony waited for a moment.

"Hello?" Miyuki asked.

"Hey Miyuki." Tony said.

"Hello Kanpeki-san." Miyuki greeted. "What can I help you with?"

"Well... Me and Tsukasa are talking about her moving in... I have a quick question. Is there anything about Tsukasa that you think I should know? The whole mega emotions kind of blind sided me before. Had I known about it, I may have been able to prepare accordingly. I just want to know if there's anything else like that I should look out for." Tony said. Miyuki hummed, seemingly delighted with the question.

"Ahhh, I know exactly what you're talking about. There is an entire aspect of Tsukasa's life that you know nothing about. However, I don't feel at liberty to tell you about it. It is something you should watch out for, but I think you would be better asking Kagami about it. You see, if she thinks you should know about it, then far be it from me to argue, but if she doesn't, I don't want to have been the girl to let the proverbial cat out of the bag." Miyuki said. Tony sighed.

"So you're not going to tell me?" Tony asked.

"I'm afraid not. In this case, all I can say is Classified Information." Miyuki said.

"..." Tony paused a beat. "Wow, was it that annoying when I did it?" Tony asked.

"I'm afraid so." Miyuki said.

"Damn, no wonder Kagami yelled at me." Tony said. "Well at least I have something to get back at you with." Tony said.

"Oh?" Miyuki asked.

"There's an entire aspect of Masutā's life I'm pretty sure you know nothing about as well." Tony smirked.

"...Very well then Kanpeki-san. I shall ask Masutā about it at my next opportunity." Miyuki said.

"I'm sure you will." Tony chuckled. "Luckily, Kagami and Tsukasa are coming over as we speak." Tony said.

"Then you will have the chance to ask her about Tsukasa." Miyuki said.

"That's right." Tony said.

"Then I await hearing her decision." Miyuki said.

"As do I." Tony said.

"Farewell Kanpeki-san." Miyuki bade as she hung up.

"..." Tony paused a beat. "Farewell?" He asked. Tsuki and Yutaka ran back into the room and silently grabbed their ice cream.

"Don't ever do that again!" Tsuki shouted as the two ran out. There was a knock at the door.

"Kan-kun~!" Tsukasa chimed.

**Present**

"So? What is Miyuki talking about? She isn't messing with me, is she?" Tony asked. Kagami smiled.

"No, she isn't. Miyuki was right. There is an entire aspect of Tsukasa that you would have never even thought about." Kagami said.

"Well... I asked Tsukasa about it on our date, but she never really gave me good answer." Tony said. Kagami nodded.

"Sounds about right. You see, this kind of thing is really personal and could be extremely embarrassing. Even for someone as close to her as you are. It can be seen as weird and so she keeps it under wraps for the most part." Kagami explained.

"Do you think you could tell me? I mean, I really want to know all about Tsukasa!" Tony said.

"That's the thing. I'm not sure if even I should tell you. I'm kind of wondering about it right now. Like I said, this is personal. It's not my place to just go around, telling people's secrets." Kagami said. Tony groaned in his head.

"Kagami. Please. I have to know. I love her, and I want to make sure I don't react inappropriately like I did with her super emotions." Tony said.

"Well, that wasn't altogether your fault either, but still. I understand that you want some heads up. Alright." Kagami sighed. "Look, I'm only telling you this because I know you'll be around for a long time, and I think you deserve to know what you're going to be spending the rest of your life with." Kagami said.

"Yes? Yes?" Tony prompted her onward.

"Well... You know how some kids, when they're really little, will make up stories and histories for inanimate objects?" Kagami asked. Tony thought.

"Um... A little help?" He looked confused.

"Well, like how a child would make up a story about a toy car they had, just use their imagination like that?" Kagami said.

"Ahhh." Tony nodded. "Yeah?"

"Er... Tsukasa still does those kinds of things... Sometimes with the most random of things. So watch out for that." Kagami said.

"Wait, you mean to tell me I'll need to be actively watching out for that kind of thing?" Tony asked.

"Oh yeah. Ohohooooo, yeah." Kagami laughed a little. "Moving in may just bring you two even closer than you are now. If you get to a point where she trusts you with this kind of thing, you may find that she does it quite a bit." Kagami said.

"So... Is there any particular reason she does it?" Tony asked. Kagami sighed.

"She stopped about the normal time a kid stops, maybe a bit later because she's... Tsukasa. But after the... incident... with Itzuwari, she started doing it again, making up stories in her head behind things to how they got now. I think she did it to see happy endings where she had none. For a while, it genuinely worried me, but it helped her cope with the loss of her best friend, so I let it go. These days, however, I think it's just become more of a habit than anything. Something her mind just does, you know?" Kagami said. Tony nodded, letting out a breath.

"Okay... Alright." He nodded to himself. "So that wasn't so bad, I should be able to handle that. Anything else you think I should know?" Tony asked

"Gods help you if it should happen while she's on her period." Kagami said. Tony gulped.

"Understood." Tony nodded.

"Well, I hope you do. Prepare for this, because it's going to be difficult when it comes. You're not gonna know what to say or what to do." Kagami said.

"What DO I do?" Tony asked.

"There is no cookie cutter way to respond to something like this. It all depends on the story she makes up. If it's a sad one, you've gotta be there for her. If it's a happy one, be happy for whatever it is she's happy for! It's... weird." Kagami chuckled.

"I'll do my best!" Tony said.

"I suppose, then, assuming all goes well, I'll be trusting you fully with Tsukasa." Kagami said. "Just remember, you make her cry, I'll find some way to hurt you. And I mean _hurt_. If I have to sell my soul to the underworld, I'll hurt you." Kagami said.

"I'm counting on it. And I'll be trusting you with Konata." Tony said. "You should be very careful about how you handle my sister. I don't think it'll be nearly as hard for me to hurt you as it will be for you to hurt me." Tony said.

"Trusting me with Kona?" Kagami asked.

"Well, where else is she going to live? She can't very well go home, after all, and I won't have room for her here once Tsukasa moves in. She's gonna have to move in with you." Tony said. Kagami smiled.

"I like the idea of that. Are you going to help her move too?" Kagami asked.

"If I have time, of course." Tony said.

"Speaking of her situation, I need to ask you a favor." Kagami said.

"Scared about going into the Izumi house, huh?" Tony asked. Kagami nodded.

"I'm just crazy, right? He wouldn't REALLY attack me, right? I mean, he isn't a barbarian, right?" Kagami asked.

"He attacked his daughter." Tony said. Kagami was silent for a moment in shock.

"... Whoa..." She muttered.

"Kan-kun~!" Tsukasa came into the room and hugged him. "Thank you for my ice cream~!" She chimed.

"No problem!" Tony chuckled.

"Even my favorite flavor~! How did you know?" Tsukasa asked.

"You mentioned you liked Vanilla Soda back in the Cosplay Cafe. See, I listen!" Tony smiled. Tsukasa hummed happily.

"You two work anything out yet?" Tsukasa asked.

"Not yet. I needed to ask her something before." Tony said.

"What was it?" Tsukasa asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Tony teased.

"Kan-kun~!" Tsukasa whined.

"Tsu-chan~! Come on back, we have more questions!" Tsuki shouted from the other room.

"Coming Tsu-chan~!" Tsukasa chimed. "They're asking for relationship advice! From me!" Tsukasa whispered excitedly.

"Well go give it to them!" Tony said.

"You should come too! Then we could both give advice!" Tsukasa said.

"Are you insane? When it comes to relationship stuff, I'm not listening to what I say anymore. I'm listening to what you and the others say." Tony said. "I'm a love idiot." Tony chuckled. "That's like asking Stephenie Meyers how to write..." Tony said.

"Come on~!" Tsukasa said.

"Maybe later." Tony said.

"Tsu-chan~!" Tsuki chimed.

"Coming!" Tsukasa gave a disappointed look to Tony, which almost made him break. Then he remembered that he would be embarrassing himself terribly and strengthened his resolve. She left for the other room.

"So, anything else before we get down to business?" Tony asked.

"Well, she also-..." Kagami paused herself. She got a wicked grin. "No. Nothing really."

"Kagami...?" Tony said cautiously.

"I gotta leave SOME mystery for you, don't I~?" Kagami asked, giggling.

"Come on!" Tony said desperately.

"No way, Jose." Kagami said, obviously enjoying her power over Tony. Tony sighed.

"Alright, whatever. Shall we go get whatever it is you want to get from Kon-kon's house?" Tony asked. Kagami thought, then shook her head.

"I'd kind of like to do this myself if possible." She said.

"Why?" Tony asked.

"I want to talk with him, and try peacefully getting it. If the both of us go in, he may just think all I'm there for is to get her stuff." Kagami said.

"That isn't the only reason you're going?" Tony asked.

"No. I want to try and talk some sense into him. Maybe he'll listen, you know?" Kagami asked.

"I think that might be a mistake." Tony said.

"I want to try though." Kagami said. "Something tells me maybe I can get through to him." Tony paused a moment and sighed.

"Fine. Look, I have an idea about how to keep you safe if you go over there. Come here." Tony gestured. Kagami followed him as he led them into the training room. There, he gestured to the seal on the wall. "This, was an idea of Konata's. It's a seal that allows me to travel to it at will. I used it today, and it worked. My idea is what if I put it on _you_? I may be able to use it to keep an eye on the situation. If you get panicked, I'll teleport to you and get a Big Damn Hero moment. If not, all will have gone well and I should be able to simply remove the seal like I did the enchantment on the knife." Tony said.

"Wait, that isn't going to be dangerous for me, will it? It's not going to give me, like, a permanent tattoo of that on me, will it?" Kagami asked, pointing to the seal.

"Probably not." Tony shrugged. Kagami raised her eyebrow.

"Probably, huh?" She asked. "So, that's a gamble. Could you just put it on my clothes?" She asked.

"For all I know, it teleports me in the general vicinity of the seal. Meaning it could teleport me into your clothes." Tony said. Kagami sweatdropped. "I don't think you or Kon-kon would want that." Tony said. Kagami put her arms in a large X, blushing fiercely.

"NO! Not no way, not no how! Nah-uh! Negatory! Nope!" She shouted. Tony chuckled.

"Don't sugarcoat it Kagami, give it to me straight." He said.

"What, that idea doesn't repulse you at all?" Kagami asked.

"Repulse is a strong word. Besides, remember I had a crush on you before. You're not exactly an unattractive girl!" Tony laughed. Kagami looked surprised at his answer.

"You still wouldn't... would you?" Kagami asked.

"Look, would I have told you of the possibility when you suggested it if I wanted it to happen? I don't want to see you naked any more than you want me to!" Tony said. Kagami couldn't help but feel a little insulted. "Especially in front of Sojiro." Tony said. To this, Kagami could agree.

"Still, not the best way to phrase that kind of stuff to your girlfriend's sister." Kagami said.

"Come on Kagami, you know me! When I fell in love with Tsukasa, I lost all interest in women!" Tony said. Kagami raised her eyebrow a little more, causing Tony to think about what he said. "Er... You know what I mean." Tony sighed.

"Yeah. I do. Well then, where are you putting this thing? I don't want it to be very visible, in case it IS permanent." Kagami said.

"You realize what you're asking. For me to put it where you're covered, that place has to be uncovered. What skin are you going to show?" Tony asked. Kagami blushed again.

"This is still not okay stuff to say to your girlfriend's sister." Kagami said sternly. Tony scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry, I'm still learning." He said.

"If you put it inside my clothes, wouldn't you appear inside them as well?" Kagami asked.

"It's complicated. I appear near it, but in such a distance that I'll end up just outside of them. Of course, I could put it on your leg or something. I mean, only Kon-kon will probably be in a position to get a really good look at it then." Tony said. Kagami's blush deepened as she zoned out for a moment for the sole purpose of imagining the circumstance that would require Konata to see her leg. After a few moments of indulging herself in the fantasy, she shook it off.

"I suppose. Do you have to feel my leg?" Kagami asked. Tony nodded. Kagami sighed and crossed her arms. "Fine. Don't linger though." She said. Tony knelt and grabbed her left leg lightly. He reworded his spell in his mind.

"Kan-kun, what are you doing?" Tsukasa asked, having sidled them. Tony didn't miss a beat, and stopped his spell short so he could answer.

"I was putting a spell on Kagami so I can come to her aid if Sojiro attacks her." He said. Tsukasa blinked and looked at Kagami. Kagami nodded. Tsukasa looked back at Tony, who looked to be concentrating again. She smiled.

"Okay Kan-kun, I trust you." She said. Tony smiled and stood back up. While he was talking to Tsukasa, he had gotten a much better idea than putting his seal on Kagami.

"I'm so happy." He smiled to her. "Could you do me a favor Tsukasa?" Tony asked.

"Of course!" Tsukasa said cheerfully.

"Can Kagami borrow your necklace? It's enchantment would be exactly what we need here." Tony said. Tsukasa looked at her necklace. She thought for a moment.

"Yeah, I guess." She smiled. She reached behind her head an unclasped it. She brought it around and put it on Kagami, who looked at it.

"Wow... I never did really look at this. This is worth quite a lot of money, isn't it Tony?" Kagami asked. Tony chuckled.

"Just a little. The look on Tsukasa's face when I gave it to her was well worth it." Tony smiled. Kagami nodded.

"Alright, are you ready Tony?" Kagami asked. Tony nodded. Through the enchantment of the necklace, he would be alerted to any immediate danger to Kagami and it would summon him if he let it.

"Ready." Tony said.

"Okay, I'm gonna go. Be sure to keep a watch on me." Kagami said uncertainly.

"Got it." He said. Kagami walked out.

"Kan-kun, why her leg?" Tsukasa asked. Tony sighed, thinking it would be simpler and much less suspicious to explain the reason he was feeling Kagami's leg rather than say that he hadn't ended up needing to in the first place.

"Well, it's simple..." Tony started to explain in a way he was sure Tsukasa would understand.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Kagami left the house and walked over to Sojiro's house. She knocked on the door and entered without waiting for a response. She began creeping as stealthily as she could. As she passed the door to the living room, however, she was discovered.

"Get out of my house you... _thing_!" Sojiro shouted at her.

"Look, I'm not here to pick a fight with you Mr. Izumi. I just want to talk and pick something up of Kona's." Kagami held her hands up near the sides of her face.

"I have nothing to say to the likes of you! You turned my daughter against me!" Sojiro shouted once more. Kagami had opened her mouth to explain what she was picking up, having thought he'd ask, but was stunned a moment, incredibly insulted.

"You did that yourself." Kagami said.

"You won't take her from me!" Sojiro yelled at near the top of his lungs. Kagami kept on a cool front.

"Your anger and idiotic views have already done _that_. I love Konata, and she loves me. Why can't you see that?" Kagami asked.

"Because it isn't love!" Sojiro shouted.

"I get it, you think it's just a phase." Kagami rolled her eyes.

"No, you don't get it! You THINK you get it, which is different from actually getting it, get it?" Sojiro asked as if he were lecturing a toddler.

"I don't know why I bothered trying to reason with you." Kagami turned to Konata's room. "You don't care about Kona at all." She said spitefully.

"YOU LITTLE BI-" Sojiro began to lose it and threw himself at her. Kagami felt helpless as he closed in. Suddenly, Sojiro froze and was sent back into the wall by energy and Tony appeared. He walked up and took Sojiro's wrist, forcefully dragging him out of the room.

"Go on Kagami." Tony said. Kagami smiled and nodded. She walked down the hall until she saw Konata's door. She opened it and walked in. She looked around and saw Konata's Manga shelf. She also saw her book bag.

_If Kona's gonna actually live with us, maybe I should get a few of her things..._ Kagami thought. She grabbed the bag and began putting various manga into it in an orderly fashion. Konata may be better at most games than she was, but she had an edge in Tetris. Konata, she knew, would have thrown all she could in haphazardly. She may have gotten some, but Kagami could get a much greater amount. After filling the bag half way, Kagami looked around. _Now... If I were Kona, where would I hide them..._ She wondered. She began searching around. Suddenly, it hit her. She smiled and walked out of the room. She took a turn and walked in to the room Konata had her training supplies. She looked around and saw a cupboard that was probably a good half the room. She went over and pulled the doors open to find what she had been looking for. She began filling the bag the rest of the way when Tony walked in.

"Hey Kagami, you find what you were looking for?" Tony asked.

"Haven't looked yet. I was thinking that, if Kona's gonna be living with me, she might want some of her things. I'm just grabbing some of her favorite figurines that she saves in here for eternal preservation. Since no one comes in here often, I figured it'd be the best place to keep them." Kagami said.

"Good idea. But you'll only get a few of them that way." Tony said.

"Got a better idea?" Kagami asked.

"Magic?" Tony asked. Kagami paused.

_Duh._ She sighed internally. "So how are you doing that?" She asked.

"I'm gonna teleport myself with the cupboard and it's contents." Tony said.

"Gotcha." Kagami sighed and unpacked the figurines back into the cabinet. She began to leave the room. "By the way, where's Sojiro?" Kagami asked. Tony smiled.

"Oh, I just let him know _exactly_ what happens if he interferes." Tony said.

"He didn't threaten to call the police?" Kagami asked.

"Of course he did. But he knows the police couldn't really do anything. Being overpowered in a verse of normal people has advantages, ya know." He said.

"Might wanna be careful what you say Tony. Remember, last time you got cocky, Hachiman himself came down and kicked your ass." Kagami smirked, looking quite amused. Tony chuckled nervously.

"Yeah, true... But Hachiman is exhausted. Whatever he did to tank that last attack is something he's not used to doing. Whatever it was, he did it panicked and in a hurry, it probably took a lot more energy than it should have because he didn't think he'd have to do it." Tony said.

"Tony." Kagami said.

"Yes?" Tony asked.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Kagami said.

"Err... I didn't fight those ninja by myself. Hachiman was helping me." Tony said.

"Oooh... I thought you had a bit too much power in that fight." Kagami said. "Still, don't get too overconfident. Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?" Kagami asked with an amused look.

"The Shadow knows." Tony said matter of factly. Kagami giggled and nodded knowingly.

"I'm gonna go get that thing." Kagami said.

"Alrighty, don't let me keep you." Tony said. Kagami smiled and nodded again. She left the room and returned to Konata's room. She looked in the closet to see what she was looking for in the first place hanging. She smiled and took it out, and put it in the bag.

_I've got room for a few video games. _Kagami thought with a smile. She walked out to the living room. Sojiro looked at her, glaring all of his hatred for tearing his daughter from him. Kagami returned one with twice the ferocity.

"I'll get you." Sojiro said.

"I hope you try." Kagami growled. "If you ever hurt my baby again, I'll kill you." She said with a deathly serious voice. It was with that look, Sojiro could see a woman truly capable of killing. Sojiro looked into her eyes for a moment, a little awed by the sight of a girl getting so protective over his daughter. Kagami used the stunned moment to begin loading some of Konata's favorite video games into the bag. Once the bag was full, she looked back at the man with disgust to see he hadn't moved. He hadn't even looked away from where Kagami had been a moment ago. Kagami sighed and walked back to the training room to see Tony. He was examining the cabinet. "So, any luck?" Kagami asked.

"I can't teleport this today. I wouldn't trust my energy levels. That rescue earlier may have looked awesome, but it still took a bit of energy." Tony said.

"Then why make it do all the fancy stuff?" Kagami asked.

"That was my first successful enchantment. I was even worse with my magic back then. It's mostly cosmetic, from the distance Sojiro was, energy obscured your image and passed to reveal me. It looks pretty cool." Tony said.

"Well, we've got all day tomorrow." Kagami said.

"Yeah. Besides, we have to get room in Tsukasa's room before I can even put this anywhere." Tony said.

"True enough. Well, I got it. Let's go." The two began to leave the house. Kagami walked out, but Tony gave a last glare at Sojiro.

"You know, it's Oban. I got the chance to talk with my mother. I hope Konata can too. Then her mother can apologize for your atrocious behavior." He said.

"But..." Sojiro muttered, still in a daze.

"Damn it man! She's your daughter!" Tony yelled at him before walking out of the house. And Sojiro was left alone. "So Kagami, what IS your plan anyway? Why did you need this thing so badly?" Tony asked. Kagami smiled.

"Well, Tsukasa had most of this plan soon as she heard about Kona. This..." She waved the bag around, rustling the contents inside. "Was a touch I added myself." She smiled.

"What is it?" Tony asked. Kagami paused and opened the bag. She pulled the thing out. Tony looked at it for a moment and smiled.

"Oh. Wow. You're...?" Tony asked. Kagami smiled and nodded.

"Mmmmhmmmm." She said.

"Kon-kon is gonna LOVE that! She is going.. She's gonna flip!" Tony said. "Awesome, that's the only word. Awesome." Tony smiled. They continued and got into Tony's house.

"Tsukasa~, we have to be getting home! Kona could be awake by now!" Kagami said.

"Time of the essence?" Tony asked. Kagami nodded. He rushed to the kitchen for a moment. Kagami turned to Tsukasa.

"Tsukasa, thanks for letting me use your necklace. It helped a lot." Kagami said as she took the necklace off and handed it back to Tsukasa.

"It's no problem Onee-chan." Tsukasa took the necklace back and put it on. She looked down at it and smiled before returning her gaze to her sister. "So, shall we go?"

"Yeah, let's." Kagami and Tsukasa headed for the door.

"Hang on!" Tony shouted as he ran back in. He was chewing something. He swallowed and made a face. "If time is really that important, I can see about teleporting you guys home!" Tony said.

"That would be awesome!" Kagami cheered.

"On it!" Tony grabbed Kagami and Tsukasa by the arm and turned on the spot, concentrating on Tsukasa's room. As the by-this-time familiar sensation took over, Tsukasa and Kagami felt their stomach quake. Luckily, through quite an effort, they managed to keep their lunch as they arrived in their house. They touched down in Tsukasa's room, though they were standing on her futon. The bag that Tsukasa held had split open and the contents had fallen onto her bed.

"Tony... Why are we on Tsukasa's bed?" Kagami said with a scarily serious voice.

"It's the part of Tsukasa's room I remember the best." Tony said. Tsukasa's face exploded.

"It isn't what it sounds like!" She shouted as she began pushing Kagami out of the room. "Thanks Kan-kun!" She hurriedly said. Tony looked around.

"Did I say something wrong?" He asked himself. He sighed and put his hand on the wall next to Tsukasa's television. He reworded his spell and the seal placed itself on the wall. _Well that'll make it easier to move things..._ Tony smiled. He took energy from his ring and apparated home.

Tsukasa pushed Kagami through the house, just as far away from her room and Tony as she could before Kagami could question it. As they passed through the living room, they saw their mother watching television, though Tadao was nowhere to be seen.

"Mom, did Kona wake up?" Kagami asked as Tsukasa stopped pushing her.

"No, I haven't heard anything." Miki said.

"Then where's Dad?" Kagami asked.

"Your father had to go to work." Miki smiled.

"Ah. Well, okay then." Kagami smiled. Tsukasa and her entered the kitchen, the former sighing in relief that the latter had seemingly forgotten about what Tony had said.

"So what did he mean, Tsukasa?" Kagami asked. Or not.

"Um-! What do you mean?" Tsukasa asked.

"Tony. About remembering your bed the most." Kagami said.

"It's where we watched Lion King 2. I had a nightmare, Dad came in, Kan-kun did something and Dad got a little scared." Tsukasa explained.

"Nightmare? So you fell asleep... Probably leaned on Tony... No wonder he remembers it. The love of his life was leaning on him before you two knew you loved each other." Kagami smiled.

"Yeah, that must be it! That's why he remembers it..." Tsukasa smiled.

"Alright, so shall we get started?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah!" Tsukasa cheered as she got out the pots and pans. "I'm right here Onee-chan. If you need any help, I'll be right here." Tsukasa put the pots and pans on the stove and backed away.

"Okay... Thanks Tsukasa." Kagami smiled to her sister. She took up a small pot. "With love for Kona!" She cheered.

**After a little while**

"Tsukasa... Are we done? Is that it?" Kagami huffed, looking at her creation.

"It looks great! You did really well Onee-chan!" Tsukasa praised her sister. She had only had to intervene a few times and been called a few other times, but Kagami had done a good amount of the work herself.

"Awesome! Then it's time for the icing on the cake! Er... So to speak." Kagami said.

"Alright, I'll put on the finishing touches! Go get dressed!" Tsukasa said as Kagami walked over to the table. She picked up the bag she had gotten from Konata's house and left the kitchen. She began walking towards her room, but remembered that Konata was there. While she didn't have as many objections to changing in front of Konata as she did a few months ago, she didn't want to spoil the surprise. So, she decided Tsukasa wouldn't mind her changing in her room. She walked in.

* * *

**POV Konata**

Konata's eyes cracked open.

"Kona, wake up already!" Kagami yelled, shaking Konata with her knee and doing her best to maintain her balance.

"I'm up! I'm up..." Konata said, rubbing her eyes and yawning cutely. Having a clear view of Kagami, her jaw dropped. She was holding a plate with one of her favorite snacks on it.

"Choco coronets for you, Master?" The lilac haired Miku Hatsune offered, the plate of choco coronets held in both hands like an offering. Kagami's gaze was averted slightly and a light blush was on her face. The two stayed that way for a moment. Konata fell backwards, a small tendril of blood trickling from her nose.

"Ka...Ka..." She muttered and twitched. Kagami got a sly smile on her face.

_Plan Underbelly Mark 2: Success!_ She thought excitedly. "Ma-Master?" Kagami asked in a pretend panic. "Are you okay, Master? This is my fault isn't it? I'm so sorry to wake you!" Kagami started to cry falsely. Konata perked right back up.

_I see why Kan-kan has that fetish... _She thought. _It's so amazing to hear that from the girl you love..._ Konata smiled. "It's alright Kagamin, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to react like that, you just surprised me! You look positively stunning in that outfit!" Konata explained quickly. Kagami's crying began sounding off again. Her eyes opened up to cracks and her eyes darted to Konata. Konata could easily see the toothed smirk she had on her face now.

"Gotcha." She said. Konata paused a beat.

"Why did you do that to me Kagamin? Betrayal by the Tsundere!" Konata complained loudly. Then her head actually computed that Kagami had warm choco coronets simply awaiting Konata, and all was forgiven. She looked at it and picked one up. "Kagamin, did you go out and buy me choco coronets?" Konata asked in wonder.

"You could say that." Kagami smiled as Konata took a bite. She turned it around and licked the chocolate as it dripped out. She looked at it for a moment as she ate what she had bitten.

"No way. This is much better than what I usually get at the store..." Konata seemed to ponder something.

"Yes~?" Kagami asked.

"Tsukasa? Did Tsukasa make these? For me?" Konata asked, taking another bite and taking more of the chocolate.

"No~." Kagami chimed, ecstatic with her cooking being mistaken for Tsukasa's.

"...Your Mom?" Konata asked.

"Getting colder~!" Kagami chimed.

"..." Konata looked at it, eating a bit more. "Inori?" She asked.

"Me!" Kagami said. "I made them myself!" Kagami said proudly. Konata looked back at the coronet, then to Kagami, then back to the coronet. She placed it back on the plate.

"No thanks. Wouldn't Gyopy-chan be more suited to eat these?" Konata asked.

"Oh, come on! I worked really hard on these! And I put a lot of love into these!" Kagami shouted. "You even said they were better than what you usually buy!"

"I know!" Konata seemed to cease her restraint, and practically tackled Kagami to get the coronets. She got the one she had been eating before and held two others, one in each hand. Kagami had to do several of the basic ballet moves just to keep the rest of the coronets on the tray she held.

"Kona!" Kagami shouted. Konata turned at looked at her, her eyes closed in delight and three coronets divided between her hands and her mouth.

"Hm~?" She asked, cocking her head to the side. Kagami blushed a bit.

"... Thank me properly before you just dig in." She muttered.

"Hhank hou!" Konata said in a muffled voice, her mouth still holding a coronet.

"And don't talk with your mouth full!" Kagami scolded. Konata simply sat there and hummed contently, eating her coronets. Tsukasa poked her head in.

"Onee-chan, did she like them?" She asked. Kagami smiled.

"Come see for yourself!" Kagami chimed. Tsukasa stepped into the room fully to see Konata on her second coronet. As she neared, a light shone from her pocket, a similar light shining from behind Konata.

"Wha-!" Tsukasa exclaimed. Konata looked back. She swallowed and replaced the coronets on the tray. She grabbed at the light as Tsukasa stepped away. The light dimmed to show a jade marble.

"Damn it, you too?" Kagami asked.

"Looks like it..." Konata mumbled.

"So who gave it to you? I know Amaterasu gave Tsukasa hers, so who gave you yours?" Kagami asked.

"Fujin." Konata said.

"Wow, really?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah... We made a contract for his power..." Konata said.

"A contract? What did you lose?" Kagami asked.

"Just my soul!" Konata said cheerfully and continued eating one of the coronets dismissively. Kagami deadpanned.

"YOUR SOUL?" She shouted with the force the moon crashing into the earth. Konata didn't miss a beat.

"Yep! Nothing important or anything! He initially wanted to take my manga, but I told him that just wasn't going to happen!" Konata said.

"Wait, so you literally gave up your soul for your manga. I knew it would happen eventually. You realize that means him and I have a problem. Your soul belongs to me! And me only!" Kagami shouted. "You hear that Fujin!" She said, hugging Konata. "See this? Mine! All of it!" She claimed.

"I'm just kidding Kagamin, I didn't give him my soul. Don't worry about what he got, it's nothing!" Konata waved her hand dismissively.

"It better not be anything! Nothing is worth your soul Kona, not even the power of a God." Kagami lectured.

"Just like a miko..." Konata muttered through the rest of her coronet. Kagami sighed.

"Whatever." Kagami said.

"I'll leave you two alone..." Tsukasa said softly and back quickly out of the room.

"So Kona, you seem happy. Not that I'm complaining, but you came in a mess..." Kagami said.

"Ah... Fujin's dream wasn't the only dream I had..." Konata smiled as she reminisced.

* * *

**The Theater of Konata's Mind**

Konata awoke in a field. It was a field of tall grass that came up to her waist. She looked around, but couldn't make out anything else. No trees. No civilization. No signs of any other life. It was strangely peaceful, and Konata felt an ease she hadn't felt in a while. She felt as if there was nothing on Earth that could hurt her, and that everything in the world would be alright. She knew the feeling, but not where it was coming from. Until...

"My baby..." A harmonious voice whispered behind her. Konata heard it and was paused for a beat. She knew who it was, but couldn't believe her ears immediately. She turned slowly to face her.

"Mama..." Konata mumbled as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Yes... It's me Sunshine." Kanata smiled. She opened her arms widely.

"Mama!" Konata began sprinting with all her strength. Wind picked up behind her, her feet moved so quickly. It was as if the wind itself was accepting her into the embrace of Kanata. She dived at her mother in a hug. Kanata, with surprising strength, caught her and stayed on her feet, though Konata's momentum spun the two around. "I love you Mama!" Konata shouted. "I love you!" She shouted. Kanata hummed with joy.

"I love you too Sunshine." Kanata said.

"I don't know if you're real or not, but I wanted to say that before this dream ended. Mama, are you really here? What's going on?" Konata asked.

"I'm here Sunshine. This isn't a regular dream, either. It's the judges, they-" Kanata began.

"It's okay Mama, I don't care how you're here... I trust you." Konata tightened her hug. Kanata began stroking her daughter's hair. "How long can we stay like this?"

"Don't worry Sunshine, you'll stay asleep for as long as you want. This is the only time we'll get to talk like this, so please don't hold back." Kanata smiled. Konata sniffled. "Is there anything you would like to ask?" Konata brought her head from Kanata's stomach and looked up, suspended tears in her eyes.

"Mama... Why does Dad hate me?" Konata asked. Kanata's eyes widened in almost disbelief, her mouth slightly agape. She was heartbroken to hear such a question from her daughter.

"Sunshine, he doesn't hate you. Not by any means. As hard as it may be for you to believe, your father loves you very much, and he wants you to be happy." Kanata smiled softly to her daughter. Konata looked confused.

"Then... Why? Why would he do something like this to me?" She asked. "Why can't he see that I love Kagami?" Konata shouted, desperately hoping her mother could give some form of insight into her father's behavior. Kanata sighed rather sadly.

"He goes about loving you the wrong way, at least in this regard. I'll admit it, I'm partially to blame for it. You see Sunshine, I had always thought, when we had a child, that you'd grow up to be a successful woman. I had this vision of you being a successful woman with a successful job and a successful family..." Kanata said.

"So you... You don't approve of me and Kagami dating?" Konata asked fearfully. Kanata could feel her daughter beginning to loosen her grasp. Kanata sighed again, feeling even more heartbroken by her daughter's lack of trust.

"Does that mean you don't see your relationship as being successful?" Kanata asked. Konata looked as if she had been struck.

"Of course I do! I love her with all my heart! How could even suggest otherwise?" Konata asked fiercely. Kanata's facade broke as she began giggling. "What?" Konata asked.

"See Sunshine? You really do love her. Of course you'll be successful and I do approve of your dating. You'll always be my Sunshine, no matter what you do. You've become far more successful in finding a family than I ever could have dreamed you would." Kanata smiled softly.

"So... You don't think I'm just some Yuri freak?" Konata asked. Kanata looked pensive for a moment, as if making a decision about something. She sighed.

"Of course not. As it happens..." She averted her gaze, a small blush playing on to her cheeks. That piqued Konata's curiosity.

"Hm?" She hummed inquisitively.

"As it happens, you're not the only one who's... experimented with this sort of relationship..." Kanata muttered. Konata's mouth fell open.

"No... You? Really?" Konata said in utter disbelief.

"Mhm..." Kanata's blush deepened.

"I say Mama, first you had my curiosity, but NOW you have my attention!" Konata said, amazed and awed. "With who? Who?" She urged, squeezing her mother around the stomach at the end of each sentence. Kanata looked indecisive for a moment. She then leaned down and whispered in Konata's ear. There was a moment when neither moved afterwards. "No-ho-ho way." Konata said.

"Mhm." Kanata nodded, embarrassed for her deepest secret to be known. She shook it off enough that she could speak normally. "But that's how I know you're serious about this relationship! I've been there and we were a lot different than you and Kagami! We were more just seeing that was what made us happy and it didn't truly do it. So, we mutually agreed to keep it a secret and not experiment anymore." Kanata said. Konata stayed frozen for a moment more.

"Does Dad know?" She asked calmly.

"Are you insane? Do you know how crazy he'd go if he found out something like that?" Kanata giggled.

"I guess I see your point..." Konata sighed. Suddenly, she felt weird. Very weird. As if there was a ripple through the dream. Konata felt as if she wasn't there, but somewhere else, yet she was still looking at her mother. She looked up at her mother to see her equally as affected, and doubly as fearful. "Mama, what's going on?" Konata asked.

"Sunshine, it looks like we don't have as much time as I thought." Kanata said quickly.

"Mama?" Konata asked.

"I love you Sunshine, don't you ever forget it!" Kanata said, kissing Konata on the forehead.

"I love you too Mama." Konata said just as the dream went pitch black. She could still feel Kanata's kiss on her forehead. She moved a hand to the spot, but by the time it reached its destination, she couldn't remember what the feeling was.

"Welcome, mortal."

* * *

"So, you were visited by your mother..." Kagami smiled. She giggled a bit.

"What's so funny Kagamin?" Konata asked. Kagami shook her head.

"It's nothing, I'm just so happy for you." She smiled. Kagami hugged Konata. "Kona. I want you to live here." Kagami said.

"Huh?" Konata asked.

"I want you to move in. Tsukasa's trying to move in with Tony, I want you to come live in Tsukasa's old room if she does move out." Kagami said. Konata took a moment to let what she just heard sink in.

"Kagamin... Thank you." She leaned into Kagami.

"It's my pleasure, Kona." Kagami put her head on her girlfriend's shoulder.

"I love you Kagami." Konata said.

"I love you too, Konata." Kagami said.

"Don't we have to ask your parents though?" Konata asked.

"... Yeah, I guess." Kagami sighed. Konata was about to move to get up, but she felt resistance. "Not yet, Kona. I wanna snuggle more." Kagami tightened her hug and nuzzled her head into Konata's shoulder. Konata hummed with tranquil joy. They stayed there a moment, waiting for Kagami to get her Kona fix. After a few moments, Kagami nodded against Konata's cheek. "Alright. Let's go." Kagami said.

"Sure thing." Konata smiled. The two got up and walked out of the room.

"This is a VERY serious commitment, Tsukasa. I hope you understand that." Tadao said very seriously.

"I understand, Dad." Tsukasa said. Konata and Kagami stopped and listened.

"Moving in is a lot more than I think you're thinking of." Miki said.

"What will you do if he asks for... That?" Tadao asked.

"We're sleeping in different rooms. He knows that... That... isn't going to happen." Tsukasa said resolutely.

"You're sure you want to do this?" Tadao asked.

"With all my heart." Tsukasa answered.

"And if he does ask?" Miki asked again.

"I'll calmly reject him." Tsukasa said.

"And if he's... forceful?" Tadao asked.

"He wouldn't. I know he wouldn't. Do you hear yourselves?" Tsukasa asked.

"Hey, don't take that attitude with your father!" Miki said.

"I'm sorry." Tsukasa bowed her head. "You saw his apology. Do you think he'd try something like that?" Tsukasa asked.

"..." Her parents took a moment to think about the situation. They looked at Tsukasa with silent reflection, thinking of everything they knew of the boy, and every time they had seen the two interact. They closed their eyes in contemplation. They opened their eyes and looked at her, long and hard. VERY long and hard. Finally, Miki smiled.

"I approve." She said. Tadao looked at his wife for a moment, then closed his eyes and smiled, chuckling a little.

"I'll help." Tadao pushed up off his knees from his seat and stood. "When did you intend on this happening?" He asked.

"I was kind of hoping tomorrow..." Tsukasa mumbled.

"I'm off tomorrow." Tadao smiled. Tsukasa smiled.

"Um..." Tsukasa said.

"Hm?" Tadao hummed.

"Kan-kun... was going to use magic to make it really quick..." Tsukasa said.

"Ah, magic again." Tadao sighed. "I was looking forward to helping my daughter move for the first time." Tadao said.

"You still could." Kagami said. Tadao and Miki turned their attention to her and Konata, seemingly noticing them for the first time since they entered the room.

"What?" Tadao asked.

"Since Tsukasa is moving out, I was thinking maybe Kona could move in to her room? You see, she can't very well go home again, and so I... kind of invited her to stay here..." Kagami said.

"You invited without our consent?" Tadao asked seriously. Kagami looked like a small child getting caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"... I'm sorry..." Kagami muttered. Tadao sighed and shrugged.

"The invitation is extended. Do you accept Konata?" Tadao asked. Konata blinked.

"Huh?" She asked, being suddenly addressed without any warning.

"I asked you if you want to live with us?" Tadao asked. Konata smiled.

"Yeah! I'd love to." Konata answered.

"Alright then, it's decided. Konata, you'll move in after Tsukasa has moved out. We can help if Tony can't for some reason." Tadao said. "Obviously, we can't move all of it in one day, but we can move the essentials."

"Hey Dad, I thought you were at work?" Kagami asked.

"I was, but when Tsukasa called me about twenty minutes ago and told me she needed to ask us something, I came home." Tadao said.

"When did you call him?" Kagami asked her twin.

"When I started eating... It's what made Yu-chan and Tsu-chan think about asking for advice..." Tsukasa smiled sheepishly.

"Ah, alright. I was confused." Kagami smiled.

"So then I'm moving in tomorrow?" Konata asked, hugging Kagami around the waist. Kagami smiled down to her little loli girlfriend.

"Tomorrow!" Kagami cheered.

"Tomorrow!" The rest of the company cheered.

* * *

**POV Sojiro**

Sojiro laid in his bed. He had replayed the events of the evening a hundred times in his head. He always stuck on that one part. Kagami's glare.

_**I hope you try. If you ever hurt my baby again, I'll kill**** you.**_

_She does seem to care for Konata... But Kanata wanted Konata to be loved... And to have a secure future. She wanted a successful family and job and everything, not a yuri girl! She'll see that there's a reason I made this decision... She'll see..._ Sojiro reasoned with himself before drifting off to sleep.

He awoke in a field of wilted grass. The sky was an eerie red. He looked around, but could see no civilization, no life, no trees. The ground itself seemed dead. The hostile environment set Sojiro on an edge he hadn't felt in a very long time. He looked around, and felt an extremely uncomfortable glare. He turned completely around to see a short woman.

"Ka.. Kanata!" Sojiro shouted. He began running to his wife, wind blowing against him. "Kana-" He was interrupted as a sharp pain cut across his cheek, sending him to the ground.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya Luckies! I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami~!" Akira chimed.

"And I'm the assistant, Minoru Shiraishi."

"See! You got a part, you got a part!" Akira said excitedly.

"I saw, I was there." Minoru smiled. "Thank you very much." He bowed. Akira blushed and looked away.

"It was nothing." Akira mumbled.

"No, it was something. Thank you so much." Minoru smiled.

"Seriously, it's no big deal!" Akira insisted.

"You're blushing Akira." Minoru pointed out. She jumped and gasped.

"I am not!" She shouted.

"Whatever you say Akira!" Minoru laughed.

*Music Tone*

"Well, I guess that's all the time we have for today! I'll see you all next time! Bye nii~!" Akira maintained her disposition through her red face.

"..."

"Akira, where are you going?"

"I gotta see a man about a dog."

"Hang on, maybe I wanna come!"

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

So, this took longer than I intended, of course. Eight hours of school a day, nine hours of work a day, it doesn't leave much time to work on this. I'll get this over quickly, I'll see you all in the next chapter!


	48. Chapter 48: A Divine Favor

Chapter 48: A Divine Favor

Hey hey hey! Happy Easter everyone! Been a while. Life. No time. Yada yada yada. Lame ass excuse. Now that that's out of the way, let's get down to brass tacks! Stealthmomo! Glad to serve, even if it is once in a long while. Ah Gigarot, I guess that makes sense. I have a habit of unconsciously putting in references, but I don't think that was one of them. Universal Lizard, sorry that I couldn't keep it too much under two months. I tried! Life kicked my ass though... Mastodonic, don't worry about being THAT long! I didn't expect it to be that long, but still. I like that you gave the effort :D I'm a fan of the wind as well. Sqweebs, I didn't see that reference either lol. Prime-butt, welcome to the story! Glad you're liking it! Konami shares my sentiment (Konami Izumi, reviewer, not Konami the couple...) Holyriot, I was wondering what happened to ya!

So, we got one vote for Yukari, two for Miki, and one for Kuroi... I half considered actually changing who it was. Of course, I gotta go with the one I planned for to begin with...

* * *

**POV T****sukasa**

Tsukasa was standing in front of a fireplace, facing it. It burned brightly, though she had a feeling she would be as warm without it. She recognized where she was.

"We meet again, mortal." Amaterasu laughed.

"I... Huh?" She was unsure of how to greet the Sun goddess.

"In awe of me, I see. Not that any one could blame you." Amaterasu said. "I shall "cut to the chase", as you mortals say. I have come because the song I taught you will have effect now."

"Oh... Thank you." Tsukasa said.

"I am not finished yet!" Amaterasu said fervidly. Tsukasa shrunk as if an explosion had happened right in front of her.

"Sorry..." She muttered on instinct.

"Have you forgotten what I have told you already?" Amaterasu shouted. Tsukasa shrank further.

"M..." She was almost shaking, she was so terrified. Amaterasu saw this and sighed.

"Do not be so afraid. Had I wanted you killed, it would have been done a thousand times over by now." Amaterasu said. This did nothing to console Tsukasa. "In any case. There was one other thing. Two songs I have come to teach you that will help to unlock the power of the... item... I gave you during our last encounter."

"Um..." Tsukasa began.

"Yes? Is there something of what I have said that you do not understand?" Amaterasu asked.

"Well... I was just wondering... Why me? Why are you teaching me all these songs?" Tsukasa asked.

"As Hachiman would likely say in this situation, 'Yours is the voice that will pierce the Heavens'." Amaterasu said with an almost condescending smile on her face that could also almost be described as warm. "And we shall have plenty of time tonight. We should not have interruption." Amaterasu said.

"Okay... So... What's first?" Tsukasa asked.

"That tone is..." Amaterasu seemed conflicted. "Very well. Let us begin." Amaterasu said.

* * *

**POV Sojiro**

Sojiro, collapsed on the ground and rubbing his cheek in an attempt to ease the pain, looked up in disbelief at his wife.

"K...Kanata?" He asked. He thought it must be a dream, but his cheek was in a lot of pain and he had yet to wake up. Whatever was going on, this was real.

"How could you..." She glared at him, furious tears running down her cheeks. "How could you do that to my baby!?" She yelled at him.

"But- I thought you wanted a secure future for her!" Sojiro said.

"Can't you see? Kagami IS a secure future! She's brilliant, hard working and downright beautiful!" Kanata shouted. She huffed and grew quieter, thought Sojiro could clearly see she wasn't about to calm down. "Do you know what our daughter asked me today?" Kanata asked.

"You... spoke with her? Like... you're speaking to me now?" Sojiro asked.

"Yes. We spoke a bit." Kanata said.

"What was it?" Sojiro asked.

"She asked me why you hated her." Kanata said. Sojiro's eyes widened and his mouth fell open.

"But I... I don't hate her..." Sojiro said.

"Yeah, I know that, but she doesn't! She cried her eyes out asking me why her father hated her. When I told her that you didn't hate her, the look of disbelief in her eyes... It was heartbreaking! I left you with the care of our daughter, and THIS is what happens?" Kanata shouted. Sojiro was almost cowering. There had never, NEVER been a time he had seen Kanata this angry at all, let alone with him. Even when she found out about her condition on pregnancy, the one that would kill her within a few years of child birth, she accepted it with a happy smile and adamantly refused the only treatment that would save her. Even the mere thought of an abortion caused her to become passively hostile. The sight of Kanata's quivering in anger with her fists balled frightened Sojiro.

"But Kanata..." Sojiro began. "I know you, you're never like this..."

"Neither are you! You've always accepted her for who she is, what changed?" Kanata asked. "You know what? Don't answer."

"Kanata... I-" Sojiro began.

"You what? You know me? Are you so sure?" Kanata asked. Her eyes widened when she realized what she had just said in her fit.

"What? What do you mean?" Sojiro asked, stunned. Kanata sighed and prepared herself. She took a deep breath.

"Yukari." Kanata mumbled. "I'm sorry." She apologized to her as if she were there.

"Kanata?" Sojiro asked cautiously.

"It was years before Sunshine. Do you remember, probably around twenty five years ago. We had that big fight... We broke up for a month or two?"

"It was the most miserable month and a half I'd ever lived through. Before now." Sojiro said.

"Well... During that time... Me and a dear friend of mine, you know her as Yukari Takara. We... Had been spending more and more time together. Then... She began to get even closer and closer to me... And I to her." Kanata began.

"Kanata..." Sojiro mumbled.

"We began to date." Kanata smiled with her eyes closed, reminiscing on all the time she had with her friend. "And we had a fabulous time. We went to the movies. Ate out." Kanata smiled

"Kanata... You've never told me this before..." Sojiro said.

"Can you blame me? Look at how you reacted when Sunshine told you." Kanata said. Sojiro bowed his head as a child would accepting a scolding. Kanata sighed and began her trip down memory lane once more. "I remember it so clearly. We had so much fun back then. And I did care for her so much..." Kanata trailed off as her eyes looked dewy and distant. She took a moment to remember silently. Sojiro waited for her to continue, but she took more than a few moments to think back. "I was unhappy about our fight. But she was so happy to be with me. I was happy with her. It was different from us." Kanata said.

"Did you love her?" Sojiro asked. Kanata blushed and sighed.

"Don't ask me that." She said.

"I have to know. Tell me! Did. You. Love her?" Sojiro asked again.

"Get used to disappointment." Kanata said."So how does it feel, So-kun? To know your own wife was a Yuri?" Kanata asked.

"Good... Yeah, that's good. It furthers my point." Sojiro said.

"W-What?" Kanata asked.

"You didn't stay Yuri. Neither of you! Yukari went on to get married! So did you! To men! Yuri love doesn't last, it's nothing but a phase, and that's what I'm trying to make Konata see." Sojiro said.

"You're wrong! I didn't stay Yuri, it's true! Yukari wasn't the love of my life, it's true! We both moved on and married men, it's. True. But she stayed Yuri. She never fell out of love with me. She loved me to the day I died. It's what led to her divorce! Love, true love, doesn't depend on gender! It doesn't depend on race, height, age, looks, or anything!" Kanata shouted. "Do you know how many people objected about us because I look like this?" Kanata gestured to herself.

"That's different! You may look like a young girl, but I fell in love with you, not your body!" Sojiro said. "I love your soul, your personality!"

"That's. Just. IT!" Kanata threw her hands in front of her to emphasize her point. "You fell in love with who I was! Sunshine fell in love with who Kagami was! And Kagami fell in love with who Sunshine was! True love doesn't depend on all that physical stuff! It's people! Sunshine loves Kagami and Kagami loves Sunshine. You say THAT today." Kanata said.

"..." Sojiro was given pause by this statement. He knew exactly what Kanata was referring to.

"Yeah. You know what I'm talking about." Kanata said, taking an extremely grave tone. "She really would kill you for her sake if she felt you were a major threat to Sunshine's health. And if she couldn't, she would get someone else who could." Kanata said. "She would never stop until she felt you suffered." Kanata said.

"This sounds very threatening." Sojiro said.

"How very observant of you." Kanata said. Sojiro sighed.

"I don't know... You are right about one thing. I saw it in her eyes." Sojiro sighed.

"So-kun." Kanata said.

"Kanata?" Sojiro asked. Kanata sighed.

"You're an idiot. But I do love you. I just wanted you to know that." Kanata smiled.

"I love you too Kanata. You always were my conscience for me when it came to things of questionable morality..." Sojiro chuckled. "Even in death, you correct me when I need it. I'll have to at least think about all of this." Sojiro said.

"You best." Kanata said. She looked up and around, seemingly expecting something. When nothing came, she smiled. The, she pouted once more. "You know So-kun, that's not the only thing I'm angry with you about..." She said. Sojiro cowered a bit.

"What? What else did I do? I can't think of anything..." Sojiro said.

"Our picture. You deleted it." Kanata said flatly.

"W...What?" Sojiro asked.

"Remember back when you got your new camera?" Kanata asked. Sojiro thought back.

"The one for work?" He asked.

"Don't kid me, you didn't get that for work." Kanata smirked. Sojiro chuckled and scratched the back of his head ruefully.

"You caught me... You always could see through me..." He said.

"Which, by the way, I understand." Kanata said.

"Hm? What do you mean?" Sojiro asked.

"I understand that you always look at girls and women and such. You ARE a man, and you have needs." Kanata said.

"Kanata, what are you saying...?" Sojiro asked.

"If you find someone that you love..." Kanata said. "Someone else... Please know that you have my blessing to pursue a relationship with her..." Kanata said. Sojiro looked extremely surprised. He huffed and then smirked. He looked back up to his wife, a genuine smile on his face.

"Thank you Kanata. If there's anyone, ANYONE on Earth I could possible love more than you though, I'd die of surprise." Sojiro smiled. Kanata smiled back. If Sojiro didn't know better, he'd swear he were looking at an angel sent from the Heavens.

"We got off topic..." Kanata smiled. She then looked annoyed. "Yeah, the one you tried to tell our daughter was for work." Kanata said. "You and Sunshine took a last picture to commemorate the occasion... Just after she asked why I fell in love with you." Kanata said.

"...The ghost..." Sojiro muttered.

"Yes." Kanata smiled. "That was me." She then frowned. "And you deleted it!" She looked exasperated. "Do you know how difficult it is to convince them to allow me to come back, even for a day?" Kanata asked.

"Er... Who?" Sojiro asked.

"The judges. It's really complicated." Kanata said.

"I guess you can't really tell me, huh?" Sojiro asked.

"Very true." Kanata said, smiling sympathetically.

"I'm sorry for deleting your picture Kanata." Sojiro said.

"You're forgiven." Kanata smiled back. The grass seemed to sprout and the sky turned blue. Leaves began to grow from the trees and the wind died down. "Now... Maybe we can talk about something else. Something a bit more positive. I haven't spoken to you in years, after all." She smiled sweetly.

"I would love that." Sojiro smiled.

"Let's talk." Kanata smiled happily.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony's eyes opened and he smiled instantly.

_We're gonna move her in today. Tsukasa's going to live with me..._ Tony smiled. He threw off his covers and could feel himself brimming with energy. _This is going to be fun._ He smiled. He pushed himself off his bed. _First, we have t-_ His mind went blank. Pain blared in his head. He fell to his knees and crashed into the ground, writhing.

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

Tsukasa opened her eyes slowly. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, yawning.

_Hungry._ Was the first thought to go through her mind. Then she remembered what that day was. _I'm moving in with Kan-kun today... He should be coming_ _over..._ She looked at the clock next to her bed. It read ten o' clock. _Hm. He should have been here an hour ago..._ She yawned again. She moved to get out of bed, but couldn't seem to find a position that wasn't comfy. She whined a little bit to herself and sighed, laying her head back on her pillow. She looked over at the clock again. Eleven o' clock. _W-What? I fell back asleep?_ She thought in a bit of a panic. She struggled and got out of bed. She walked out of her room and saw her father in the living room along with her twin, who held a willing Konata captive in her lap, hugging her around the chest from behind. Kagami had her chin resting on Konata's head. "Hey guys..." Tsukasa said. The three in the room turned to meet her.

"Hey Tsukasa, finally awake?" Kagami asked.

"I didn't mean to sleep this late... Where is everyone?" She asked, looking around. Now that she was a little more awake, she could distinguish a delicious aroma in the air.

"Mom's in the kitchen. She figured if you smelled your favorite breakfast, you might wake up." Kagami smirked.

"When is Kan-kan coming over?" Konata asked.

"He was supposed to be over at nine..." Tsukasa said. Konata looked confused.

"Then where is he?" She asked.

"I don't know... I'm a little worried. I have a bad feeling about it." Tsukasa said.

"Don't worry. He's a big boy, he can take care of himself. You should probably call him, I'm sure he's got a pretty good reason for not showing up." Kagami said.

"Maybe he's cheating on you." Konata said.

"Kona-chan~!" Tsukasa whined.

"You know I'm kidding Tsukasa!" Konata giggled.

"Still..." Tsukasa muttered, but Konata gasped for a moment, a look of horror on her face.

"Kona?" Kagami asked, suddenly very alarmed.

"Where's Yu-chan gonna live?" Konata asked. There was a moment of frozen silence.

"She could live here?" Kagami asked her father. He sighed and thought for a moment.

"She and Konata would have to share a room. We would need some other form of income too. With the student loans of Inori and Matsuri both still gaining interest, we don't exactly have a lot of extra money..." Tadao said.

"When we win the tournament, I'll get some of the money!" Konata said.

"That's all well and good for now, but what about when that money runs out?" Tadao asked.

"What if we could pay off the student loans?" Konata asked.

"Well, that'd be money in the pocket every week, but that would be pretty steep." Tadao said.

"What was that about our loans?" Matsuri asked, rubbing her eyes as she walked out of her room and into the living room. "You gonna pay off our debt Konatan?" Matsuri asked.

"If there's enough money! After all, if I'm gonna live here, I have to contribute!" Konata said cheerfully. "And if Yu-chan could live here, that'd be great!"

"..." Matsuri stood staring at her. She suddenly leaped from her spot across the room and glomped Konata and Kagami. She began rubbing her cheek against Konata's. "Ko-na-tan~!" She chimed.

"Ma-Matsuri!" Kagami shouted, surprised by her sister's sudden burst of emotion.

"Matsuri!" They heard from the hall. They all looked over to see Inori, standing in the doorway with her hand on her hips. "What do you think you're doing?" She asked.

"Konatan is paying our student loans off with her tournament winnings!" Matsuri said.

"..." Inori stood staring at her. She flew through the air and across the room, catching Konata, Kagami, and Matsuri in a massive hug. She began rubbing her cheek on Konata's other cheek. "Ko-na-ta~!" She chimed.

"This is too much!" Kagami shouted. "Kona's mine! You can't have her!"

"Calm down Imoto! We're just happy!" Inori giggled, though not breaking her rub.

"Konatan just promised to relieve something that's been hanging over our heads since we started college!" Matsuri shouted.

"And it hasn't been getting any better since, while the colleges have been closed, our loans haven't. So we still have to pay them money back for money we aren't and can't use!" Inori said.

"How would you feel?" Matsuri asked.

"Dad!" Tsukasa came scurrying into the room, having seemingly left at some point in the conversation. She paused as she saw her three sisters practically piled on Konata, a drop of sweat running down the back of her head. Konata looked up at her and grinned like a cat.

"I forgot to turn off my swag~." Konata chimed.

"Er... What?" Tsukasa asked.

"Nothing... What's up Tsukasa?" Konata asked. Inori and Matsuri let go of their hostage.

"Kan-kun won't pick up the phone! Could you drive me over there?" Tsukasa asked. "I'm worried and I want to check on him!"

"Sure, I guess. Maybe he forgot to plug in his phone and it died?" Tadao asked.

"No, I feel like something's wrong. I'm worried about him, I can feel it in my heart!" Tsukasa said. Tadao shrugged.

"Alright, let's go." Tadao shrugged and got up.

"I wanna come!" Konata said. She turned a bit and look at Kagami for a moment.

"Yeah sure, let's go." Kagami smiled and nodded. The two stood up. The four of them walked out the door. Miki walked out with a plate of food.

"Tsukasa?" She looked around. "I thought I heard her..."

"Yeah, they went to Kan-chan's house because he wouldn't answer his phone." Matsuri said. "Tsukasa was worried."

"Oh... Either of you hungry?" Miki asked.

"Totally!" They both shouted simultaneously. They both looked at each other as sparks began to fly.

"It's mine Matsuri!" Inori shouted.

"Why should you get it? I was awake first!" Matsuri argued.

"Because I'm hungrier!" Inori argued.

"No you..." Matsuri started, but paused for a moment.

"Ye-... Matsuri?" Inori asked. Matsuri got a mischievous grin.

"We could share it." She said.

"That'll work." Inori smiled. Matsuri and Inori both grabbed the plate. Miki smiled a confused smile as they began sharing the meal.

_ I could have just made another..._ She thought as she shrugged and entered the kitchen to make food for herself.

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

The four of them rode in the car, Tadao driving.

"What do you think is wrong Tsukasa?" Kagami asked.

"I really don't know... I can just feel it. There's something that isn't right." Tsukasa said.

"Well, when something is wrong, that generally means that something isn't right." Konata said.

"Kona-chan~!" Tsukasa whined a little.

"So Kona, ARE you okay?" Kagami asked.

"What do you mean Kagamin?" Konata asked.

"It's just before, when you came to us. You were a mess..." Kagami said.

"You need to stop worrying about me Kagamin. I told you I'm absolutely fine." Konata said.

"It's just that you were really out of sorts before..." Kagami said.

"Well I never really had any sorts to begin with, so don't worry! Stop with the worrying! I'm a tough girl, I can handle this." Konata said.

"Kona..." Kagami sighed.

"Yes Kagamin?" Konata asked.

"I'm never gonna really stop worrying about you, ya know? I mean, I love you. How can I not worry about you?" Kagami smiled.

"I understand Kagamin. I worry about you too." Konata smiled warmly.

"Aww, you do Kona?" Kagami smiled a bit wider.

"Of course! I worry every time you go into a house." Konata said. Kagami got confused.

"Why? What do you have to worry about from me just going in a house?" Kagami asked.

"Well most houses have a kitchen, and..." Konata trailed off, her acquiring the characteristics of a cat. Kagami waited a moment to let it sink in.

"I CAN COOK JUST FINE NOW!" Kagami shouted. "Tsukasa and Mom taught me all I need to know to be able to cook like a pro, FOR your inforMATION!" Kagami said, placing emphasis on the second half of the final word.

"I dunno... I might have to sample some. I just hope it isn't lethal. Remember what happened before? You got a new scar on your hand because of it." Konata teased.

"Oh be quiet." Kagami put her arms around Konata and pinched her cheeks, stretching them.

"Oo~, Kagamin! Alright, I give, I give!" Konata shook her head, trying to get her girlfriend away from her cheeks, but to no avail. Kagami giggled as Konata's arms began flailing in a pitiful, yet almost sickeningly cute attempt at freedom.

"Imma never let you go, you're my prisoner~!" Kagami said in a syrupy voice, as if she were talking to a child or a pet.

"Kagamin~!" Konata whined like a puppy. "I'm not Gyopi-chan~!" She whined.

"Maybe you're the reincarnation of Gyopi-chan!" Kagami chimed. "If it can happen in Angel Tales, why not here?" Kagami giggled. Konata saw what Kagami had said, and realized that Gyopi-chan may be a bit of a bad topic. She decided to let Kagami pinch her all she wanted and not bring up anything else about the fish. She tried thinking of what else they could talk about, but nothing sprang to mind. "Hey Kona?" Kagami said with an inquisitive tone in her voice.

"Yes~?" Konata chimed back.

"I thought you always said you got car sick super easily. You've been in a car for several times when you're with us, but you've never really seemed ill since that mystery sickness from a couple months ago." Kagami said.

"Hmm..." Konata began to think. When she thought about it, Kagami was right. She had always gotten car sick, but she hadn't at all as of late. "Well, your Mom and Dad are better drivers than Yui-nee-san. She whips all around the road and races everyone she sees..." Konata rubbed her head. "And besides, my sickness from a couple months ago went away when you were there too..." Konata said. "Maybe it's just because I get to be with you whenever I'm in the car with you." Konata suggested. Kagami smiled and put her arm around Konata and on her shoulder. Using her grip, she pulled Konata in until she was leaning on Kagami's shoulder.

"You little devil. You probably just want to get me blushing again, don't you?" Kagami teased.

"Is it working?" Konata asked softly, though she could feel that it was simply from the heat of the other girl.

"Maybe. You might have to try a bit harder though if you want me to ever admit it." Kagami said.

"I don't think you'll ever admit it. You're not nearly as honest as your body is." Konata teased.

"Shut up." Kagami said. Konata giggled as they pulled up to Tony's house. They all got out of the car. After the three girls had left, Tadao decided he might as well wait for them to come back instead of potentially having to be called back. He turned the car off and laid his seat back. Tsukasa was the first to the door and opened it. Tsuki was laying on the couch, looking relaxed. Yutaka was in the chair with a bowl of popcorn. The two appeared to be watching a movie with animated animals.

"Tsu-chan, where's Kan-kun?" Tsukasa asked. Tsuki looked back at her.

"Dunno. He either left before we got up, or he's still sleeping." Tsuki said.

"It's not like him to oversleep..." Tsukasa muttered.

"Neither of you checked on him?" Konata asked.

"Going into a boy's room in the early morning? With my luck, we all know what I or poor Yu-chan wood walk in on." Tsuki said.

_There was a copious lack of "L" in that would..._ Kagami couldn't help but notice.

"I'm gonna go look." Tsukasa said.

"Oh, so you WANT to walk in on something like that." Tsuki grinned and elbowed the air in Tsukasa's direction. Tsukasa's face turned a deep red.

"No! I... Er..." She began stumbling over her words. "I'm worried about him is all." She mumbled as she scurried down the hall.

"Well then. Are you guys hungry?" Kagami asked.

"I'm hungry! I haven't eaten anything yet!" Yutaka chimed.

"That's only because you just got up an hour ago..." Tsuki poked Yutaka.

"Well I-!..." Yutaka began, her hair getting a little frazzled from being called out.

"Think Tony would mind if we used his food?" Kagami asked Konata.

"Should probably ask..." Konata said. "He'd say yes, but still. For the sake of being polite." Konata said.

"I guess I understand." Kagami said.

"Well I don't care if he gets mad at me, he needs me for the tournament." Tsuki giggled. She grabbed Kagami by the hand and dragged her into the kitchen, leaving Konata and Yutaka alone. Konata sighed and smiled, walking over to the couch. She sat down and looked at Yutaka.

"Hey Yu-chan. Sorry for running out on ya like that before after that... incident... with Dad." Konata said.

"It's okay Onee-chan. I understand why you did. You didn't mean to leave me like that." Yutaka smiled and cocked her head to the side, her eyes closed. Konata realized she was trying to sound forgiving, but the tiny girl was doing a very poor job of it. Her tone was forgiving, but her words made Konata feel even worse about it. Konata sighed and smiled again.

"So... In love with Minami-chan, huh?" Konata asked. Yutaka blushed, smiled, and nodded.

"Yeah... She's always so cool, but she's also really caring and loving and..." Yutaka sighed dreamily.

"Didn't realize you two were dating already." Konata smiled and leaned back. Yutaka looked surprised, her eyes widening and a blush coming across her cheeks.

"What? No no no no no no no no no! She's way too cool to be into a little squirt like me!" Yutaka waved her hands and arms frantically, as if to create a barrier between her and the statement itself. Konata reeled back a little bit, having not suspected such a... volatile reaction.

"Are you kidding?" Konata asked.

"No way! Minami-chan could never fall for a pipsqueak like me..." Yutaka said. Konata crossed her arms and thought for a moment. She then got an idea.

"Oh please! Why do you think Hiyori always draws you two together? She even draws you two in very certain positions~." Konata chimed. Yutaka looked at Konata for a moment. Stared. Into her eyes. Into her soul. Konata suddenly felt like she had said entirely too much. There was a moment when nobody said anything at all.

"SHE DOES WHAT? Bu-bu-but!" Yutaka shouted, clearly distraught. Konata began scratching her head.

"Sorry Yu-chan... Thoughtcha knew..." Konata mumbled, scratching the back of her head ruefully.

"I wanna see what she draws!" Yutaka shouted forcefully. Konata reeled again, surprised once again.

"Are you sure? Some of it can be... pretty graphic." Konata said.

"I have a right to see it!" Yutaka shouted. Konata chuckled nervously.

"I never said you didn't... I couldn't show you even if I wanted to though..." Konata mumbled, scratching the back of her head again.

"Why not?" Yutaka asked.

"I think it's still at my house, and I can't really go get it... Ya know?" Konata said. Yutaka sighed, then got an idea.

"I want to see it." She said with a stern, yet somehow incredibly cute, voice. Her eyes transformed into that of a puppy. Konata suddenly felt as if she were violently beating a puppy to death while looking it straight in the eye. And she couldn't stop it. Sweat began to bead on her forehead. She couldn't take her eyes off her cousin, no matter how much she wanted to. As Yutaka continued to look like a beaten puppy, Konata finally couldn't take it anymore.

"Alright! I'll find a way to get it! I'm sure Hiyori has a copy or something! If not, I know for a fact that Patty does." Konata said. Yutaka's mouth hung open slightly.

"SHE GAVE COPIES TO PEOPLE?" She shouted, panicked.

"Er..." Konata struggled with her words. Should she tell her little cousin? She did have a right to know... "She sells them at comiket..." She mumbled. The earth seemed to halt its movements. The entirety of reality froze black and white. Somewhere, the cup of a man drinking coffee froze at his lip. Yutaka just looked forward for a little while, coming to terms with the fact that potentially tens of thousands of people had seen her with one Minami Iwasaki. Likely naked in the graphic ones. Konata waved her hand in front of Yutaka. "Yu-chan?" She asked. "Yu~-chan?" Konata asked. _Damn, I think I broke Yu-chan..._ Konata thought. Suddenly, Yutaka smiled, but it seemed weird. Almost... Sinister.

"Nee-chan, how long can you go to jail for homicide?" Yutaka asked. Konata blinked a few times at the innocent girl before her threatening one of her best friends with death.

"Er... I think a long time... Nobody knows that it's you, or that those stories are based on you!" Konata said in an attempt to cover Hiyori.

"I don't care about me." Yutaka said. "She exposed Minami-chan. I can't forgive something like that." Yutaka said with uncharacteristic seriousness.

"Yu-chan, she didn't mean any harm. She needs a way to get money too..." Konata said.

"She even makes money off of us!" Yutaka whined.

_I gotta find a way to make up for this..._ Konata thought. "Why don't we talk about something else, huh Yu-chan?" Konata smiled. Yutaka crossed her arms and pouted.

"Fine... But I wanna see anything else she's made that's based off of us! And everything she's gonna make!" Yutaka shouted.

"Alright, alright. I'm sure that's not going to be a problem." Konata said. Yutaka sighed.

"She's got a lot of explaining to do." Yutaka said.

"Aren't we talking about something else?" Konata asked.

"Yeah, I guess. So are you and Kagami-sempai dating?" Yutaka asked. Konata smiled and nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah we are." Konata said.

"When did you two know you loved each other?" Yutaka asked.

"Well... We didn't really know the other loved each other. I didn't know for a fact that she loved me. I had to get up the guts to confess! And even then, I had to wait for just the right time." Konata thought back to her time at the cafe. Yutaka smiled.

"And then you two mutually confessed your feelings?" She asked dreamily.

"No, she laughed me out of the cafe. We had a bit of a misunderstanding." Konata scratched the back of her head.

"That's awful Onee-chan!" Yutaka said. "Did she at least apologize?" Yutaka asked.

"Yeah, yeah! She didn't actually laugh at me, I just thought she did! But it's all good now, right? We're in love and we're dating now! And we're not even as cute a couple as you and Minami..." Konata giggled mischievously. Yutaka blushed.

"I don't think she feels the same way..." She said.

"I didn't think Kagami felt the same way about me either." Konata said matter-of-factly. Yutaka sighed.

"She always takes such great care of me... She always protects me... I just can't bear to think someone could draw her without permission like that..." Yutaka groaned. Konata sighed.

"Yu-chan..." She mumbled.

"Yeah, I know. How could I not fall in love with her though?" Yutaka asked. She sighed again. "I'm probably just a big burden... At best, I'm a little sister to her..." Yutaka sighed sadly.

"Are you kidding? Has the thought not crossed your mind that maybe she treats you so well is because she loves you?" Konata asked. Yutaka blinked.

"I... hadn't actually considered that..." Yutaka said. "But she treats me..." Yutaka started.

"Yutaka, Minami loves you. She loves you." Konata smiled and looked Yutaka in the eye. She had to repeat it simply for the effect of it. Yutaka blushed deeply and smiled, beginning to fidget about a bit. Konata smiled again and looked down the hallway. _I wonder what's taking Tsukasa so long..._ She wondered.

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

Tsukasa walked down the hall. She knocked on Tony's door. There was no response. She knocked again, a little harder. Again, there was no response. Tsukasa breathed deeply and exhaled, mentally preparing herself for what might be on the other side of the door, in case she walked in on something. She opened the door to see Tony lying on the ground. He appeared to be asleep. Tsukasa smiled.

"Kan-kun, why are you sleeping on the ground?" Tsukasa asked. She walked over to him and sat on her legs. She shook him. "Kan-kun?" She asked, her head cocking to the side. She got back up and went over to the side of him. She knelt and rolled him over onto his back. She saw his eyes open, looking without seeing. Tsukasa fell on her behind, startled to see him in such a condition. "Kan-kun? Kan-kun!" She began shaking him, though still not getting a response. She put her fingers to his neck and felt a pulse. A very slow, lagging pulse, but one all the same. "What... What could have happened?" She muttered. She stood up and back up to the wall, as if distancing herself from Tony would help to heal whatever it was that was hurting him. She began quivering a little. She was afraid. What could have done something like this to someone like Tony? She had to know, but she didn't want to move in fear that whatever it was would target her next. If it could put Tony in such a state, what could it do to her? Who did she know who could take care of something like this? _Kona-chan is really strong. Maybe she..._ Tsukasa thought. _No, I don't want to bother her... I have a feeling something bad will happen if I do..._ She sighed. _Is there anyone else..._ She began to think. _That's it... Amaterasu..._ She thought.

_"What?"_ An annoyed voice shot into her head. She jumped and looked around.

_Um..._ Tsukasa thought in a very quiet voice.

"_You have called and I have answered. What? I dislike being called like some dog." _Amaterasu said.

_I'm... Well, Kan-kun looks hurt... And I can't tell what's wrong..._ Tsukasa thought.

_"You called me... because your boyfriend is hurt?" _Amaterasu asked in disbelief.

_I-I didn't mean to call you!_ Tsukasa said.

_"And yet here I am. Very well. I may as well look."_ Amaterasu said. _"If there is anyone who can do anything, it is I."_

_Th-THANK YOU!_ Tsukasa shouted.

_"I would like to say there is no burden. But there is."_ Amaterasu said, a very annoyed tone in her voice. No sooner was that phrase voiced in Tsukasa's head than there was a column of fire in front of her. It erupted for only a moment before it flared out of existence, leaving Amaterasu in it's place. She sighed and looked at Tsukasa. "I do believe this is the first time we have met physically." Amaterasu said.

"Yeah... It was just in a dream the last two times..." Tsukasa said.

"Yes, quite." Amaterasu walked over to the fallen boy and knelt down, a thumb to his forehead. "Hmmm..." She hummed in thought. "It may have been good that you have called me here. This is a complex problem. He seems to have gone into a comatose state. I do not know how long he must have spent in incredible pain, completely immobilized by the pain. This is troubling." Amaterasu said.

"So... He wasn't attacked or anything?" Tsukasa asked.

"Years of using the magic made for Divine only has had horrible effects on his body. His... Oh, what does he call it... Howling Voice? Has been destroying his mind for years. Finally, all of the damage to his body has culminated in this. It is unfortunate." Amaterasu said.

"Can you help him?" Tsukasa asked. Amaterasu glared fire at her.

"Of course I can. I am debating on whether I shall or not now." Amaterasu said.

"P-please!" Tsukasa begged.

"Please. You do not need my help." Amaterasu sighed.

"Then... How?" Tsukasa asked.

"Are you really so dense? Have you already forgotten of all the practice that we went through this morning? Was all of that for naught?" Amaterasu asked fervidly. Tsukasa shrunk a little.

"One of the songs?" Tsukasa asked.

"But of course." Amaterasu sighed, already getting tired of this interaction.

"Which one?" Tsukasa asked.

"Is it not obvious?" Amaterasu asked, quite fiery in hopes of getting this finished. Tsukasa looked at Tony, unconscious in his bed. She breathed and decided on the less powerful to see if it would work. She put her hands together and intertwined her fingers in front of her.

_"Day to Night,  
Dark to Light,  
Fall the Sands of Time...  
_

_Let the Years,  
Like the Gears,  
Of a clock unwind..._

_In your mind,  
Walk through time,  
Back to better days..._

_Memories,  
Like a dream,  
Wash tears away..."_

The white stone she kept began glowing with a divine light. Tsukasa looked at it in reverence before continuing.

_"Like a star in the sky,  
Darkness can't reach you.  
Light the night,  
Joy is light,  
'Til the new dawn...  
_

_Cast away your old face,  
Let go your spite~,  
With spirit,  
Hear it,  
My request for light~!"_

Tsukasa finished. The white stone stopped glowing, though a small pillar of light surrounded Tony for a moment, a tiny light descending from the top to him. Entering him and seemingly exploding in a burst of light, he jerked violently. Tony shot up.

"I'll beat you both apart! I'll take you all together!" He shouted, looking around. Amaterasu looked amused.

"Are you so sure, mortal?" She asked. Tony locked eyes with her for a second before looking at Tsukasa. He looked back at Amaterasu.

"You're Amaterasu, the Sun, correct?" Tony asked, short of breath from having just woken up.

"That is correct, mortal." Amaterasu said. "Good job. Shall I bring you a reward for your fine deduction?" She asked condescendingly.

"You're very pretty." Tony said. Amaterasu's eyebrow rose.

"You are saying such a thing in front of your girlfriend?" Amaterasu asked.

"Tsukasa?" Tony looked at his girlfriend. She shook her head.

"No, I understand this time. She is really pretty." Tsukasa said.

"Do not refer to me as if I were not here!" Amaterasu shouted. "Honestly, what did Hachiman see in you, I wonder..."

"An easy way to fight people?" Tony suggested.

"No... There must be more... Something that sets you apart from everyone else... I must ask him of this later..." Amaterasu decided. "Very well. Now that this mortal is well again, I shall take my leave." She said. A rose of fire surrounded her and exploded, causing no damage to the room. Upon the explosion, Amaterasu was gone. Tony sighed.

"These gods do love their flashy entrances and exits, don't they?" He asked. Tsukasa smiled.

"I guess..." She said. "I'm glad you're okay Kan-kun." She hugged Tony hard. Tony chuckled and hugged her back.

"So am I! Much as I'd like to say otherwise, I can't even begin to describe how much that hurt earlier." Tony said. He then remembered what he was supposed to be doing that day. "Crap! What time is it?" He asked. Tsukasa took her phone out to look at the time. "Half the day is gone!" Tony said.

"Yeah... It's okay though. You're safe and sound. I can move in some other time." Tsukasa said, having cuddled herself right into his chest. "Rest for today, Kan-kun. You have a big fight coming up tomorrow and it wouldn't do if you were tired for it." Tsukasa said.

"Tsukasa..." Tony said.

"I'm never gonna forgive you if you lose that fight." She said. Tony smiled.

"Yes ma'am." He said obediently. "So how did you just do that?" Tony asked.

"Amaterasu taught me a song and the stone she gave me healed you..." Tsukasa said.

"That was a beautiful song. With a beautiful singer." Tony said.

"I love you Kan-kun." Tsukasa said.

"I love you too Tsukasa." Tony said.

"Wanna go see what everyone else is up to?" Tsukasa asked.

"I suppose. Can I just kinda hug you for another moment though?" Tony asked. "It really hurt earlier, and this helps..." He said. Tsukasa hummed quietly.

"As you wish."

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Kagami was pulled into the kitchen by the exuberant girl.

"Come on! Let's cook for everyone!" She shouted. She pumped her fist into the air. "Make ALL the meals!" She shouted before opening the pantry an other food cabinets, getting out rice and other various food items.

"So Tsuki..." Kagami smiled as she grabbed some of the food.

"What's up?" Tsuki asked.

"Tell me about yourself. You've seen Tsukasa now. You know you two look alike. Any idea as to why?" Kagami asked.

"A couple!" Tsuki said.

"And they are?" Kagami asked.

"I'm not gonna tell you~!" Tsuki chimed in a sing-song voice. They had gotten their pots and pans out. Kagami thought of the love she had for Konata and how yummy she wanted to make her meal for her. She took out a steamer and put the rice in.

"I'm gonna torture you if you don't tell me." Kagami said.

"Do your worse." Tsuki challenged. Kagami smiled and started yakitori. She sneaked up behind the poor, unknowing Tsuki. "EIY~!" She screamed and jumped.

"Tell me!" Kagami said.

"You pinched me!" Tsuki shouted.

"And I'll use the skewer next time!" Kagami said. "Now tell me why!" Kagami said. Tsuki felt quite worried, not knowing how far Kagami was actually going to go...

"Never~!" Tsuki said, trying to keep it light. Kagami poked her with the skewer. "EEP!" Tsuki squeaked.

"One last chance~." Kagami said. She took the skewer and went to poke her again. There was suddenly a shimmer and Kagami pressed the skewer against Tsuki. Where her skin should have poked in, nothing moved and the skewer slide up in Kagami's hand as if it had hit a brick wall. "What on Earth..." Kagami mumbled.

"Er... Yakitori's burning." Tsuki said. Kagami jumped and ran over to the Yakitori. She took it off, only mostly burnt by this point. She sighed as she looked sadly at it. She looked back at Tsuki to thank her for telling her, but she was gone.

"Huh..." Kagami mumbled. She looked back at the rice to see it had been in for a bit too long. "Damn it!" She ran over and drained it. _Where did she go? Spoil sport, I was just gonna poke her a little..._ Kagami sighed as she began doing her best to tend to all of the kitchen needs by herself. Again, she thought about her love for Konata and how she wanted to make her the yummiest meal she possibly could. She grabbed the salt and salted the rice. She opened the refrigerator and grabbed barbecue sauce. It was different from the kind they had at her house, but it would do. _I'm gonna make this yummy for sure!_ Kagami thought excitedly.

* * *

**POV Konata**

Konata and Yutaka were sitting in the living room, having made small talk for the last few minutes.

"And then Minami cleaned it up..." Yutaka said, a sour expression on her face.

"It sounds like it was really stinky." Konata said.

"It was!" Yutaka whined a bit.

"Time to eat~!" Kagami chimed as she began bringing out food.

"Speak of the devil!" Konata said, eyeing the food. Tony and Tsukasa came out of his room. Tsukasa was hugging Tony's arm and leaning in, a smile and blush on her face. Everyone turned to the two of them.

"... Tsukasa, you were in there for a long time..." Kagami said suspiciously.

"What DID you walk in on?"Konata asked, a cat grin coming across her face. "And more importantly Kan-kan, how well did she finish it?" She asked. Everyone in the room save Konata suddenly blushed at the thought. Tony scratched the back of his head and chuckled. He COULD explain exactly what happened, but that wouldn't be any fun, would it?

"Well, it hurt a whole lot at first, then not so much. Then, the relief was so amazing!" Tony said. Everyone's blush deepened a few shades.

"Kan-kun... That came out wrong, didn't it?" Tsukasa asked weakly.

"Nope. Not at all. I was in pain, I passed out, and Tsukasa healed me. What?" Tony asked, looking around innocently. "I don't understand why everyone's blushing so much." Tony said. "Kagami, the food is gonna get cold." Tony said, going and sitting down. Kagami shook her head and put the food down on the table. She reentered the kitchen and came out with more food. Tsuki walked out with plates and bowls.

"Tsuki? Where did you disappear to?" Kagami asked.

"Er... We needed more plates! So I went and took some from Konata's house." Tsuki said quickly. Everything was weird for a moment. Then, Konata looked at the dishes.

"These ARE my dishes..." Konata said.

"Odd, I should have had enough dishes for us all." Tony said.

"They were dirty." Tsuki said.

"I do suppose I haven't done the dishes in a long time..." Tony said. Tsuki smiled and nodded, passing out dishes and chopsticks to everyone. Kagami and Konata were the first to assemble all the needed utensils for eating. They both went back to the table and began pulling out food from the various dishes Kagami had prepared. By the end, they mostly had yakitori on their plates. As they began to eat, Kagami began staring at Konata. Staring long and hard. Konata gulped nervously.

"Uh... Kagamin?" Konata asked anxiously.

"Konata." Kagami said. "You're eating yakitori." She said.

"What do you mean? I know." Konata said.

"Do you remember back when I was sleeping over at your house? I accidentally cut myself while we were cooking?" Kagami said. "You went trolling."

"Yeah, I remember. How could I forget? I had so much fun with you that night." Konata smiled warmly.

"During dinner. You said you didn't care for yakitori." Kagami said.

"Huh?" Konata asked.

"I was still hungry and you gave me your last skewer of yakitori. I refused and you said you didn't care for it so I should have it." Kagami said.

"Well... I don't!" Konata said. Kagami pointed at Konata's plate with her chopsticks.

"Mostly yakitori." Kagami said. "Care to try again?" Kagami asked.

"I... uh... ahehe..." Konata blushed a bit and scratched the back of her head.

"You like yakitori, don't you Kona?" Kagami asked.

"Yes... I really do..." Konata said guiltily. Kagami smiled, her eyes twinkling with thousands of tiny stars.

"You gave up a food you loved... For me..." Kagami seemed much more touched than Konata would have thought she would be. She looked as if she were a house elf and Konata had given her a sock.

_Then again, this is Kagami with food..._ Konata thought to herself, a small giggle in her head. "It's no problem Kagamin. What I want is second to what you want." Konata said. "And you wanted more yakitori." Konata said.

"But." Kagami's tone took a very noticeable turn for the dark. "You still lied to me. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about all this." Kagami commented.

"I love you?" Konata said, hoping to get Kagami's mind off of her lie.

"Hmmm..." Kagami studied Konata's face for a moment. She then smiled. "I love you too." Kagami said. Konata sighed in relief. "Just don't lie to me anymore." Konata said seriously.

"Ahehe... No problem there Kagamin..." Konata said as they were eating.

"You know..." Kagami began.

"What's up Kagamin?" Konata asked.

"We kinda got sidetracked here..." Kagami giggled.

"What do you mean?" Konata asked.

"Well... We came here to move Tsukasa in. Mostly to see what was taking Tony so long. And here we are. Eating his food. Again." Kagami said.

"I don't mind at all!" Tony said, beginning to eat. "Anything you guys make is better tasting than I can make!" Kagami sighed and looked at her plate.

"That wasn't that good..." She commented. _I put love into it..._ She began thinking about what mistake she could have possibly made. The meal was satisfactory, but the last time she put love into something, it came out tasting amazing, if Tony was to be believed.

"There's a lot here Kagamin." Konata said. She decided Kagami would benefit more from a truthful critic and analysis than to be told she was wrong and that it was great food. Besides, Konata had just promised she wouldn't lie to Kagami anymore, right?

"What do you mean?" Kagami asked.

"When you made pancakes before, that's it. You made a few pancakes. You could solely concentrate on making pancakes. But here, you've made a whole meal for six people! There may even be leftovers! You probably got a little overwhelmed is all." Konata said. She looked Kagami over once.

"Well... I thought I would have Tsuki to help, but she kinda ditched me..." Kagami glared at the girl. Tsuki put her hands up defensively.

"Hey, I thought you were gonna stab me with a skewer! I thought you were gonna make me into a Tsuki shishkabob!" Tsuki said.

"Hey Tsuki, I bet I know how you can make it up to Kagamin~." Konata said.

"Sure, how is that?" Tsuki asked.

"Could you heal that burn on her right hand?" Konata asked. Kagami looked surprised.

"You noticed?" She asked.

"You've been using your left hand for everything. I know you're left handed, but you'd use your right hand for SOMETHING since you came out, right?" Konata asked. "I'm guessing it was when the chicken got burned?" Konata asked. Kagami blushed.

"You noticed that too, huh?" She asked.

"Yeah... But it's not bad! I like my chicken crispy!" Konata said.

"It was good senpai!" Yutaka tried to add her two yen in.

"I dunno, could have used a couple less hours cooking..." Tony commented with a chuckle. Tsukasa's elbow jutted out and caught Tony in the rib.

"That's enough from the peanut gallery." Konata said.

"But I tried so hard to make it yummy..." Kagami sighed sadly.

"You can't learn this in one day Kagamin! It's not that I'm a natural born cook or anything, I had to work to get where I am. It wasn't easy, but through sheer repetition, I've gotten better. You've just gotta keep on trying Kagamin, and I know you'll be a great cook one day." Konata said, smiling warmly.

"You just gotta believe Onee-chan!" Tsukasa chimed happily.

"Coming from the natural born cooking expert..." Kagami looked at Tsukasa teasingly. She jumped, her hair frazzled, and blushed a bit, giggling nervously.

"Hehe... I just love to cook..." She mumbled, scratching the back of her head.

"Speaking of Tsukasa, what did we end up deciding about moving you in?" Kagami asked her twin.

"I don't think I want to move in today. It's just that... Kan-kun has such a big fight tomorrow, I don't want him to be tired for it, you know?" Tsukasa asked.

"I guess I understand. I would rather not have Kona be tired either..." Kagami commented.

"Okay, so when are we moving you in?" Tony asked.

"I dunno... Maybe we leave it up in the air?" Tsukasa asked.

"I don't want to. In the air likely means it doesn't get done for a long time. I want you to live with me." Tony said seriously. Tsukasa blushed.

"And I want to live with you..." She said. "It's unorthodox, but... I wanna try it, you know?" She explained as if she needed to.

"Tsukasa, we get it. And Kona's gonna come live with me." Kagami smiled. "That's unorthodox too, but what about our little group is orthodox anymore?" Kagami asked.

"True..." Konata chuckled. The group ate in silence for a few moments.

"Hey Kona..." Kagami began.

"Yes Kagamin?" Konata asked.

"I've got a question... Do you remember that slumber party? A few months ago when you were still sick?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah, of course. It was one of the most fun days I've had in... ever!" Konata threw her arms up in emphasis. Kagami giggled a bit at how cute she was.

"Well, do you remember that falling star? The one we all wished on?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah, yeah!" Konata said, excitedly remembering it.

"So... Do you mind if I ask you what you wished for? Did it ever come true?" Kagami blushed a bit while asking.

"I don't mind you asking at all! It totally came true, so there's no harm in revealing it!" Konata said cheerfully. There was a moment of silence.

"Well?" Kagami asked.

"Well what?" Konata asked.

"What was it?" Kagami asked.

"What was what?" Konata asked.

"What was your wish?" Kagami shouted, getting frustrated.

"For life to be more interesting, of course!" Konata said. There passed another moment where nobody spoke.

"So you're why all this is happening to us..." Tony mumbled. Kagami was sitting stunned a moment.

"Kona you idiot!" She shouted. Konata jumped back a bit.

"Wh-what?" She asked.

"I wished so desperately that we would be together and then you come back and say you just wanted life to be more interesting?" Kagami shouted. Konata realized her blunder in telling the truth once again.

"You- you did?" Konata asked, though at this point more scared than touched.

"Yeah! And you just come out with "Life is more interesting"! What the hell?" Kagami asked.

"Weren't you saying that wishes don't just come true from that?" Konata asked.

"Well yeah, but still!" Kagami said.

"Besides, isn't this life more interesting?" Konata asked. Kagami blinked.

"What?" Kagami asked.

"If we had just grown up normally, fallen for some random, unimpressive boy, that would have been boring! But we fell in love with each other, and now our life with be anything but boring!" Konata said. "That's why I wished what I did. When I said life, I also meant for our love life to be more interesting." Konata said. Kagami smiled.

"Kona..." She said sweetly. "You think I'm gonna buy that?" She asked.

"It's true!" Konata said.

"How is life more interesting just because it's us?" Kagami asked. She had already gotten over her anger, but she now wanted to see what Konata was going to say.

"Are you kidding? You're way more fun than any ordinary guy!" Konata said. "No offense Kan-kan." Konata said.

"None taken. Not normal." He said.

"And besides that, think about our future!" Konata said.

"What do you mean about our future?" Kagami asked.

"Getting a child will be interesting, finding a stable means of support, since I've probably all but lost my job at the cafe by now, getting married will sure as hell be interesting considering it's currently illegal in Japan." Konata said. Kagami was stunned.

"Kona... You're thinking so far into the future..." Kagami muttered, a large blush coloring her cheeks. "I... I don't know what to say..." She mumbled.

"We've got our work cut out for us Kagamin. If we're gonna get married some day, we have to change the law." Konata said.

"I... hadn't even really thought that far out..." Kagami mumbled. _Married to Kona..._ She began to fantasize a little.

* * *

**The Theater of Kagami's Mind**

Kagami walked into her home.

"Welcome home Kagami." Konata said from her place at the computer. "Would you like dinner, a bath, or maybe... me?" Konata asked seductively.

"Could you at least turn away from the computer when you ask something like that?" Kagami smiled and walked up to her wife.

"Make your decision~!" Konata shouted dramatically. Kagami thought to herself for a moment.

"I'll have you for dinner while taking a bath." She said with a smirk. She could already feel Konata's face burning up.

"We-well... We'll have to keep it quick in case the baby wakes up..." Konata mumbled.

"How has she been doing?" Kagami asked.

"Alright. But next time, it's your turn to change her." Konata said.

"But you know what happened last time Kona!" Kagami began to panic a little bit.

"Yeah, but it came out of your clothes. You were worried for nothing." Konata said. Kagami slumped over in defeat. "Oh no~! Did Kagami get out of the mood!"

"Maybe I'll just kidnap you..." Kagami said. "If you'd get off the damn computer." She said a bit sternly.

"Kiss my boob!" Konata shouted defiantly. Suddenly, she heard giggling as she felt her chair get turned around. She was soon face to face with Kagami, the latter having a big grin on her face.

"If you insist." Kagami took off Konata's shirt in one fluid motion. She kissed her lover just as Konata shouted for her to.

"Kagamin~..." Konata moaned as the two fell to the floor.

* * *

**Real Life**

"Kagamin~?" Konata waved her hand in front of Kagami's face. Kagami's face was getting redder and redder. She looked like a beet. Finally, Konata sighed. "Everyone turn away." She said. Tsuki smirked a little and turned, as if she knew what was about to happen to the Tsundere. Tony nodded, remembering this, as did Tsukasa. The two turned away. Yutaka innocently looked around, wondering what was going on before she herself chose a spot on the wall to concentrate on. Konata looked back at Kagami and poked her on her breast as she usually did when these things happened. However, in an unusual twist, Kagami didn't snap out of her trance. She closed her eyes and hummed a quiet moan. Konata blushed. _What's going on in her head..._ She wondered. She got up and walked over to Kagami. She snapped her finger close to Kagami's ear, but it clearly wasn't loud enough. She tried again, but couldn't even get an effective snap this time. Tsuki turned around, put her fingers close to Kagami and snapped. At the sound of the gun-shot like snap, Kagami jumped.

"KONA!" She shouted. She breathed heavily for a moment before looking around.

"Kagami?" Konata asked. Kagami looked at her for a long second before hugging her.

"What the hell was that sound?" She asked.

"Sorry! You were stuck in a daze!" Tsuki said. "I had to snap you out of it!" She said cheerfully. Everyone had turned back around by this point.

"What you did." Tony said.

"It is there." Konata said.

"And we see it." They both said simultaneously.

"So what was all that about Kagamin?" Konata asked.

"Oh, it's... nothing... Just thinking about the future... is all..." Kagami mumbled, her face no less red than when she was fantasizing.

"You were thinking pervy thoughts, weren't you Kagamin~?" Konata brushed her cheek against Kagami's. Kagami's blush deepened.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" She asked.

"I'm saying you were thinking about us in bed together, weren't you?" Konata asked.

"Actually, no." Kagami sighed in relief. "I can truthfully say I wasn't fantasizing about us in bed." She said.

"On the floor then." Konata stated as more of a fact than a query.

"..." Kagami remained silent. "Maybe..." She mumbled. "Can we not talk about this in front of the others..." She asked in a whisper. "This is totally embarrassing..."

"Kagamin's body is so honest. You denied it but your face gave it away..." Konata giggled. "Yeah, no problem. We can keep it a secret from them. On one condition..." Konata said deviously.

"Uh-oh... And that is?" Kagami asked.

"You give me a blow by blow later." Konata said.

"... I guess that's fair enough..." Kagami muttered.

"What are you two mumbling about over there?" Tony asked.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with." Kagami said, breaking from Konata and crossing her arms.

"Come on, you can tell me! I am your future brother in law!" Tony said.

"A bit presumptuous of you." Kagami teased. "Maybe Tsukasa will get bored with you." She said.

"Even if that happens, you and Konata will still get married. That makes me your brother in law." Tony said triumphantly. Kagami sighed, not unhappy with getting cut to the quip in this way.

"I'm happy you think that." She said.

"I'd bet a hundred thousand yen you two end up together!" Tsuki shouted. "I'll bet you my share of the tournament winnings that these two are getting married some time in the future!" Tsuki said.

"Like you would know..." Tony said a bit suspiciously. "Hey Tsuki, you ever hear of a man named Recoome?" Tony asked. Tsukasa cringed at the name.

"Hm? Isn't he one of the guys you beat up in the tournament?" Tsuki asked.

"Yeah. Him." Tony said.

"Well, obviously I've heard of him, why?" Tsuki asked.

"Well, do you know him? Like, know him personally?" Tony asked. He glanced at Konata to see she had a questioning look on her face. He could tell she was wondering why he was asking. He penetrated her mind.

_"What are you after?" _Konata thought to herself, hopeful that Tony would hear.

_"The only thing I've seen her do that has to do with her powers is really shoot a beam of energy. The only I've seen Recoome do is shoot energy in a beam from his mouth. Kakashi said Recoome had people looking at me. I'm just wondering if there was a connection between the three." _Tony said.

"No, why?" Tsuki asked.

"So you mind showing me something with your powers? I'm just curious is all." Tony said. Tsuki nodded.

"Sure!" She chimed. She put her hand out in front of her, palm faced up. She put her hand out over it like a dome. She began to concentrate. A tendril of energy appeared, forming a ring for a fraction of a second before disappearing from view. Then, a ball of energy formed, tendrils of energy beginning to circle in the middle. As more and more lines of energy began to form inside the ball. Tsuki looked at Tony triumphantly.

"Hmph." He huffed on seeing it. "Well then, I guess that'll do it." He said.

"Do what?" Tsuki asked.

"Nothing, don't worry about it." He caught Konata's eye once again. He decided to see if she wanted to communicate with him again. _"Konata?"_ He asked in her mind.

_"She used other moves than that during my and her fight. Plus, she used different moves during the first match. Fist of the Beast King and Shadow Claw."_ Konata said inside her head.

_"Oh... I guess I was just too distracted at the time... Wait, you two fought?"_ Tony asked.

_"Yeah, after we got to my house. She went all out and was really tough, but I won."_ Konata thought. Tony retreated and nodded, realizing that he was probably going to over stay his welcome in her mind soon.

"Kan-kun?" Tsukasa said, sounding uncertain.

"What's up Tsukasa?" Tony asked.

"Your wish... Did you see that falling star?" Tsukasa asked.

"Hmmm..." Tony began to think.

"You remember? You offered to stay 'til Dad woke up and take care of me when I was sick?" Konata said.

"Oh yeah, I remember that!" Tony said.

"Do you remember what you wished for?" Tsukasa asked. "Did it ever come true? Did you even wish for anything?" She asked.

"I did wish for something..." Tony began to think back. "Well, what did you wish for?" Tony asked.

"For Kona-chan to get better!" Tsukasa said cheerfully. "It came true too!"

"So in a way, you wished for those two to get better as well." Tony smiled.

"Huh?" Kagami and Tsukasa asked simultaneously. Tony waved his hand dismissively.

"I'll explain later." He said. He thought again. He chuckled humorlessly. "I remember what I wished for..."

"What? What?" Tsukasa asked excitedly.

"Er... Little less optimism would be appropriate... It would be fore Kagami to fall for me..." Tony scratched his head. "Remember, I thought I had a crush on her..." Tony mumbled. Kagami tried to make herself less visible.

"Oh..." Tsukasa mumbled, a little depressed.

"Hang on..." Konata mumbled.

"Hmm?" Tony asked.

"All of our wishes came true. Why wouldn't yours..." Konata mumbled.

"Because mine went against all of yours?" Tony asked.

"No, that can't be it. Did you get it done in time?" Konata asked.

"Yeah." Tony said.

"Well... What was the wording of the wish? The exact wording..." Konata said.

"I wished for... Hehehe..." Tony began to chuckle. "Back then, we had really just met. I was being polite in my wish. I said and I quote, "I wish Hiiragi would fall in love with me."..." Tony said.

"..." Everyone was stunned for a moment.

"So you did kinda wish for us to be together then... Huh?" Tsukasa smiled.

"I suppose I did..." Tony smiled back. "So Kagami just led us on a huge detour there. When do you think we can move you in Tsukasa? I moved the furniture last night so that we would have plenty of space for your stuff." Tony said.

"I dunno..." Tsukasa said. "We could just move what I need to sleep in here for now... but how?" Tsukasa asked. Everyone had finished eating and the twins stood up. There came a sound outside like a car starting. Tony got up and walked over to the door. He opened it to see Tadao in the car.

"Hey!" Tony shouted, waving. Tadao looked over and turned the car back off.

"Hey!" He said, getting out of the car. "I was just leaving. I thought you would all be out in a moment..." Tadao chuckled.

"We were just eating, actually... There's still some in here if you want!" Tony said. Tadao shrugged.

"I don't know, Miki is cooking something new, something Tsukasa came up with. Some sort of casserole, I'd like to give it a shot!" Tadao said.

"Well, would you help us move some stuff? I've got the room clear for stuff that she needs and everything." Tony said.

"Yeah, sure!" Tadao said. Tony poked his head back in.

"Hey Tsuki, could you watch over Yutaka? Kagami and Tsukasa's Dad is here. He's gonna help us move the necessary stuff!" Tony said.

"Yeah, no problem!" Tsuki said. "Come on Yu-chan, I'll teach you how to get even more stuff!" Tsuki dragged Yutaka down the hall.

"Okay!" Yutaka went more than willingly.

"Come on guys, Tadao has apparently been waiting for us." Tony said as everyone began getting up.

"Well, it's his own fault, he didn't tell us he was going to wait." Kagami said.

"Alright, so let's go." Konata smiled.

"Off to move my girlfriend in!" Tony cheered.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya Luckies~! I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami~!" Akira shouted.

"And I'm the assistant, Minoru Shiraishi!"

"You hear? We got permission from A C to go to the movies!" Akira said. She turned to the director. "You hear that, asshat?" She said flatly.

"Really? Cool! I guess we should be going then, shouldn't we?" Minoru asked.

"Yeah, let's get out of here! We're getting paid to watch a movie!" Akira grabbed Minoru's hand, much to his surprise, and dragged out of the studio.

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

Yo, so that took longer than I thought it would. I didn't even mean for half the stuff that happened to happen... Anyway, the reason this took so long is because I've been writing in the future to replace what I lost with the flash drive. So far, one of the things I've rewritten has actually come out a great deal better than what I thought it would. That plus another event of the future that's getting bigger and bigger as I go have been very time consuming. One of these things is happening soon, so the effects will be a lot more immediate than for most of the stuff I've been writing in the future. Anyway, that said, I do believe I'll post this. Let me know what you all think!


	49. Chapter 49: I Like the Way You Move

Chapter 49: I Like the Way You Move

Alrighty, so, new one. Woohoo. Only got four reviews on the last chapter. Makes me wonder if people really read it... Then I check the story stats and it says yes. You all continue to underestimate the power of a review! Glad to be back. And didn't I say that by the time I was done with Tsuki, you'd all be confused? Well, when I'm done for now... Maybe she'll pop up again in the future? Maybe she'll never leave like Masuta didn't? A guest review! Sorry these take so long, I can do my best to speed them up (Hell, I'm writing this at quarter past two in the morning) but I can promise nothing except that this story will continue. I think the next chapter will be out quicker, but I promise nothing else. Anyway, I'll let you get on with the chapter.

* * *

**POV Konata**

As everyone got out of the car at the Hiiragi house, they carried boxes they had gotten from a nearby store.

"So, how much do you want to get?" Tony asked his girlfriend.

"Just enough so that I can sleep..." Tsukasa said. "I don't want you too tired for tomorrow." Tsukasa said.

"Don't worry; I've got energy to burn!" Tony said. They entered the house.

"Hey, what's up?" Inori asked.

"We're just getting some stuff so Tsukasa can move in." Tony said.

"Good luck..." Matsuri mumbled. Tony blinked. He looked at Tsukasa, confused. She shrugged, a look of confusion on her face as well. Tony looked at Kagami, who, while she was nodding knowingly, he felt wouldn't divulge the secret. Konata obviously had no idea either. He sighed.

"Well, I suppose we should get going, huh?" Tony asked.

"Yeah!" Tsukasa cheered. The two began down the hall. Konata looked at Kagami.

"Why do we need luck?" She asked.

"You'll see..." Kagami said as she started down the hall. Konata shrugged and followed. She entered the room to see Tsukasa looking around at everything she had, trying to determine what she wanted. Konata could see her struggling with the decision.

"So, what do you need Tsukasa?" Tony asked.

"Um..." Tsukasa looked around more. She walked over and picked up her clock.

"I have an alarm clock on my house you can use if you want." Tony offered. Tsukasa blushed a bit.

"Um... I need this one... if I don't have it, I just can't get to sleep..." Tsukasa mumbled.

_That's just silly._ Tony thought, but wisely bit his tongue. He remembered what Kagami had said about some idiosyncrasies of Tsukasa and didn't want to start another fight. "Sure thing! Let's get that into a box then." Tony said. Kagami looked at him with a smile and nodded. He felt relieved.

"So what else do we need?" Konata asked. She looked around, but mostly saw a great many stuff animals. There was also a stack of DVDs of Disney movies and other assorted musicals. "Any particular animals you want to bring?" Konata asked. Tsukasa looked around.

"Um..." She hummed. "I definitely need Kaito-kun..." She said. Tony blinked.

"The alpaca on her bed." Kagami whispered. Tony nodded and walked over to her bed, picking out the stuffed alpaca with relative ease. He thought of putting it in the box, but thought better. He gave it directly to Tsukasa, who hugged it and smiled. She started dancing a little with the small animal, getting its fluff hugged out.

"Kaito-kun~, Kaito-kun~, Kaito-kun~!" She sang in a little sing-song voice. Tony smiled.

"She named her stuffed alpaca?" Tony asked Kagami in a whisper while Tsukasa swung her little stuffed friend around in her arms.

"After the alpaca in the local petting zoo. She has a name for each of her stuffed animals." Kagami said.

"Every one? How, there's gotta be at least a hundred of them in her bed!" Tony almost shouted in a whisper. "Who knows how many she has in her closet or put away!" Tony said. Kagami smiled a little bit.

"No, all of them are on the bed." Kagami said.

"What? Why? Isn't that uncomfortable for her?" Tony asked.

"What are you guys talking about?" Tsukasa asked, having stopped dancing. Tony jumped a little and scratched the back of his head.

"Ahehe, nothing, nothing." Tony said. Tsukasa shrugged and smiled again. "Any others?" Tony asked. Tsukasa hummed in thought.

"Umm... Tsukune-kun." She said.

"Small brown bear about two centimeters left of her pillow." Kagami said. Tony nodded and picked up the bear. He held it out to Tsukasa.

"That isn't Tsukune-kun though..." Tsukasa said as if Tony were intentionally misleading her. Tony jumped and looked at Kagami. She shook her head and held two fingers. Tony looked back and saw a near identical bear right beside the one he picked up.

_How does she tell them apart? _Tony wondered. He replaced the bear and picked up the other, which he handed to Tsukasa again. She hugged him along with Kaito.

"Tsukune-kun~, Tsukune-kun~, Tsukune-kun~!" Tsukasa danced around a little. Tony chuckled.

"She can be a little childish, huh?" Tony asked Kagami in a whisper.

"Of course. That's one reason we all love her." Kagami said with a smile.

"Understandable. Watching how she is now just makes me love her all the more." Tony smiled. "How many others do you think she'll want?" Tony asked. Kagami sighed.

"Hey Tsukasa, which ones do you want to carry yourself and which ones do you want to go in the boxes?" Kagami asked. Tsukasa stopped and looked at her sister.

"Well..." Tsukasa looked at the animals on her bed. She walked over and looked at them. She began to whimper a little bit. "But... But I don't want..." She began.

"Wait, are we taking all of them?" Tony asked Kagami.

"She also needs all her animals to sleep at night if she's going to be spending more than a few days away, not just her alarm clock. A school trip without bringing them is fine. Moving in to your house isn't." Kagami said.

"She can't just take a few of them? Wouldn't that be a lot easier? Plus, we didn't get a lot of boxes. This many stuffed animals will fill them all up. Then we can't bring anything else..." Tony said.

"No, she needs all of them. She doesn't want to offend any of them by taking some and not the rest. She also doesn't want them to take offense by putting some of them in a closet and the others are sleeping with her." Kagami said.

"Er... She knows that they aren't actually alive, right? They aren't sentient beings..." Tony said.

"Do you remember what I told you yesterday? She has a story for each and every one of her animals. She loves them as if they were real and she thinks of them as her friends. For a long time, they were her only friends outside the family. She was really shy, so Itsuwari was really one of her only friends. She was only really friends with him because he was outgoing and talked to her in a friendly way. She kinda shunned a lot of other friends with him. Most of them fell off and left." Kagami said.

"Most?" Tony asked.

"Well, Misao is persistent." Kagami smiled nostalgically. "She wouldn't let Tsukasa get away from her that easily." She said.

"Ya know, even though Kon-kon doesn't like her, Misao just keeps being put in a better and better light. She visits Tsukasa in the hospital, brings her flowers, and stays a friend to her even when Tsukasa doesn't associate with her much. She's actually pretty awesome." Tony said.

"Why don't you tell Kona that?" Kagami asked.

"I dunno. I have a feeling she won't go for it." Tony said. He looked over at Tsukasa to see that she was trying to find a way to pick up all of her stuffed animals at once so she could carry them with her. She was also assigning the smaller ones to Konata, apologizing to each of them for not being able to carry them and explaining that Konata would take good care of them while she wasn't with them. Tony smiled. "She's so cute." Tony said.

"Everyone thinks so." Kagami said.

"Everyone is right." Tony said. He walked over. "Can I help? I'm sure I can carry a good amount of them." Tony said. Tsukasa looked a little nervous.

"They're... a little uncomfortable around guys..." Tsukasa said.

"But... they're coming to live with me along with you, right? So they're gonna be around me a lot, aren't they?" Tony asked.

"I guess..." Tsukasa looked at her animals.

"So I should at least get to know some of them on the way, right?" Tony asked. Tsukasa smiled and nodded.

"Yeah!" She said. She turned to her animals and started whispering. After a moment, she turned back around and nodded. "Let's get as many as we can carry!" She cheered. Tony smiled and nodded.

"Alright!" He said. He looked over at Kagami, who was nodding in approval. They began to gather as many stuffed animals as they could. Even though she said as many as they could carry, everyone knew she meant all of them. Kagami began collecting as many as she could hold in her arms. After a few minutes and much delegating of animals, they somehow held every animal in their hands.

"Yay! We can get them all!" Tsukasa cheered.

"Yeah, let's put them all down for the moment so we can pack up the rest of the boxes." Tony said. He was about to drop them, but thought better and followed Tsukasa to her bed and, very softly, placed them down. The rest following, Tony turned to Tsukasa. "So, anything else you'd like?" Tony asked.

"Umm..." Tsukasa began to look around. Everyone could see she was really caught this time.

**Ten Minutes Later**

"Oh, I know!" Tsukasa said. Konata, Kagami, and Tony had all ended up finding somewhere to sit or lay as they waited for Tsukasa to make up her mind between her possessions. "Can we get my Disney movies?" Tsukasa asked.

_It took her that long to think of that?_ They all seemed to wonder.

"Sure thing." Tony said. He walked over and grabbed the relatively large stack of movies. He gave them to Kagami. "To the Tetris master." He smirked.

"Ah, you saw all that, did you?" Kagami asked.

"Huh? What?" Konata asked, looking between the two. "Saw what?"

_Come to think of it, not only does Konata not know about what I did, but I did leave her stuff just lying around... _Kagami thought to herself. She smiled to ruffled Konata's hair, much to the little Otaku's chagrin. "You'll see later~." She said.

"Kagamin~!" Konata whined. Giggling, she took the movies from Tony's hand and began to put them in the box in the best possible way for there to be the most room at the end. The movies placed, she looked back at her sister.

"So, we have plenty of room left Tsukasa, what would you like to bring next?" Kagami asked. Tsukasa began to look around the room, humming.

"Hmmm..." She looked around.

**Twenty Minutes Later**

"That's it!" Tsukasa tried to snap her fingers. Her skin just rubbed against itself and made no sound, however, leading her to try again several times.

"What is it?" Tony asked, trying not to sound impatient.

"My card book!" Tsukasa said. She walked over to the closet. Konata and Tony both looked confusedly at Kagami.

"Card book?" They mouthed. She shrugged.

"First I've heard of it." She mouthed back. "What card book, Tsukasa?" Tsukasa rooted around the closet for a bit longer until she finally found a huge book. She grunted as she picked it up and brought it out.

"This... card... book..." She struggled to say. Konata was the first to make it to her and grab it. She put it down on the bed.

"Mind if I take a look at it?" Konata asked.

"Go ahead!" Tsukasa chimed.

"Thank you~." Konata chimed. She opened it up to reveal a huge amount of Pokemon cards. She began flipping through them.

"I never knew you had a collection this extensive Tsukasa..." Kagami mumbled.

"Ahehe..." Tsukasa giggled a bit nervously.

"You must be one heck of a player." Tony commented.

"I didn't really know how to play. I just liked the pretty pictures..." Tsukasa mumbled.

"You spent all this money for cards that you just liked the pictures on?" Kagami asked, in disbelief of her sister's wanton waste of money. "That could have gone to college, ya know?" Kagami said as more of a statement than a question.

"Kagamin, colleges are closed." Konata reminded.

"That's enough from the peanut gallery." Kagami teased. "You know what I mean. It hasn't been closed since she started collecting."

"Well..." Tsukasa started. She was swiftly cut off by a gasp from Konata.

"Kona?" Kagami asked. Konata pulled the book and pointed to a specific card. It had a Pikachu with a couple of tools and a Charmander card on it.

"This is a Pikachu Illustrator card..." Konata said very seriously. Tsukasa giggled.

"It's one of my favorites. Pikachu looks so cute!" She chimed.

"To the right people, this card is extremely valuable." Konata said.

"Really?" Kagami asked.

"It's one of the only Pokémon cards that has some real value. Even some of the rarer cards don't sell for much." Konata said.

"So, how much are we talking about here?" Kagami asked.

"Several million yen, probably." Konata said. There was a moment when nobody spoke.

"WHAT?" Kagami shouted.

"It was on the Internet for about 3.2 million yen about three years ago." Konata said.

"Holy CRAP!" Kagami shouted. "I take it all back Tsukasa, you did great buying these cards!" Kagami said.

"But..." Tsukasa mumbled.

"How rare is this card?" Kagami asked.

"There are only six of them that were made. They were given away to the prize winners of a contest a long time ago, back when Pokémon was new." Konata said.

"Wow, I didn't even know you entered that contest Tsukasa!" Kagami said.

"I didn't!" Tsukasa said. Another moment past.

"Then how do you have this?" Kagami asked.

"It... Itsuwari-kun gave it to me..." Tsukasa blushed a little bit. She smiled lightly and reminisced for a moment.

"I had no idea Itsuwari was a Pokémon fan..." Kagami said. Tony shifted uncomfortably with Tsukasa having nostalgic thoughts about her first crush, but again bit his tongue.

"O-Okay, let's just get it into the box..." Tony said. Konata looked back at him, confused. She could see right through his tenuous facade. She sighed and gave him the book. He placed it in a box. "What else we got Tsukasa?" Tony asked. She sat there without moving for a moment.

"Tsukasa?" Konata asked. She jumped and looked around.

"Huh?" She asked.

"Is there anything else?" Konata asked.

"Oh..." She looked around again.

**Thirty Minutes Later**

"That's right!" She snapped her finger. Everyone was almost asleep by this point, and so were startled awake when Tsukasa suddenly snapped.

"Hm?" Tony hummed.

"What's up?" Konata asked.

"This..." Tsukasa smiled again. She walked over to her futon and reached across the bed. After digging a little bit, she seemed to find what she had been looking for. She brought out a small, almost plain looking box.

"Huh?" Kagami asked.

"What's that Tsukasa?" Konata asked.

"Mom gave me the box... It's a jewelry box..." She smiled.

"A jewelry box? When did she give you that?" Kagami asked.

"In Junior High. It was around..." She sniffled a little bit.

"Yeah... So what do you use it for?" Kagami asked.

"Jewelry." Tsukasa said.

"But... You don't have any jewelry that isn't around your neck, do you?" Kagami asked.

"With her luck with the Pokémon card, she probably has something worth a hundred million yen..." Konata commented to Tony, who only chuckled at the irony.

"I do though..." Tsukasa said. She opened the box to reveal a single pearl ring.

"Wow Tsukasa, that's really pretty." Kagami said. "Where did you get that?" Kagami asked. "Did Mom give it to you with the box?"

"No... Itsuwari-kun gave it to me before... He said it was a Promise Ring, but he never said what the promise actually was!" Tsukasa said. "When I took it home, Mom gave me her old jewelry box. It belonged to Grandma..." Tsukasa said. Tony groaned under his breath. Konata glanced at him.

"What?" Konata asked in a whisper.

"She's so happy about it. It makes me feel insecure." Tony said.

"Don't forget, she's dating YOU. Not this other guy." Konata said.

"Yeah, but who knows what would have happened if he was still with us... He gave her a promise ring Konata! He was basically asking her out, but she was too innocent to think of it that way!" Tony whispered back.

"You don't know that! Promise rings can be worn kind of like chastity rings too!" Konata tried to defend the late boy.

"Which would have worse implications! 'Tsukasa, wait for me for when we get married, I want you virginity for myself!'!" Tony whispered.

"Come on, she's only going through this stuff because she's moving IN with you! Did you forget about that?" Konata asked. Tony sighed.

"Still! She doesn't have to look so wistful..." Tony commented.

"What, are you on YOUR period now?" Konata asked.

"MEN CAN GET THOSE?" Tony shouted. Kagami and Tsukasa both spun to look at him to see what the commotion was about.

"What?" Tsukasa asked.

"Men can get what?" Kagami asked. Konata and Tony jumped and raised their arms, waving in unison.

"Nothing, nothing at all! Don't worry about it!" The both of them said in perfect unison. Kagami and Tsukasa looked at each other and shrugged.

"Sheesh Kan-kan." Konata said.

"Hey, that's a scary thought! Men can't get those... right? Right? You were just kidding with me, right?" Tony practically pleaded with his sister.

"Geez, you've fought sword masters, ninjas, and a god, but the thought of having a period scares the hell out of you..." Konata giggled a bit.

"You're not taking this seriously, are you?" Tony asked, almost in a panic.

"No I'm not, why are you?" Konata asked. "No, men can't get periods." Konata said. Tony let out a sigh of relief.

"That was scary... Hey Kon-kon..." Tony whispered again.

"Yes~?" She answered.

"I've seen Tsukasa get super moody. Kagami is always moody so it's hard to tell. I never really see Miyuki enough to tell, but I've been around you a lot. You never get like that. You don't seem to get that whole 'super emotional, vicious as Kagami' aura about you. What's up with that? You said that every girl gets it, but do you just put on a really, really good front?" Tony asked. Konata smiled a bit, almost melancholically.

"Funny story, that. First of all, never ask a girl that again or she'll tear your eyes out and eat them for lunch. Second... Well... I don't have them." Konata said.

"Huh? But you said..." Tony began.

"I'm a... Well, a bit of a special case... You see-" Konata began.

"What are you two whispering about over there?" Kagami asked. "You've been chatting among yourselves for quite a while." Kagami put her hands on her hips.

"Hey, I didn't interrupt you when you were talking to Kan-kan. Maybe we were talking about something important." Konata said.

"Something so important, I can't be a part of it?" Kagami asked.

"Maybe I was discussing plans for my proposal~." Konata teased. Kagami jerked back a bit, a light blush on her cheeks.

"Wh-what kind of proposal?" She asked. Konata cleared her throat overdramatically and gestured widely before taking a knee. She swooped her arms around to grab Kagami's hand.

"Kagami Francesca Consuela Maria Gonzalez de Masso Garcia Lucia Greenburg Ramon Gomez Hiiragi, will you marry me?" She asked grandly. Kagami blushed, even despite Konata's attempts to make it light. She averted her eyes as her face continued darkening.

"A-Another anime reference...?" She mumbled, trying to switch topics.

"No, not really." Konata shook her head, never losing her wide smile.

"Kona..." Kagami said.

"Yes~, Kagamin~?" Konata chimed.

"When you propose for real, you better make it better than that..." Kagami mumbled.

"I promise it's gonna be suite!" Konata cheered. "But... maybe I am proposing for real this time..." Konata mumbled timidly and averted her eyes. Kagami practically blew steam from her ears.

_*Cute!* _"Bu-but! So suddenly like this? I-I don't think I'm ready for something like this!" Kagami said. Konata began giggling. Kagami sighed. "Why would you joke around about something like that? I should have known, it's not even legal for us to get married here..." Kagami sighed.

"Don't worry, Imma make sure it will be legal by the time you're ready!" Konata cheered. Kagami smiled, blushed and nodded.

"Sounds like a deal." She said sweetly. She breathed deeply and looked into what seemed to be space. Konata recognized it as her going into her own little fantasy world, probably picturing the perfect way she was to be proposed to.

"So Tsukasa, any more things you would like to get?" Konata asked. Tsukasa looked around.

**Forty Minutes Later**

"Um..." She hummed.

**Fifty Minutes Later**

"Maybe... No..." She mumbled.

_So much longer later that the old narrator got tired of waiting and they had to hire a new one_

"There's nothing I can really think of... I think this is all I really need." Tsukasa smiled.

_Thank... God..._ Tony mumbled in his head.

_She took so long to decide that, Kagami came out of her fantasy on her own..._ Konata thought.

_No wonder Matsuri wished us luck..._ Tony sighed in his head.

_I figured it would take a while, but that was just ridiculous..._ Kagami sighed. She took out her phone and looked at the time. The day was already mostly gone. She sighed as she closed the phone. _Geez. And here I was hoping that we would also get to move Kona in. And we still have to set the room up at Tony's._ Kagami thought to herself.

"Well, let's get going, or we're not going to have enough time to even set up the room." Tony said.

"Alright!" Tsukasa chimed. They each began to pick up the same animals they had before so that they could carry all of them in the car. They called in Tadao, as they couldn't get the box and carry the animals.

"Hm? There's another box, why don't you..." Tadao looked at the stuffed animals, and then at Tsukasa. He nodded and grabbed up the full box and the empty box. He looked in out of curiosity and smiled once he saw the jewelry box. "So, is this all we're taking over there?" He asked. Tsukasa nodded behind her animals. "Alright, let's head out." Tadao nodded. They all began to walk out of the house, albeit a bit cautiously so as not to drop any of their precious stock. Once outside, though, they found that to be a behemoth of a task. The wind had picked up considerably and stuffed animals are not the heaviest of cargo, especially when they're just piled on and not actually being held in place by anything but gravity. Kagami's hair, in particular, was flailing around from just the wind while Tsukasa and Tony's got in their eyes.

"What is up with this wind?" Kagami shouted.

"I dunno, but it's really irritating!" Tony shouted back.

"What are you talking about?" Konata asked. Tony looked at her, questioning her sanity until he saw her standing still without any problem. Her hair was laid perfectly in place, as if there were no wind at all. Tony was momentarily bewildered, but shook it off as the wind began to blow a few animals off. Tsukasa began to shout. Tony growled and commanded the wind cease. At a large cost of energy, it did. He sighed as the wind died down, but he began to breathe a bit heavily.

"Kan-kun, you didn't have to do that." Tsukasa said sternly. "The whole point of doing it like was so you didn't get tired!" She whined.

"Tsukasa, they were going to get blown onto the ground. I didn't think you would want that either." Tony said.

"I don't mind washing them! And if you lose in the fight tomorrow, it'll be all my fault!" She said.

"No it won't. Don't worry so much about it Tsu-chan. I'm gonna be fine. I have a master martial artist sister and a super powered girl at my side. The whole fight doesn't just hinge on me. I bet even if I got my rear kicked, those two would be able to knock out the opponent themselves!" Tony said proudly of his teammates. Konata chuckled a bit as they loaded the box into the Hiiragi van and hopped in. Tony sat beside Konata while Kagami sat beside Tsukasa.

"If you say so Kan-kun." Tsukasa sighed. Tony turned his attention to Konata.

"Speaking of my sister..." He said. Konata gulped. "What was up with the no wind?" He asked.

"I still don't know what you guys were talking about. I didn't feel any wind." Konata shrugged.

"Why not?" Kagami asked.

"Well if I knew that, would I be sitting here, wondering what you guys are talking about?" Konata asked.

"I suppose not. That's weird, Kona." Kagami said. Konata shrugged.

"When have I ever not been?" She asked.

"You do have a point there..." Kagami said affectionately. "You idiot." She added.

"Hey, what did I do to deserve that?" Konata asked.

"Well, aren't you?" Kagami giggled.

"I may be an idiot, but you're the one who fell for an idiot. Who's the idiot now?" Konata teased.

"Kona, if you weren't so good in the kitchen, I don't think I could even tolerate you sometimes." Kagami said. Tony and Tsukasa exchanged a bit of a panicked look.

"So that's what I am, huh? Just some chef?" Konata asked.

"My personal chef! That's better!" Kagami said.

"Hardly." Konata said. "Maybe I'll just not cook again. Maybe never!" Konata said. They arrived at their destination.

"Come on Kona, stop it! You're being a child!" Kagami shouted at her.

"Careful what you say Kagamin. If I'm a child, that makes you a pedophile, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna stay here and be lectured by a pervert!" Konata said as she exited the car. While her exit was dramatic, the stuffed animals in her arms took away a great portion of the drama. Tony and Tsukasa looked at each other and nodded, a silent understanding passing between them. They would both do their best to get their respective sister to talk to the other about whatever problem had suddenly arisen. Tony jumped out of the car and caught up with his sister while Tsukasa looked over Kagami. What wasn't expected was what was said next. They both said the exact same thing in unison.

"I love her so much..." They both sighed contently.

"Onee-chan?" Tsukasa asked.

"Yeah Tsukasa?" Kagami asked as the two got out of the car.

"What was that?" Tsukasa asked.

"Well, me and Kona have to fight sometimes. I figure we should do it when it's controlled, ya know?" Kagami said. "I mean, it's probably good for the relationship if we can let out some steam, and we'll be closer for it!" Kagami reasoned.

"That sounds good!" Tsukasa chimed.

* * *

**POV Tony**

"So what was all that about?" Tony asked his sister.

"I dunno. Kagami's fun to tease." Konata shrugged.

"Ah, makes sense." Tony nodded. He somehow got the door open, though his arms were full of animals. As the two looked in to his living room, they were almost so surprised by what they saw, they almost dropped their cargo. They walked in and set the animals on the clean chair, looking around.

"What... What the hell happened in here?" Konata asked.

"I don't know..."

"Kan-kan... Someone came in here and committed a neatness! All the filth is gone!" Konata said.

"All of the dust I worked so hard not to disturb! Just... vanished!" Tony said in despair.

"Who's responsible for this?" Konata asked. They saw Tsuki, as if on cue, run down the hallway bent over, her hands on a cloth that was cleaning the hallway floor.

"Tsuki, did you clean my house?" Tony asked.

"Run..." She mumbled almost hollowly.

"Wh-what?" Tony asked. Tsukasa and Kagami entered the room and looked around.

"Wow, you finally cleaned this place, huh?" Kagami asked.

"What's wrong Tsuki?" Konata asked.

"I've created a monster..." She mumbled hollowly.

"Hey, do we have any..." Yutaka walked out of the hallway. On seeing the four people in the living room, she smiled sweetly. "Hi Onee-chan! Onii-chan! Kagami-senpai! Tsukasa-senpai!" Yutaka chimed happily.

"Run." Tsuki mouthed silently from behind the innocent looking Yutaka.

"Oh~..." Yutaka looked at the stuffed animals. "Are these all for me?" She asked. Her face suddenly changed. Tony knew it well. Suddenly, however, before Yutaka's "Glitter Attack" could take effect, Tsukasa stepped in and countered.

"No." She said with an uncommonly stern tone. The two locked gazed for a moment.

_This is a little ridiculous... It's like a battle of the cute..._ Tony thought. Everyone know that even Tsukasa may be in over her head here. She was cute, sure, but Yutaka had been honing her cute look. Yutaka sighed.

"Okay..." She eventually gave and walked back down the hall. Everyone looked at Tsukasa in wonder. When she turned back around, they all saw her face was red with blush.

"She was so cute..." She put both hands on her cheeks as a if she were a girl with a crush.

_She only won because her animals were at stake._ Kagami smiled.

"So, while you guys go get her room set up, Kan-kan is gonna cook!" Konata said. Tony looked at her blankly.

"Ah, I've never had your cooking before!" Kagami said.

"I really look forward to it!" Tsukasa chimed.

"And no peeking Tony. You don't get to see the room until we're done." Kagami said.

"Come on Tsu-chan!" Tsukasa said.

"Sorry, I can't. Yu-sama is calling..." Tsuki mumbled as she walked down the hall. The sister shrugged and started grabbing stuff. As they walked down to the room Tsukasa was to reside in, Konata finally turned to meet Tony's blank stare.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Kagami's right. You're an idiot." He said.

"What do you mean?" Konata asked.

"Do you have any idea what my cooking is like? Any? At all?" Tony asked.

"Is it not good?" Konata asked.

"It's the healthiest stuff you'll ever eat. But it tastes absolutely horrible." Tony said.

"Come on, it's not that bad." Konata smiled.

"I wouldn't even blame Tsukasa for leaving me if she tasted my cooking." Tony said.

"You're overreacting." Konata said.

"Am I? Am I Konata? I don't think I am!" He said. He groaned. "Why would you throw me under the bus like that?" He asked.

"I figured you'd love to cook for us! I mean, it's almost always either me or Tsukasa cooking around here, I thought you might want a chance to strut your stuff!" Konata said.

"My stuff is so bad, it still struts on it's own." Tony said. "It's inedible." He said simply.

"Hey now, I've eaten Kagami's cooking myself. If I can eat THAT, I can consume your food as if it were a delicacy." Konata said. Tony sighed.

"I'll... just have to try my best, I suppose." Tony said. "Unless you want to cook?" Tony asked.

"Nope. Not gonna happen. You volunteered for this job, you have to see it through." She said.

"Like hell I did..." Tony mumbled as he walked into the kitchen.

"What's the eta, you think?" Konata asked. Tadao sort of walked in with the box of stuff in his hand and, on seeing that he had been completely forgotten and dismissed without so much as a thank you, left.

"It'll be ready later..." He sighed.

"Mind if I go look at the training room?" Konata asked.

"Right, I remember you were asking about using it. Yeah, go and check it out. See if it'll suit your needs." Tony said.

"Thanks! I'll be back in a few." Konata waved. She walked through the house, remembering where it was from their first visit. She walked in the training room and looked around. It was a very dojo-ish looking room. It almost looked like it had come right out of a school kendo class. There was a large closet that Konata remembered from when Tony got the training dummies out. She opened it up to take a look at the supplies he had. She saw a good amount of training dummies in various positions and a couple of swords crossed. She recognized one as the sword Tony used to fight against her, but the other, a metallic white one, wasn't one she remembered. She briefly considered whether Tony would hate her for checking it out. Oddly, she felt almost... compelled to take it. She sighed, the urge overpowering her concern. She grabbed it as a green flash blinded her for a moment. It had erupted from her green stone, and when it subsided, the sword in her hand was gone. It was weird, she still felt it in her hand, but she couldn't see it. It felt extremely light. Like the wind itself was holding it up. Normally, the mere fact that the sword disappeared would have caused her to drop it, but enough weird things had happened that she felt almost conditioned to it. She stared at the empty space in her hand with an odd sense of attachment. She almost couldn't bring herself to return the blade. Still the blade wasn't her's so she put the blade back where it had been. The second it left her hand, the blade reappeared, as if nothing had ever happened to it. She made a fist in excitement. Something interesting was happening to her again! She ran out of the room and back to the kitchen.

"What's up Kon-kon?" Tony asked, having felt her excited aura coming from the hall.

"Hey Kan-kan, what's up with the new sword? Where did you get it?" Konata asked. Tony smiled.

"Ah, now that's a story. That happened after what happened with Tereya." Tony said. "Second day of Oban if I remember correctly..." Tony thought back and smiled while he told Konata about his encounter with his mother. As the story progressed, Konata smiled and began thinking of her own experience with Kanata. When Tony ended with the sword and it being his father's, Konata huffed.

"So it belonged to your Dad, huh?" Konata asked. Tony nodded.

"I haven't really gotten to use it though. Kinda sucks." Tony said.

"We could spar after dinner if you want." Konata offered.

"But wait, we have a match tomorrow. Tsukasa wouldn't want us using our energy like that. Besides, I fight so often, I'd like a day without it. Don't get me wrong, I love fighting, but still..." Tony said.

"I understand." Konata sighed. She had really wanted to see about using that sword. "But if we're practicing for our fight tomorrow, then Tsukasa's sure to say yes, right?" Konata asked.

"Well aren't you insistent? What's up Kon-kon, anxious to beat my ass again?" Tony asked.

"No! I just kind of wanted to try out those swords myself..." Konata said. Tony nodded.

"I see. I suppose it can't be helped. I still think Tsukasa will be VERY opposed to the idea though. And with her living here, it'd be kind of hard to sneak something like sparing in." Tony said.

"Well, we can always try." Konata said.

"I think we should wait until after dinner to ask though. Maybe she'll feel bad for me and want me to stick with what she knows I know." Tony said.

"Eta on dinner?" Konata asked.

"Later." Tony said.

**Later**

"Man, you got done with this food quick Tony! We barely managed to get the animals settled in a comfortable position." Kagami said.

"Comfortable position?" Tony mouthed. Kagami nodded. Tony shrugged. He began to pass out food.

"Thank you for the food!" The three of them said, Yutaka and Tsuki declining the offer as they had dined on Oden earlier. As the three girls got a mouthful, they all paused, a simultaneous shutter running down their entire body. Tsukasa was the first to chew and swallow.

"Kan-kun, I think if you used the name brand soy sauce and not the store brand, it might taste better. And the store brand salt would actually compliment the dish better than the foreign stuff you used." Tsukasa offered her advice. Tony blinked for a few beats.

"What?" He asked.

"The soy sauce. And salt." Tsukasa said. "Also, the vegetables you get from a package would have actually been a better choice for this meal than the locally grown ones." She said.

"How... How could you possibly know what kind of salt I used? Or what kind of soy sauce, or vegetables?" Tony asked.

"Tsukasa is an S-ranked Kitchenmancer, what do you expect?" Konata asked.

"A what now? Kitchenmancer? You're telling me she can use some sort of magic?" Tony asked.

"She's just that good at cooking." Kagami said proudly.

"Well dang. Tsukasa, would you mind cooking now that you'll live here?" Tony asked.

"Not at all!" Tsukasa chimed. "Besides, I know your food is just really, really healthy, and that's why you cooked it like this." Tsukasa said.

"How do you know that?" Tony asked.

"Just that good." Konata said matter-of-factly. Tony huffed.

"Well then. That's..." Tony mumbled. "I'm humbled again at your skill in the kitchen."

"You think you're humbled now? Tell them Tsukasa." Kagami seemed ecstatic at something or another. As if her very meaning in life were about to be in front of her.

"Ehehe... I'm just going to make my Ama-Ama Dangos..." Tsukasa said, a bit embarrassed at her sister's euphoric face on her mentioning the name of the dessert.

"Ama.." Konata began.

"Ama..." Tony said.

"Dangos?" They both kicked their heads to the sides in confusion. Kagami gasped.

"Kona! Have you never had her Ama-Ama Dangos?" Kagami asked in sheer concern.

"No, I haven't..." Konata said.

"I've never even heard of them..." Tony said.

"I understand you not knowing them Tony, but Kona's known us for years!" Kagami shouted.

"I only really make them for special occasions, so I kind of understand, ya know Onee-chan?" Tsukasa said. Kagami sighed.

"I guess so..." Kagami sighed. "You have to make a bunch. I BUNCH! It's a moral imperative that you make a hundred!" Kagami said to her twin. Konata and Tony looked at each other, both confused at what they were witnessing.

"Do I even have the ingredients for making Ama-Ama Dangos?" Tony asked.

"And that's kind of a weird name. Ama-Ama Dango..." Konata mumbled to herself.

"You don't Tony. We have to go buy them." Kagami said.

"What about the name then?" Tony asked.

"When you taste them, you go "Aaaaaaam! Aaaaa..." a bunch!" Tsukasa chimed.

"Well then. I suppose we're going to go shopping then." Tony said.

"Um-!..." Tsukasa chirped.

"Yes?" Tony asked.

"The ingredients... are kind of a secret..." Tsukasa said.

"Afraid I'll reproduce it? After what you just tasted?" Tony asked. Tsukasa scratched her head for a moment, giggling nervously.

"Ahehe... No, it's just the point of it..." Tsukasa said.

"I suppose I kinda, sorta understand." Tony said.

"Well then, I can't wait to try it out! You guys should get going!" Konata said hastily. Tony shot her a glance.

"You seem very eager to have us leave..." Kagami said.

"After your description, can you blame me? Go, go!" Konata shooed. Kagami got an annoyed look, even more so because her little brat had a point.

"Alright then. I guess we'll take our leave then, won't we Tsukasa?" Kagami asked her twin. Tsukasa looked around at everyone suddenly staring at her, and nodded.

"I-I guess!" She said.

"Come back with yummy stuff!" Konata waved as the two Hiiragis left. After they were out of ear shot, Tony addressed his sister.

"Do you really want to spar that badly?" He asked.

"Yeah! Yeah! Just a little!" Konata said. Ever since she held the sword earlier, she had an incredible urge to do so again. Tony shrugged and got up.

"Well, let's go then." He said. They went into the training room. Before Konata could get to the closet, Tony picked up the sword she wanted. Tony looked at the sword in his hand. It felt weird. Konata grunted and picked up the remaining one. She began to think in her head. She decided to use her best technique. Maybe she could get the sword from him with that. She breathed in preparation. "Ready?" Tony asked. Konata nodded, her eyes closed. _She... Did she just close her eyes against me?_ He wondered. "Are you ready?" Tony asked. Konata nodded again. He shrugged. "I'm going to cast a spell that stops us from being being actually hit by these blades, okay?" Tony said. Konata nodded again. Tony got the distinct impression that she wasn't actually paying attention to what he said. It actually annoyed him. He began casting his spell, but as it was almost completed, he didn't feel the usual energy drain. He inspected the both of them with his mind. His enchantment from the tournament. It was still effecting the both of them. Tony chuckled. _Maybe that's why the knife was halted before it got her..._ Tony thought. This entire time, Konata hadn't really moved much. Tony sighed. He put his sword up and swung it at Konata. She moved out of the way easily. Tony slashed again. She moved again. Again, it seemed easy enough. Konata swung her sword and caught Tony's barrier around his currently unguarded midsection. based on the energy drain, Tony could tell it was a very powerful strike, especially with how little Konata looked like she put into the strike. Tony stabbed at her chest. She spun out of the way fluidly. She slashed up weirdly. Again, her blade found an unguarded area of Tony's barrier. Another hit to his energy. Irritated, he began slashing wildly. Swaying from side to side, Konata evaded every strike. The two continued like this for a while, Tony striking out and trying to hit her, yet Konata always had some odd movement she could take to evade. She took her blade up again. Tony moved grandly to guard every possible opening. Regardless, her blade found somewhere that Tony had somehow missed. _Damn it!_ He shouted in his head. He gripped his blade with both hands and began a downward slash. Konata opened her eyes and stepped forward. She put her hand above her, palm up. The bottom of the sword's hilt hit her open palm. The sword slid out of Tony's hands with frightening ease. A green light blinded him for a moment the instant her hand touched the blade. He heard a clang as the sword hit the ground a few feet away from him. He looked into Konata's emerald eyes for a moment. Until now, she had looked like she was concentrating intensely. She was now looking warmly. She kicked her head to the side, her eyes closed with a smile.

"Wanna switch swords?" Konata asked.

"... Would that help...?" Tony asked. He was in awe. "How... did you DO that?" Tony asked.

"It took me years to perfect that technique." Konata said. She put Tony's handmade sword on the ground for him to take up. Tony huffed and grabbed his sword. It felt much more familiar in his grip than did the other one. He turned around. Konata was at the place his father's sword was. She bent down and grabbed it. In a green flash, the sword disappeared. Tony inhaled sharply in surprise, but otherwise tried to keep his reaction to himself. Konata seemed much more relaxed now. The blade simply felt comfortable in her grip. She could kind of see a faint outline of the blade, though she was the only one to see it.

"What the hell happened to the sword?" Tony asked.

"Dunno, it just does that when I hold it." Konata shrugged. Tony tried to remember the proportions on the blade. He raised his sword. Konata flew at a scarily quickly speed and slashed. Tony raised his blade and found it forced down but the strength behind Konata's slash.

_The hell? _He growled in his head. Konata's sword arm, kicked as the wind, swung around to Tony's midsection again. Tony, aggravated enough already, stabbed energy at the seal he had put in the room only recently. He appeared behind Konata and swung his blade. Konata's head whipped around in surprise as Tony's blade caught a barrier near her neck. He was breathing pretty heavily by the point.

"Whoa... What was that?" Konata asked. Tony stepped to the side, allowing Konata to see the seal on the wall behind him. "Ah, teleporting to that?"

"Yeah. You completely won this. Usually the rule is no magic." Tony said.

"Well... What do you think this is?" Konata asked, holding up the invisible sword.

"But you're not doing that consciously, are you? So it doesn't count. What the hell was that earlier anyway?" Tony asked.

"What do you mean?" Konata asked.

"Before, when you had this sword. I kept slashing at you, but I didn't once hit you. So, how did you dodge every swing? With your eyes CLOSED nonetheless?" Tony asked.

"Well, I wouldn't really call it... "dodging"..." Konata mumbled.

"Kona~!" They heard Kagami's voice chimed. They heard the Tsundere walking down the hall.

"Crap! Kan-kan, we need to clean this place up!" Konata said in almost a panic. "If they find out we were sparring, we're gonna get in trouble!" Konata said.

"We might lose our dango privileges..." Tony chuckled sarcastically. The two put the swords back where they belong. Tony put his sword on the holder without hesitation, but looked over Konata. Despite the impending death that awaited them if they failed to cover what they were doing, she seemed extremely hesitant to replace the sword. "Konata?" Tony asked. Konata shook her head and put the sword up. They closed the door to the closet just as Kagami swung the door open.

"There you are!" Kagami said accusingly. "You know how long I was looking for you?" She asked.

"I know what you mean darling, I've been looking for you my whole life as well!" Konata said grandly. Kagami jumped back a little and blushed, averting her gaze the next second.

"Geez... Why are you in here anyway?" Kagami asked. "The Dangos are almost done..." She commented.

"I'm surprised you're not out there, trying to learn it." Tony said.

"Well..." Kagami scratched the back of her head. "The Ama-Ama Dango is a really closely guarded secret... I don't even know how it's made..." Kagami said.

"Wow, something so secret that Tsukasa won't even share it with her sister..." Konata commented.

"Yeah, it really is a crazy dango though." Kagami sighed. "She buys all the ingredients to MAKE it the ingredients. I can't even imagine how long it would take a normal person to make." Kagami said.

"You know, you keep praising this, but how good can it really be? I mean, I know it's Tsukasa, but can't it only be so good?" Tony asked. Kagami began giggling.

"You'll see." She said. "But anyway, what are you doing in here anyway? You weren't fighting or anything, were you?" Kagami asked.

"Alright, you caught us!" Konata shouted. "We were having an affair!" Konata shouted, putting her arms out as if to surrender and be handcuffed. Tony chuckled nervously as Kagami giggled weirdly. Konata slunk out of the room dejectedly. Kagami's giggle only got weirder as she began approaching Tony.

"Tony..." Kagami began. The air suddenly a lot more... dark. "Try to take what is mine and I shall ensure that your suffering will be the stuff of legends," She told him bluntly. "They will whisper tales of the agony I shall put you through, and both angels and devils alike will weep in horror at the fate which you befell."

"Ahehe..." Tony's chuckle turned a great deal more nervous. Kagami was at her scariest at the moment and Tony was afraid for his life. "It's alright Kagami... She's my sister, ya know?... She was just looking at the room to see if she could use it for training..." Tony put his hands up. Kagami glared darkly at him for a moment more. She sighed and retreated back, closing her eyes and crossing her arms, huffing.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Just remember it." Kagami glared at him before exiting the room. Tony shuddered.

"Did someone replace her with a monster or something?" Tony shuddered to himself again. He exited the room. He rushed and saw Konata push her way into the kitchen. As the door closed, Konata was pushed back out.

"No one in the kitchen!" Tsukasa shouted. Konata looked at Tony deviously. It unsettled him.

"Oh no, darling, what are we ever to do?" She cried, falling on Tony. He looked up at Kagami, fear in his eyes, to catch her glare. If looks could kill, Tony would be a very, VERY dead man. No God or Goddess would possibly have been able to rescue him if that had been the case. Tony could almost see darkness coalescing around the girl, her eyes practically turning red. For a moment, she looked like she even had fangs. Tony shuddered.

"Um... Kon-kon?" Tony asked, a scared tone in his voice. Konata sneaked a glance at Kagami. Her hair was practically floating in darkness. Konata, even as conditioned as she was to Kagami's Tsun-tsun rage, was a little scared herself.

_This is more than rage... This is advanced rage..._ She thought. "Too far?" Konata asked.

"Way too far." Kagami said darkly.

"Gotcha..." Konata mumbled, getting off of Tony. She ground her ball of her foot against the floor and looked down as if she were being scolded. Kagami, though a bit angry with her little girlfriend's antics, couldn't stay so as Konata looked almost as cute as Yutaka. "Sorry Kagamin~..." She said sadly. Kagami swooned.

"It's okay Kona~!" Kagami hugged the little loli. Konata's face was pressed into Kagami's chest so hard, Konata initially feared suffocation. Then, she opened her mouth a little wider and found breath again. "What are you doing Kona?"

"Your chest isn't appropriate Marshmallow Hell size!" Konata complained. Kagami hugged harder.

"What was that?" She asked angrily.

"Your boobs are small!" Konata said, though muffled. Kagami shifted her hug and moved Konata lower, into her stomach. She began pulling with all her might.

"Haha! That isn't too small, is it?" Kagami shouted triumphantly. They stayed that way for a moment, to where Tony honestly worried about Konata. Suddenly, Kagami blushed deeply and let go, an embarrassed moan escaping. "Yo-yo-you-!..." She mumbled.

"Your belly button is a weakness I see..." Konata looked at Kagami seductively.

"Well I-..." Kagami began, having her arms folded over her stomach.

"It's ready~!" They heard from the kitchen. They all looked, and Kagami perked up a great deal.

"Ama-Ama Dangos, here I come!" She shouted and burst through the door. Tony and Konata looked at each other and chuckled. They entered after her. The two entered the kitchen to see Kagami already seated with a plate full of dangos. Konata approached her and smiled, seeing Kagami happily munching on the food. Konata, her curiosity getting the better of her, reached out to grab a dango.

*SCHING*

Konata withdrew her hand quickly before it was impaled by the fork that now left four little holes in the table. Kagami glared at her girlfriend evilly.

"Kagamin... Did you just... Did you just hiss at me?" Konata asked.

"No." Kagami said.

"I think you did." Konata said.

"These are mine." Kagami moved the dangos away. "You have yours. I have mine."

"And I gave you my yakitori..." Konata said.

"That was that, this is this. Ama-Ama Dangos are completely different from Yakitori." Kagami said.

"Alright, let's give it a try..." Tony said, sitting down to a plate of them. Konata took a seat between him and Kagami, a plate in front of her. The both of them took a bite of the dango. They froze.

"My god..." Konata mumbled.

"It's... it's full of stars!" Tony said.

"It's like all of the ingredients are singing in a perfect harmony of beautiful flavor!" Konata said.

"That flavor is singing in a way that somehow describes the interworking's of the very universe itself!" Tony said.

"The very heavens themselves are being recreated on our tongues!" Konata said. She looked at Tsukasa VERY seriously. "Recipe. You must give me the recipe." Konata said.

"Um..." Tsukasa scratched her head.

"Not even Mom knows how she makes it." Kagami said. Konata got up and walked over to the sink to inspect the dishes, maybe getting some sort of clue. There were none except for one big pot. She opened the lid to see a green, gummy substance.

"Is this the sauce for the dango?" Konata asked. Tsukasa shook her head.

"No, that was there before I got here." Tsukasa said.

"Ah, that's the dengen." Tony said. Tsukasa seemed to shudder. "I take it you took a taste of it?" Tony asked. Tsukasa nodded a fearful nod.

* * *

**The Theater of Tsukasa's Mind**

Tsukasa walked into the kitchen with the ingredients to make her signature dish. As she approached the counter, she looked at the stove to see a large pot that already appeared to have something in it. She walked over and looked into after lifting the lid. There was a red substance in there of questionable consistency. She dipped her finger in it to find it almost jellybean-ish. She smiled, jellybeans being on of her favorite treats. She grabbed a small glob and popped it in her mouth. She was sadly, sadly mistaken. She cringed, her entire mouth crying out in horror and disgust as if a thousand souls were clawing their way out of the very pit of hell itself to rewrite her taste buds. She almost felt it coming up again.

_Wow... Who would ever mix ingredients like this? Berries, honey, lard... liver? Powdered, probably from its consistency. But what's that last thing? That last ingredient... I've never tasted it before._ Tsukasa wondered. She shuddered in horror of the terrible taste still in her mouth. She looked around. _I bought a little much for this batch of dangos..._ She thought. She looked back at the pot. _I guess a few ingredients couldn't hurt..._ She thought. She took out a few of her ingredients and began mixing as she turned the burner on again. As she mixed in her ingredients to the dengen, she noticed it was turning a light, if lime looking, green. As she was working, she noticed she was getting a little jittery with how much energy she suddenly was getting. She began going as fast as she could just to burn off all of the energy she had. It wasn't very long at all before the mixture was done. It was lime green in color and actually looked appetizing. However, Tsukasa knew better than to simply eat some. She turned the burner off and let it cool while she began on her dangos.

* * *

**Back to the present**

"Huh... So you added stuff to the dengen..." Tony said. _I hope it still works how it's supposed to..._

"So where are all of the dishes?" Konata asked.

"Yeah, she washes the dishes as she goes to protect the secret. And we only buy enough ingredients to make that set of dangos, so there's none left." Kagami said. Tsukasa giggled nervously.

"Sorry Kona-chan... I can't tell you that. If I told you, you'd have to go away for a long time..." Tsukasa mumbled.

_Did Tsukasa just threaten to kill me?_ Konata's mouth dropped. _Well, in her own way..._

"Tsukasa. You will have to make this more often." Tony said. "No debating. This needs to be a daily thing." Tony said. He took another bite. "Twice a day." He said. He took the last bite of his first dango. "This is the only thing you should be doing at this house. You should begin cooking another batch as soon as you finish one." Tony said. "The best part is in the aftertaste..."

"It's sweet!" Konata chirped.

"Tsukasa, this puts everything else that I've ever tasted to absolute shame. I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to eat my dengen again." Tony chuckled. He took another bite, cherishing each moment of the precious dessert. He smiled happily.

"I can't do it every day, Kan-kun... Then it isn't special..." Tsukasa said.

"It will always be special Tsukasa." Tony said. Tsukasa made a sound of minor discontent with his comment, but otherwise fell silent. Without saying anything more, the four of them eating the rest of the dessert. Kagami, the only of the people who didn't cook the meal not to be in a stupor of critical ecstasy, took another look at the time. It was already late at night. Kagami yawned. Konata followed along with Tsukasa.

"Man, it's gotten late, hasn't it?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah..." Konata yawned.

"How are we gonna get home?" Kagami asked Tsukasa. Tsukasa fidgeted a bit.

"I... am home..." Tsukasa smiled a small, shy smile. Kagami smacked herself on the head.

"Duh. I forgot, sorry. Force of habit." She smiled.

"How are we gonna get home Kagamin?" Konata asked. "After all, I am gonna live with you now, right?" Konata asked. Kagami smiled even wider.

"Of course!" She said happily.

"You guys could just stay here for the night." Tony offered.

"I guess. I'd feel bad calling Dad at this time of night." Kagami said.

"So, where are we going to sleep?" Konata asked.

"Tsukasa's sleeping in the guest room." Kagami said adamantly.

"Don't blame you." Tony said.

"There are three futons." Konata thought.

"So there are enough and more!" Kagami said.

"Yutaka and Tsuki." Konata said.

"Damn, that's right..." Kagami mumbled. "Then we need one more..." Kagami thought.

"Well..." Tony began to think.

"You're sleeping in your bed and Tsukasa's sleeping in the guest bed. That's nonnegotiable." Kagami said.

"What?" Tony asked. "I understand Tsukasa sleeping in her bed, but why do I have to sleep in mine? I was planning to let someone sleep in it." Tony said. "I don't mind the floor." Tony said.

"At any time of night, you could just waltz out and into the guest room and-" Kagami began.

"Kagami, first of all, stop calling it the guest room. It's Tsukasa's room. Second of all, you're gonna have to trust me. I'll still sleep in my room. You're not gonna be here every night. I thought you already told me that you'd be trusting me." Tony said. Kagami sighed.

"It's just really hard..." Kagami said.

"Excuse me?" Tsukasa asked. Everyone looked towards her.

"Hm?" Kagami hummed inquisitively. Upon seeing her, she had an indignant look on her face.

"You say that like you think I'd just sit there and let that happen." Tsukasa said.

"Oh, well..." Kagami scratched the back of her head. She blushed a little bit in embarrassment.

"I have an opinion. Me and Kan-kun... I don't think we're there yet." Tsukasa said.

"You don't think? You mean you don't know?" Kagami crossed her arms and glared at her younger twin. Tsukasa shook her head.

"You know what I mean." Tsukasa said. "That's not going to happen. I already explained it to Mom and Dad. They both approve and trust me." Tsukasa said.

"Kagami, I understand you're protective over Tsukasa. Maybe even more so than your parents. And I'm going to be counting on that in the unlikely case I need to leave or disappear for a while. But your concern is misplaced here. Besides, what's the difference where I sleep as long is it's not in Tsukasa's room?" Tony asked. "Besides, I have magic. If I wanted to, I could sneak into the room even from my bed, do what I wanted, and leave without even so much as a whisper or a glimpse." Tony said.

"I guess that's true..." Kagami said.

"So then it's decided. I'll sleep in my room on the floor. Tsukasa sleeps in her room on the bed." Tony said. "I'm assuming you'll be sleeping in there with her Kagami?" Tony asked.

"Naturally. Yutaka can sleep with us too." Kagami said.

"So that's two futons in there." Konata said. "It was really uncomfortable in there with the three of us last time. I'll sleep in Kan-kan's room." Konata said. "Tsuki should probably be in there with us too."

"Good, all the perverts can be in the same room at the same time..." Kagami smirked. Then, a realization dawned on her. "All the perverts... in the same room..." Her eyes widened. She put her arms in a big X. "No no no! Absolutely not!" Kagami said. "Tsuki will sleep with us!" Kagami said.

"Damn right she will..." Konata cat grinned. Kagami blushed.

"No! That's not what I meant..." She squeaked a little at the end. Likely imagining it.

"Come on Kagamin, don't you want a threesome with your twin and a girl who looks almost exactly like her?" Konata giggled.

"I-..." Kagami's blush deepened.

"Kagamin's a pervert too~." Konata chimed.

"Shut up!" Kagami shouted. At that moment, Yutaka and Tsuki came out of the hallway.

"Hey Tsuki, where do you wanna sleep? Tsukasa's room or Tony's room?" Konata asked.

"Where's Yu-sama sleeping?" Tsuki asked.

"Yu-chan is sleeping in Tsukasa's room." Konata said.

"Then I'll sleep there." Tsuki said. The two left.

"Alright, I guess it's time to go to bed." Kagami said.

"Yeah, let's head out." Tony said.

"Good night Kan-kun!" Tsukasa bade.

"Night Kagamin~!" Konata said.

"Night Tsu-chan!" Tony said.

"Night Kona!" Kagami said.

"Night Elizabeth." Konata said.

"Good night Jim Bob." Tony said.

"Good night John Boy." Konata said. Kagami rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Good night you two." She said as she can Tsukasa went into Tsukasa's room.

"Well, let's go." Konata smiled as her and Tony left for his room. Tony immediately laid down on the ground, practically forcing Konata to sleep in his bed. Tony turned the lights off.

"Kon-kon?" Tony asked a few moments after the lights went off.

"Yeah Kan-kan?" Konata asked.

"We're moving in with our girls." Tony said.

"I'm moving in it my girl. You're girl moved in with you." Konata corrected.

"I know. I'm so happy though." Tony said. Konata sighed.

"Yeah. Me too. I can't wait to live with Kagami." Konata said. There was another moment where neither spoke.

"Kon-kon?" Tony asked.

"Yeah Kan-kan?" Konata asked.

"Thank you for wishing on that star." Tony said. Konata giggled sleepily.

"You're welcome." She said.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya Luckies~! I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami~!"

"And I'm the assistant, Minoru Shiraishi!

"So, who got sick of waiting for this chapter and never thought it was coming out? I know I was!" Akira shoute- wait, hey!

"Well now, there's good reasons!" Minoru said.

"Yeah yeah, there's always good reasons... Nephew born, martial arts to teach, work to work. It's all the same excuses." Akira sighed, looking away from the camera with an extremely bored expression on her face.

"Not to mention-" Minoru began.

"Yeah yeah, not to mention a new laptop so the progress on the chapter was lost, since the old one couldn't hold a charge worth a damn." Akira droned on as if from a script.

"Right, so the least we can do is be supportive!" Minoru said.

"Sucking up to the boss, huh?" Akira looked over at him.

"I am not! I'm just saying, every writer goes through mental blocks!" Minoru said.

"You get the feeling we're not actually having a legitimate conversation? It's all about our damn boss..." Akira said, catching wind of my ruse. Better end this quick...

*Music Tone*

"Oh, I guess that's all the time we have for today! I'll see you guys later! Bye-nii~!"

"..."

"I feel like words were being put into our mouth..."

"Well, maybe that was by design?"

"...Nah."

*End*

* * *

**After Section**

Holy Haruhi. Again with the two months. This time, other than what those two said, it was also because I found a couple of new games that really caught my attention and the fact that I was having a bad block (I didn't exactly use everything I was going to to begin with...) but half of the next chapter is written. I just really, really hope that I don't get so sidetracked again. Oh yeah, one thing that I jut realized... So I'm writing about Itsuwari, a character whose name and most of his background come from a story by the name of Lucky Star Z. Every time I use his name, it's meant to count as a reference to this awesome story. Except I just thought of something... That story was taken down to be rewritten... Soooo... I'm making references to a story that doesn't even really exist anymore, or at least at the moment. This may be the first time I've ever done that, and I've made a LOT of references to a LOT of obscure things before. Anyway, thought that was pretty funny. Lucky Star Z DOES still exist on an obscure website that shall remain nameless for a the sake of the original being kept up, but as of right now, it doesn't exist on this site. Anyway, have a good one. See ya next chapter.


	50. Chapter 50: The End of a Tournament

Chapter 50: A Christmas Chapter!

...

Wait, what? That has no continuity? Oh well...

Chapter 50: The End of the Tournament

Alrighty everyone, let's go again! Okay Stealth, two and a half months. It was four months since chapter 47, but not since 48. I will admit though, you caught me on that it was a little longer than two months :P Of course... You didn't review chapter 48, and the email messaging system was down when it came out, so no email went out for it. Not sure if you read it or not, but that may be what's confusing. I didn't make up the Ama-Ama Dangos, by the way. By the way, Konata's technique was never revealed in the last chapter, that isn't something that's been explained yet. Tsuki and Yutaka, however, was kind of something that happened off camera... One thing I constantly forget is that you guys don't know nearly as much as I do about this... So I didn't think to explain it. I'm glad everyone saw the Spongebob reference, I would have felt weird if you didn't...Thanks for all the reviews guys, that really was awesome. MOTIVATION! I had even less time to work on it than with the last chapter, but I still got it out! Anyway, I'll let you guys get to it.

One quick thing. For some reason, the underline isn't working. Thing is, when the Gods and Goddesses talk to the people in their minds, their text is italicized and underlined. Sage Mode is bold and underlined. If it isn't underlined, that's a glitch.

* * *

**In the Morning**

"Kan-kan, wake up." A stern voice called.

"Mmph..." Tony rolled over.

"Kan-kan." The voice said again. He rolled over to the voice and opened his eyes drearily.

"Mmmm... Tsu-chan...? We're breaking up." He said and rolled back over.

"Kan-kan, it's me." The voice said. Tony rolled over again and looked.

"Kon-kon?" Tony asked sleepily.

"Yeah." Konata said. Tony rolled back over once more.

"Kon-kon, we're breaking up." He said and went back to sleep. Konata crossed her arms and huffed. She looked over at the door and smiled. Sneaking out, she looked around the hallway to see who was up and who was still asleep. She walked over to Tsukasa's room and cracked the door open. Yutaka, Tsuki, Kagami, and Tsukasa were all still asleep. Konata began staring at Kagami. Although Kagami knew she was sleeping with a pervert in Tsuki, she had, for some reason, chosen to sleep in panties and a bra. Konata continued to stare at her for several minutes until she began to stir. Her eyes fluttered open and she drowsily looked up at Konata. She sleepily propped herself on her elbows and looked at the door, yawning and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She saw Konata and smiled, still half-asleep. As she became aware of her surroundings, and the state of undress she was in, she realized the blanket had fallen to her stomach, exposing her top half. She looked down and back up at Konata. The Otaku gave a smile and a thumbs up, to which the Tsundere's face burst red. Glaring back, Kagami threw her pillow as she tried her best to cover up with one arm and the blanket. Konata swiftly closed the door and let the pillow hit the door. Konata stepped back for a moment and waited. As predicted, Kagami stepped out quietly while she blushed ferociously. She was very sloppily dressed.

"Pervert! What am I supposed to do with you?" Kagami asked in a loud whisper. Her face was flush with embarrassment and a bit of fury.

"What? 'Cause I stared at you while you were almost naked?" Konata asked deviously.

"Duh!" Kagami said.

"Here, I'll show you something really cool! Then we can call it all even, right?" Konata asked. Kagami was caught off guard by the question. She seemed interested in it.

"Well... That depends on what it is..." Kagami said. Konata smiled and held out a hand. Kagami, confused, put her own hand out.

"If you grab someone's hand like this... you can bring them down to the floor..." Konata went through the movements very slowly so that Kagami could analyze the mechanics like she knew she would. Kagami was brought down onto the ground slowly. "And you have... a nearly unbreakable arm lock!" Konata said. She applied pressure so that Kagami could feel it. She groaned a little in pain. "The more you try and break it with sheer power, the more it hurts! And the more strength you put into pressuring the muscle, the more pain they're in! You can use this to punish anyone who peeps again!" Konata said as she used her grip on Kagami's hand to help her to her feet. Kagami rolled her arm and smirked.

"Why don't I just use it on you then?" Kagami asked teasingly.

"I taught it to you! I know how to get out of it!" Konata said. Kagami looked a little disappointed.

"Aw... I guess you ARE right though... you WOULD know how to get out of it..." Kagami sighed.

"No punishment for me!" Konata cheered.

"And I was hoping to be able to do this and that with Kona while she was down..." Kagami sighed again. Suddenly, her eyes got wide, her face darkened, and she clapped her hands over her mouth in a futile attempt to recall her words. "Um-! I mean-! That's-!" She began shouting.

"Hm? You should have just told me, Kagamin~!" Konata chimed.

"I'm still half-asleep~!" Kagami groaned. Suddenly, the door opened behind Konata.

"Huaaah..." Tony yawned. "What's... going on outside my door? Why are you being so loud?" He complained.

"There he is! He was peeping on Tsukasa all of last night, probably having some perverted fantasy about her while she was in her panties and bra! Man, if I hadn't been there to stop him, who knows what he might have done to her while you all were still asleep!" Konata said. Tony yawned again and looked between the two.

"Hmm?" He hummed in disorientation.

"Divine..." Kagami said as she grabbed his hand. Going through the motions that Konata had showed her not five minutes ago with frightening ease, Kagami twisted his arm and took him down to the ground. "PUNISHMENT~!" She yelled out as Tony hit the ground hard.

"Ah! What?" Tony shouted.

"Are you ever going to peep again?" Kagami asked. She applied pressure.

"No Ma'am!" Tony shouted. Kagami applied more pressure.

"Do you swear?" She asked.

"I swear!" Tony shouted. Kagami, seemingly satisfied with his answer, released him.

"Alrighty then." She turned to address her girlfriend. "Wow Kona, that technique has some serious power to it!" Kagami said.

_Yeah, like the power to turn the innocent into the guilty..._ Konata thought to herself. Kagami, happy with having learned something new so early in the morning, began skipping merrily into the living room.

"I forgive you, Kona~!" She chimed happily. Konata smiled before turning to the groaning Tony on the ground.

"Ug... What'd I do?" Tony mumbled in pain. Konata smiled and crouched down so that she was on level with him.

"Still won't admit guilt, huh?" Konata asked.

"I have no idea what you're talking about..." Tony mumbled.

"Next time, get up when I tell you and don't break up with someone over something as stupid as that." Konata scolded him.

"Uhg... Yeah..." Tony mumbled. Tsuki walked out of the room quietly and glared at the two.

"Muo! You almost woke Yu-sama!" She said.

"She didn't wake up?" Tony asked. Tsukasa yawned, walking out of the room and rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Yu-sama's still asleep. If she wakes up, she'll hit us all with another glitter attack..." Tsuki said. "I never should have taught her that..." She said.

"What do you mean?" Tony asked.

"Glitter Attack... It's something my Aunt taught me, if you give puppy eyes a certain way, you're sure to get what you want! The cuter you are, the better it works. My Aunt was the best at it, but Yu-sama learned it and mastered it... She kept using it... There's only so many times you can see a puppy die before your mind kind of... breaks..." Tsuki mumbled, looking away.

"That sounds scary..." Tony mumbled.

"It is." Tsuki said.

"Then let's get out of here quickly..." Tony said. They began to sneak out, picking up Kagami along the way, but Tony walked into the kitchen with a small bag and filled it with the new green dengen. He walked out to the living room and heard a yawn from the hallway. He looked at the shadow to see it was Yutaka. He began to make his escape, but heard a small voice, like the coo of a dove.

"Onii-chan... Where is everyone? Where are you going?" She asked innocently. Tony knew better than to look around.

"Um... I'm going to fight in the tournament. It's the last fight..." Tony said behind him.

"I wanna come!" Yutaka said.

"Are you sure? It's gonna be a lot of fighting and violence. Are you really interested in that kind of stuff?" Tony asked.

"Yeah! If I get to see Onii-chan fight!" Yutaka said sweetly. Tony smiled a little and gestured for her to follow.

"Alright, I guess come on then. Me, Konata, and Tsuki are fighting." Tony said.

"Cool! I can't wait!" She said excitedly. The two got out there to see Kagami tapped her foot, looking at the door expectantly.

"If you're gonna go off on your own, at least tell us first." She said, annoyed.

"Sorry..." Tony apologized. _Wait, why am I apologizing for walking around in my own damn house?_ He wondered briefly, but decided to abandon the thought. They all began to walk to the arena.

"Kan-kun, how are you? Do you have energy? Are you going to be okay?" Tsukasa asked.

"Tsu-chan, I have a master martial artist with what I think is a perfect defense and a girl with powers that can shoot laser beams from her fingers. What team could stand up to us?" Tony asked. He almost added Hachiman to their assets, but remembered that he couldn't be called for a little while. He would have to ask the god about that later.

"I dunno, if they're tougher ninjas than what you fought last round, we might not stand a chance." Konata chuckled. "Unless you call down your god again."

"Can't do that for a little bit Kon-kon. Dunno why, but I think I kind of exhausted him. Something with that last attack..." Tony said.

"Well, we're on our own this time! No divine intervention!" Tsuki said.

"Good luck guys." Kagami said.

"We're not even at the arena yet Kagamin~." Konata chimed.

"We-well I can still wish you luck..." Kagami averted her gaze. "Not that I care." She added, almost an afterthought.

"Kagamin is so transparent now..." Konata giggled a bit.

"Shut up." Kagami said. They began making attempts at small talk for a while, but again ran into the same problem. There simply wasn't much to talk about that the others hadn't been privy to. So, the four people who had spent so much time together, turned to the one with the least spot light in the group.

"Yu-chan~." Konata chimed, drawing her name out.

"Hm? What is it Nee-chan?" Yutaka asked.

"You still never got to tell me all the details of your little rendezvous with Minami." Konata said. Yutaka smiled, looked down at the ground, and blushed simply at hearing her name.

"No... No you didn't..." She began to fidget.

"Rendezvous? Did you and Minami finally get together?" Kagami asked with a smile. Yutaka blushed deeper.

"What do you mean "finally"? Am I really that obvious?" Yutaka asked, in an adorably panicked manner.

"Sorry to say, you're even more obvious than these two." Konata gestured to Tony and Tsukasa.

"Well, I don't know about that, they were pretty obvious." Kagami smiled.

"Aren't we talking about Yutaka right now?" Tony asked.

"Yep! So come on Yu-chan! Spill!" Konata said. Yutaka smiled a bit wider and remembered back.

* * *

**The Not Too Distant Past**

Yutaka was skipping down the street, humming a happy little tune to herself. She was getting looks from all around her and comments on how cute she was, but she didn't mind it. In fact, she barely paid any attention to them at all. She was going to see her Minami and that alone made her happier than she thought she ever could be. She found the diner that she knew Minami was in and entered. She looked around, trying to find the girl she thought she might love. On not seeing her, she walked up to the nearest employee. It was an odd diner with a very western feel, so there were actual people serving with a laid-back personality.

"Um... Was there a Minami Iwasaki here?" Yutaka asked. The server looked around.

"Hmmm.." She hummed, looking around for the girl.

"She has pretty mint hair, the most beautiful blue eyes, she plays the piano like an angel, she-" She began describing.

"Yu-chan." Minami mumbled. Yutaka jolted to attention.

"Mi-Minami-chan!" She turned around to see her standing right behind her. _Did she just get here too?_ She wondered.

"Booth for two." Minami said to the waitress coolly. Yutaka was in a bit of a panic.

_Did she hear what I was saying?_ She wondered.

"Right away!" The waitress said. She led the naturally quiet Minami and the embarrassed-to-silence Yutaka over to a booth. They were seated and handed menus to order from. On seeing a sundae, Yutaka very suddenly found herself in the mood for one. Her embarrassment overpowered by her lust for ice cream, she addressed her would-be date.

"Minami-chan... Could we get sundaes?" Yutaka asked meekly. Minami smiled, though shifting her eyes to the clock to see what time it was.

"It's so early though Yu-chan." She said. The smile she had on her face was a caring, loving smile that sent Yutaka's head into a haze.

"I know... but I really want a sundae..." Yutaka mumbled. Minami smiled.

"Sundaes please." She quietly said to the server. Said waitress nodded and shuffled off to complete the order. "How have you been feeling recently, Yu-chan?" Minami asked.

"I've been okay! I haven't been sick recently or anything! Um, how about you? I didn't get you sick or anything, did I?" Yutaka asked. MInami smiled again, that same smile that Yutaka loved to see.

"No, my immune system is relatively strong." She said. Her smile disarming, Yutaka couldn't help but sigh in relief.

"I'm so glad... I'm sorry I waste all of your time." Yutaka apologized. "You've been spending so much time taking care of me, you haven't been able to do anything fun for a little while, have you?" Yutaka asked, looking down. Minami shook her head.

"That's isn't the case at all." She said. Yutaka looked back up at the girl across from her.

"When did you have time to do anything? We were spending all of our time in that room!" Yukata said.

"Is me spending time with you really that boring?" Minami's smile faded. It was replaced with a look that others saw to be impassive, but Yutaka could easily discern that the taller girl was sad. Yutaka shook her head, her blush darkening slightly with each shake.

"No, it isn't boring at all! I really enjoyed the time we spent together!" Yutaka burst out quickly. She gasped a bit and put her hands over mouth, as if attempting to stuff her words back in her mouth. Minami's eyes softened again and she smiled.

"I'm glad. It was very fun for me as well." Minami said. Yutaka blushed again.

"Oh- I'm... glad..." Yutaka smiled and looked down at the table to hide her blush. Minami smiled a bit wider seeing the little loli blushing so deeply. Suddenly, the server came back and laid down a sundae before scurrying off once again. Yutaka and Minami looked at the sundae, both wondering if she was coming back with another one or not. They waited a moment without speaking to see, but she never came back.

"She must have misheard me..." Minami said, looking off into the bustle of people going through the diner to try and find their server. "I'll... try and flag her down again. Go ahead and eat." Minami said. Yutaka shook her head.

"N-No, it's okay... We... We could just share, ya know?" Yutaka asked. Minami turned back to Yutaka and looked just a little confused.

"Are you sure? You aren't going to get as much..." She said. Yutaka smiled warmly.

"Then we'll get another and share that one too!" She said. "I don't really mind as long as we both get some!"

"Even if you say that... I feel a little bad." Minami said.

"Don't! I love-... sharing!" Yutaka began, her face extremely red. _What was that?_ She wondered. Minami, seemingly oblivious to Yutaka's slip, smiled. She took a spoonful of ice cream and carried it over to Yutaka.

"Say aw..." She smiled. Yutaka blushed, though this was nothing new. Whenever she was sick and staying with Minami, the taller girl would always feed her. It made this no less embarrassing. All of those times were in Minami's house, in private. This was right in the middle of everyone. She bit onto the spoon happily, if not embarrassed. Minami then took the same spoon, took another spoonful and put it in her own mouth. Yutaka blushed even harder. "The ice cream here is really sweet." Minami commented.

_I didn't notice it being any sweeter than normal..._ Yutaka thought. The two shared the sundae together in that fashion, Yutaka never losing her blush. Finally, the ice cream was finished. Minami smiled.

"Yu-chan, you missed a little bit." She looked lovingly. Yutaka blushed deeper and looked around.

"Huh?" She began rubbing her cheeks and nose.

"Here." Minami smiled. She reached out and swiped her finger across Yutaka's mouth. There was melted ice cream that Yutaka was surprised she could miss. Minami put her finger in her own mouth and began sucking it.

_Mina...mi...chan..._ Yutaka's head began swimming. Her face looked like it was about to burst.

"Mm. That was the sweetest of all." Minami smiled. She saw Yutaka's blush and immediately got serious. "Are you absolutely sure you're okay?" She asked. She dashed around the table as Yutaka began to put her hands up. She began to refute it, but Minami grabbed her hands with one hand. She took her other hand and put it behind Yutaka's head, bringing it close. Closing her own eyes, she put their foreheads together. "Your temperature is a bit high... but it doesn't feel like it's an illness..." Minami said seriously. "Even so, we should probably get you home." Minami said, standing up. She reached her hand down to the still dazed Yutaka. The smaller girl looked at the hand and took it on instinct. Minami pulled her up and the two left began to leave, Minami paying for the sundae as Yutaka replayed what had just happened in her head a thousand time. Minami pulled Yutaka out of the diner, the latter still being practically dragged around. Minami looked back in worry at the girl. She had all but gone limp other than her legs that were barely supporting her.

_Forehead to forehead... Finger on my lips..._ Yutaka constantly repeated. _Sucking on it..._ She barely took notice of her surroundings. Until she realized that she was no longer standing. Her whole body was bobbing up and down. She came back to her senses kind of, and paid a bit of attention. Her feet weren't on the ground, and she was being held. She shook her head and looked around. Minami was carrying her like a bride closer to her house. Finally, it clicked in her head. _There's no way I couldn't know now... I love Minami... I love Minami! _Yutaka shouted in her head.

"Hm? Yu-chan? Are you okay? You zoned out for a while." Minami said.

"I'm fine Minami! Thank you for much!" Yutaka hugged her quickly. She blushed again as she lost a little control. "Um... I've-gotta-go-do-something!" She shouted as she wiggled from Minami's grasp and dashed into the house, leaving a very dumbfounded Minami. After a moment passed, Minami smiled.

"She didn't put an honorific after my name..." She smiled. "How cute..." She mumbled to herself as she began to walk herself home, confident that the little loli had made it safely to her room.

"Ojii-san, Onee-chan! I'm in love, I'm in love, and I don't care who knows it!" Yutaka exploded into the room...

* * *

**Present time**

"And I think you know what happened after that..." Yutaka said.

"Yeah..." Tony mumbled.

"From your account of events, I still think that Minami loves you." Konata said.

"I really, really hope that's true..." Yutaka said wistfully.

"Totally." Kagami smiled reassuringly to the cute little girl. They fell into silence for a moment.

"Oh!" Tsukasa seemed like she remembered something important. "Kan-kun, you'll never guess who we ran into earlier! While we were going out to get the ingredients for the Ama-Ama Dangos!" Tsukasa said excitedly. Tony perked up a little.

"Oh? Who?" He asked.

"Teri-chan and Mika-chan!" Tsukasa said.

"Really? Tereya? But... Mika-chan?" Tony asked.

"Teri-chan's friend... You... didn't know her name?" Tsukasa asked. "How could you not know her name? You... dated Teri-chan, but you didn't know her very best friend's name?" Tsukasa asked.

"Well, I..." Tony began to try and explain. It's true, he had never heard her name before.

"That's like if you didn't know Onee-chan's name even though you're dating me!" Tsukasa said.

"Hey, it isn't my fault I've never heard her name! In fact, I don't even know anything past Mika-chan!" Tony said.

"Mikado. Her last name is Mikado." Tsukasa said.

"Well... What did you guys talk about?" Tony asked. They looked to see they were nearing the arena.

"Stuff, but I'll tell you later! They'll be at the tournament watching your fight!" Tsukasa said.

"Cool! I'll have to see where they're sitting." Tony smiled.

"You're... getting a little excited to see her..." Kagami said cautiously.

"We're friends. Why wouldn't he be?" Tsukasa asked before Tony could respond. Tony smiled.

"Thanks Tsukasa." He said.

"Team Taiseishiki, this is your last call! Please, come to the arena!" Akira announced over the loud speaker.

"Crap! Let's go!" Konata shouted. Kagami pecked her on the lips.

"Be careful. Don't push yourself too hard." She said sternly.

"Gotcha!" Konata waved. Tsukasa pecked Tony on the lips.

"Same thing. Come back safe or I'm gonna be really mad at you." She said.

"Understood!" He saluted and joined his sister. Yutaka looked at Tsuki with one of her by-now infamous puppy eye looks.

"Please come back..." She mumbled. Tsuki burst into tears.

"Don't worry! Whatever occurs, I will find you!" She shouted as she ran towards the arena. The three girls walked over to the stair and walked up. In the stands were Miyuki and Masuta, already seated, with a convenient amount of space for them to sit. The three went over and sat down.

"I was wondering when you guys were getting here!" They heard Matsuri shout from behind them. They all turned to see the Hiiragi family sitting behind them.

_How did we miss them?_ Kagami wondered. "Cool! You guys all came to see this actual fight this time?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah! Totally couldn't miss seeing this team up! Besides, we've heard that the team their fighting is crazy awesome! They've completely dominated everyone they've fought!" Matsuri shouted.

"We couldn't wait to see this kind of fight." Inori added.

"I-I just hope Kan-chan d-doesn't get too hurt..." They heard from beside them. They all looked over to see two more familiar faces. Despite the heat, Tereya was there wearing a long sleeve shirt while Mikado sat beside her, a huge grin on her face.

"Don't worry Teri-chan. Kan-kun is really strong." Tsukasa said reassuringly.

"Besides, he has my Kona looking after him." Kagami said with a smile.

"I s-suppose..." Tereya mumbled. Tsukasa couldn't help but notice Mikado give a short, sad glance to Tereya, only reminding her of what they had talked about. Before she could go far into her memory of the event, however, Akira announced the beginning of the fight.

* * *

**Team Taiseishiki vs The Cataclysm Combatants**

"The Final Match!" Akira announced. "Team Taiseishiki versus The Cataclysm Combatants! This will surely be as great a battle as when Ryū Tora no Kami, a fighter of Team Taiseishiki, fought with Shin!" Akira said. "And I'm honored to be able to host them both!" She continued. While she announced, Tony sized up the other team. They had an air of confidence and simply gave the aura that they were going to be difficult to defeat. The energy they gave off unsettled Tony incredibly.

"Tony..." Tsuki mumbled.

"You feel it too, huh?" He asked.

"Yeah..." Tsuki muttered.

"Feel what?" Konata asked.

"These guys' energy is... sinister somehow." Tony explained.

"This is going to be a very tough fight..." Tsuki said gravely.

"We may die..." Tony mumbled just as gravely. Tsuki nodded and the two looked at each other.

"Isn't it great?" She smiled widely.

"Yeah! I'm so excited!" Tony smiled as widely.

"So you two weren't serious about dying..." Konata sighed in relief.

"No, I was entirely serious. But until me and my future wife can kiss again, there's no way I'm gonna die!" Tony shouted quite loudly. Tsukasa suddenly blushed deeply, her sisters all giggling and nudging her with their elbows. Despite the blush, Tsukasa was smiling widely.

"Sounds like a nice philosophy. Mind if I steal it?" Konata asked, giggling.

"Sure thing!" Tony smiled. They looked each other in the eye for a moment, understanding what to do without the need of words. The two turned simultaneously and knelt in front of their respective Hiiragi.

"Queen!" Konata shouted.

"Princess!" Tony shouted.

"We who are about to die salute you!" They both shouted, causing their girls' faces to have a blood flood.

"You better not die!" Tsukasa shouted, recovering rather quickly.

"We'll kill you if you do!" Kagami shouted.

"Not a bad way to go, really." Konata catgrinned.

"Let's kick ass." Tony got up.

"Yeah!" Konata cheered.

"Well, the ass kicking I can't promise, but I guarantee you'll die." The middle man said. Tony turned to him.

"Hey, we're all friends here, aren't we?" Tony asked. "What's with the threats?" Tony asked.

"Taeru?" The front man turned to another teammate. It was a bald man with less muscles than his teammates.

"Of course. That's what we get paid for. Isn't it Kyōbōna?" Taeru asked the last remaining teammate. It was a man with even larger muscles than Recoome, veins bulging all around him. He looked disgusting.

"YEAH, YEAH!" He yelled. He was obviously one who was not called on for his opinion often. Takai smiled.

"So, are you ready _Senkou_?" He put emphasis on the name. Tony's eyes widened. He suddenly got a LOT more serious.

"More assassins?" Tony snarled.

"When Manten failed, we were sent in to clean up his foul up. If the idiot had any trace of competence, you'd be dead." Takai said.

"Yeah, but I beat Manten!" Tony said. "I can win here!" He smiled. Takai laughed.

"We are twenty times stronger than that miserable little oaf." Kanzen said.

"Ha. Right. Is that supposed to intimidate us?" Tony asked.

"No, literally. I am twenty times stronger than Manten. Taeru is eighteen times stronger and Kyōbōna is forty times stronger." Kanzen said.

"Forty?" Tony deadpanned.

"Kyōbōna is not very smart." Kanzen said flatly.

"YEAH! WE SMASH!" Kyōbōna shouted.

"You see?" Kanzen said.

"Yeah..." Tony muttered. "But please, I beat Manten when I had no energy. I'm at my peak now!" Tony shouted.

"And he's got us!" Konata shouted.

"Please. A mortal who's in over her head and... Who are you?" Kanzen asked Tsuki.

"Tsuki Senninriki. Why, who are you?" Tsuki asked.

"Senninriki?" Kanzen's eyebrow raised.

"Pssst..." Akira whispered. "The fight started ten minutes ago. The fans are getting restless!" She said.

"Very well. Let the execution begin!" Kanzen shouted.

Tony could see he would be fighting Kanzen. He ran up and threw a punch. Kanzen caught it with little apparent effort. He threw his own strike, but Tony ducked down to dodge. Kanzen's foot came in contact with Tony's face and sent him across the arena. His hands touched the ground and he pushed off. He landed again to see Kanzen with his fist drawn back.

_**A flash off, I see...**_ Tony thought in that instant. He looked back at where his hands had touched and smiled at his seal. He teleported to it and took a deep breath. "**YOL TOOR SHUL!**" Tony shouted, a massive gout of flames erupting from his mouth. It attacked Kanzen, who looked back at it with a smirk. A shimmer of air later, the fire vanished.

"Such a pathetic attack... Are you insulting me Senkou?" Kanzen asked. "That was almost offensive." He said. Suddenly, his image seemed to shimmer and a shine came over him, as if he had been dipped in gloss. Tony gulped. Kanzen seemed _actually_ offended by Tony's attack.

"**What was that?**" Tony asked. Kanzen smiled condescendingly.

"Energy armor. It was of my Master's invention. Completely impervious to conventional attacks." Kanzen smiled. Kanzen flashed in front of Tony and pounded him in the stomach. Tony doubled over and coughed blood. Kanzen moved his arm to elbow Tony in the face. Tony was sent off his feet into the wall. Tony pushed off the wall and took out his knife. He threw it and caught Kanzen across the face. It bounced off harmlessly. "Pathetic!" Kanzen shouted. Tony flashed to his knife and threw a power punch into Kanzen's chest. It felt as if he had hit a wall. "You're not actually serious, are you?" Kanzen asked, sounding a little stunned.

_**Damn it... he wasn't kidding...**_ Tony cursed in his head. He jumped away and hit the ground. Kanzen elbowed him in the back, sending him bouncing off the ground. Kanzen spun and kneed Tony in the face, sending him to around half way across the arena. Tony flipped and landed. _**Damn**** it!**_He cursed. _**Maybe...**_ He thought. He ran up and hit Kanzen in the stomach. He swung his leg and caught Kanzen across the head. Neither blow even budged Kanzen, let alone hurt him. Both, however, hurt Tony by themselves. He had kicked with enough force to crack the bone in his leg. He landed on the ground and slid away on his feet. He shifted his weight to his other foot. _**How can I beat this armor... It's crazy powerful!**_ Tony thought. He took a good amount of his energy and shot at Kanzen as fast as he could. He punched the man in the face with all his strength. Kanzen just stared at him. He then struck Tony across the cheek, sending him across the arena. Kanzen flashed over and brought his knee and elbow together on Tony's stomach. Tony yelled in pain and fell to the ground. He couldn't even move; the pain was so intense.

"Wait... You mean to tell me you WERE serious?" Kanzen asked mockingly. He laughed. "Are you kidding me? That's pathetic! I thought you would put up at least SOME kind of fight!" He kicked Tony over to the side, causing Tony to vomit blood.

Konata took her stance against Taeru. She wasn't sure how she was going to do much to him. Manten had been able to beat Konata if he had wanted to, and if this man lived to his claim, so too could he. Taeru rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Why do I always get the small fries? The other two at least get opponents with powers, I just have some run-of-the-mill mortal to play with." He complained loudly. Konata sighed and emptied her mind.

"Don't underestimate me because I'm small!" Konata said, clearing her mind directly after. She decided her best technique was in order. She attuned her mind to the flow of everything around her. She may not have the ability to use energy like her two teammates, but when she made her mind completely serene like this, she could sense the flow of energy, the flow of sound, the flow of wind, everything. She took in the mixing streams into her heart. Like this, she felt one with the world. One with the flow of the world.

"Please." Taeru said. He flashed forward. As he began to attack her, there was a massive ripple in the flow of everything, which disrupted the streams in her heart. Like a leaf moving through a stream, she let the wave push her aside. She let her hand follow the flow connecting her and Taeru, just as she had against Tony. Konata deflected Taeru's blow and landed one herself against an unguarded portion of his stomach. His punch hit the ground and sent a shock wave through the air, causing Konata to block on instinct. Her hair flailed back violently. The air itself seemed to pass around her though, so only the energy sent her back. Taeru looked back up at her. "Ah, so the mortal has a little skill." He smirked a little.

"This toothless dog has some bite." Konata said sarcastically. Taeru smirked again. She initiated her serene mind once again.

"Then let us test your bite." He said. He flashed again. Another massive disturbance in the flow. Konata moved to the side and allowed her foot to follow the flow. She kicked down and let her foot get swept away. The kick caught him on the back on his leg. His knee hit the ground and his momentum sent the rest of his body crashing into the ground. Konata fell into a knee to his back and sent a flurry of strikes to the back of his head. As he was about to get up, Konata rolled off and popped back up. Taeru got back up and cracked his neck. "Alright, you have some skill. You shouldn't be able to keep up with me." Taeru said, rubbing the back of his head. Konata smiled and nodded.

_I can't. But I don't have to. You're way too strong._ Konata smiled. "You're fast. Faster than I can see." Konata said.

"Then how?" Taeru asked.

"Because. I can feel the flow around us. You're creating way too big a disturbance." Konata smiled. Taeru scowled.

"What on earth are you talking about? I haven't any idea what you're saying." Taeru said.

"I'm good at that." Konata smiled and took one more stance. She knew her taunt would get to him.

"Not good enough!" Taeru flashed forward again. Konata made her move the instant before he disappeared and made contact with his chest. It was a one inch strike that sent him across the arena, but the sheer force of Taeru's movement sent Konata across the arena and the contact broke her hand.

Tsuki smiled and rolled her arms.

"Alright you big ape, let's get this party started!" She cheered. She pointed at him and pulled the trigger. A beam of energy shot out and exploded on the behemoth. The smoke cleared to show an annoyed Kyōbōna. No scratches. No dirt. Just a very angry Kyōbōna. Tsuki's jaw dropped. "You're kidding me..." She muttered, her eyes wide.

"I KILL!" Kyōbōna yelled. He ran up and punched. Tsuki pressed down on his fist, but didn't deflect it. Kyōbōna's punch was strong enough that it took less energy for Tsuki to push herself into the air than it did to deflect the blow. She flipped into the air and straightened out upside down.

"Reigan Rendan!" Tsuki shouted. Several shots went from her finger and hit Kyōbōna's back. When the smoke cleared, he was hunched over a little more than he had been a moment ago, but looked altogether unaffected. "Damn it!" Tsuki shouted as she landed. Kyōbōna looked back at her with a psychotic look in his eye.

"YOU ANNOYING." He said flatly.

"You're not exactly a catch yourself." Tsuki said breathily. Kyōbōna roared with energy. Tsuki crossed her arms in a guard, a shield of energy protecting her. The force blew Tsuki back over to the side.

Tony hit the wall and fell on his back. Pain blared in his mind, erasing any hope he could have of thinking. Konata rolled off her shoulder and popped up on her feet. She retook her stance, but she knew her hand was useless. Pain clouded her mind, but she didn't let it distract her. Tsuki skidded on her feet over to the group. She uncrossed her arms and looked at the other two.

"Damn! What happened to you?" She asked Tony.

"..." He coughed blood. Tsuki flared her energy at him.

"Chiyu!" She shouted, healing him to the point he could speak.

"Stronger... faster than I anticipated." He muttered.

"Believe me, it's not very fun for us either." Tsuki chuckled hollowly. "You alright Konata?" Tsuki asked.

"Broken hand. Nothing compared to what Kan-kan is feeling." Konata said. Tsuki edged over to her and grabbed her hand.

"Chiyu." She said. Green energy mended Konata's hand, but the discomfort caused her to lose her cool disposition. She squirmed and groaned as bone moved and repaired itself under her skin, moving around sinew and veins. After a moment, she flexed her hand to find it completely fine.

"Thanks." Konata smiled.

"No problem..." Tsuki said, out of breath. "Hey Tony, a Big Damn Hero moment would be pretty damn convenient right now!" Tsuki shouted at the fallen boy.

"Trying..." He muttered. He had energy in his ring still, but his mind was much too disorganized by pain to even begin to tap into it. Tsuki growled in frustration.

"I don't have time to heal you, get up!" Tsuki shouted.

"Why don't you finish them off, Kyōbōna." Kanzen said.

"YEAH! I KILL!" Kyōbōna shouted and nodded. He opened his mouth and energy began glowing. Taeru got off the wall, Konata's strike having turned his momentum against him and sent him into the wall. He coughed and rubbed his chest.

"Taeru, lend your energy to his attack." Kanzen ordered.

"I'm healing myself first... We don't all have the skill to use armor..." Taeru said.

"Bah. When you're finished." Kanzen said. Tsuki and Konata could see he was charging a massive attack. They could also see Kanzen behind him, feeding energy into the giant's attack.

"Damn it!" Tsuki shouted.

"See to Tony." Konata said seriously.

"What?" Tsuki asked.

"I said see to Tony! Get him healed." Konata said. "I'll take care of them." Konata dropped her stance and put herself between them and her brother.

"No way Konata!" Tsuki shouted. "These aren't people you can fight by yourself!"

"Listen. If I had taken part in the last fight, I would have been borderline useless. But I have something this time. I may be able to stall them. Heal Tony." Konata said. Tsuki looked and saw Konata was about to attack all three of them by herself. Simply to buy time for her brother.

_She loves him too much sometimes..._ Tsuki thought. "Fine... Leave some for us." Tsuki said and began working on Tony. She knew Konata stood no chance against the three, but she could at least show some semblance of her usual optimism.

"I'll try." Konata nodded. She looked back to see Kyōbōna's attack nearing completion.

* * *

**In the stands...**

Kagami and Tsukasa hugged each other, extremely worried about their respective love.

"What do you think Kona can do?" Kagami asked.

"I have no idea Onee-chan! She was good before, but now?" Tsukasa asked. Miyuki had seen the situation and unconsciously hugged onto Masuta in worry. She looked up to see him, but noticed he wasn't paying attention to the fight in the least. She followed his view up towards the door to the stairs and saw a robed figure with a hood pulled over their head. She noticed them looking extremely intently at Konata and Tony in particular. Miyuki, perplexed by this person, decided to remember what Kanarazu had told her. She began paying attention to the smallest details rather than a broader picture.

_Projections from the chest, hips feminine, two straight projections from the back rear. One straight and long, one round and long. Weapons? _She wondered. She questioned Masuta on it.

"No, one seems to be a sword. The long, straight one. The round one is too wide to be any practical weapon that's worn at the side. Besides, it's in the lower middle of the back. Unless it's keeping it between it's legs, it isn't a weapon." Masuta said.

"I think it's a female. It seems to have breasts and hips that don't look like a males." Miyuki said.

"Short hair, based on how the hood moves when she does." Masuta said.

"She's wearing something under the robe." Miyuki said.

"Yeah, something constraining." Masuta said. "Metal, most likely." He added.

"I wonder why she's staring at those two so intently. It doesn't look like she's interested in Tsuki-san at all." Miyuki said.

"True." Masuta said. "Is it just me being his brother, or has she been watching Tony more than Konata?" Masuta asked.

"I do believe you're correct. She's only just now taken an interest Konata-san." Miyuki agreed. They both turned their attention back to the arena, neither noticing Masuta's arm around Miyuki's shoulder.

* * *

**Back in the Arena**

Konata breathed deeply. "Alright... For our friends..." She said.

"And our loved ones..." Tony muttered before coughing. He hated what Konata was doing, but he could barely talk, let alone stop her.

"Yes, and for our loved ones." Konata agreed.

"And for Venice." Tsuki added.

"Yes, and for Venice. But mostly the first two." Konata said and put her hands together. "Hear me, Fujin of the Wind; in the name of the contract, entrust me with your power." She said. A green light began glowing from her chest. "Alright you time traveling assholes, listen up! See this? THIS!" She moved her hands to cup around the growing light. "Is my TRUMP CARD!" She shouted. As it began to completely envelop her, she began shouting. "Super special awesome ultra special super sexy transformation sequence! In 3D!" She shouted. Wind with strength enough to crack the glass between the audience and the fighters and cut the stone beneath them began picking up. The hair of the Hiiragis began to fly around chaotically as Kagami beheld her girlfriend. The green light now obscuring her entirely, Konata flew into the air and circled around. Green wings of light were on either side of her, a trail of green light behind her. She sped around and circled until she was aiming straight for her massive opponent. She flew directly between her opponents and her friends. Kyōbōna's attack released and headed straight for Konata. It made contact and dissipated harmlessly.

"What's this?" Kanzen shouted.

"OH SHIT!" Kyōbōna yelled and braced. He crossed his arms to guard and put up his most powerful shield of armor as Konata made contact. He, Kanzen still behind him, was sent crushing into the wall. Luckily, the seats behind him were empty as the wall, glass, and stone seats all crushed and were sent back into the area behind that section of arena. In an almost suspiciously convenient turn of luck, the area behind those stairs was also vacant. Kyōbōna laid on the ground, his chest crushed in and both arms broken. Kanzen was laying nearby, coughing and recovering from being hit with Kyōbōna. Konata, who was invisible behind a barrier of wind, floated down, hovering about half a foot above the ground in front of Tony and Tsuki. The wind died down. Konata, who was no longer obscured and had her eyes closed, now wore green armor that, while light, as anyone who was remotely familiar with armor could easily see, was also extremely powerful. She bore translucent wings on her back, with green lines of armor where the bone would be on a bat. Tsuki gasped.

"I only saw a green streak of light..." She muttered. Konata opened her eyes to reveal the center of them was blue as the azure sky.

"Ah, desu desu bitches." Konata smiled.

"Actually Konata, your eyes are both still green, so that reference doesn't work... One would need to be a different color completely than the other." Tsuki pointed out. "Neither to Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged or Rozen Maiden." Tsuki specified.

"Alright! It just seemed like something cool to say!" Konata shouted. She looked back to see Taeru standing in awe.

"You-You were holding back all of that that whole time? You... You were just supposed to be some stupid mortal girl who had no idea what she was getting into!" Taeru shouted. Kanzen coughed again and looked hazily up at Konata.

"So, you made a contract with Fujin. I see. I hadn't expected that..." Kanzen said, looking exhausted. He got up and walked over to Kyōbōna. He put his hand on the large man's chest and pressed a little. Kyōbōna screamed in agony.

"Forfeit and care for your injured! Leave and never come back!" Konata shouted. Kanzen looked up at her and blinked. Then, he looked incredibly amused.

"The price of failure is much too steep. I'm doing him a favor." He said.

"What?" Konata asked. She looked at the fallen man to see a panicked look on his face. He began thrashing as white foam poured from his mouth. Soon, he was motionless. Kanzen stood up fully and cracked his neck.

"Ah, much better." He said.

"You... heartless bastard!" Konata shouted. "You could have healed him!" She said.

"But what's the point?" Kanzen asked. "That would have left us both of little use! At least now, the two of us can complete our task." Kanzen said.

"Not if I beat you first!" Konata shouted. She landed on the ground and braced to take off after him. Suddenly, her wings flared and a white light snapped, blinding and disorienting everyone who saw. When the light was gone, Konata was on her knee, gasping for breath, regular again. _Damn it... I used all my energy..._ She thought, looking up at her opponents through blurred eyes.

"It seems you've reached your limit. Too bad." Kanzen mocked. "It looks like you won't live to your claim of beating us." He said.

"I will... somehow..." Konata bluffed.

"Then let us see you try!" Kanzen shouted as he and Taeru began to take off. Konata stumbled to her feet and took a stance, but she was shifted backwards by an invisible force. Tsuki stepped forward.

"I told you to save some for us! Tony can heal himself the rest of the way!" Tsuki shouted. She clapped her hands together just as Konata had, then put her arms in a loose X in front of her face, as if to hide it from view.

"Tsuki?" Konata asked, leaning against the wall. She looked down at Tony to see him in a meditative pose. "What are you doing?" Konata asked.

"Something she taught told me never to use it unless a very specific condition was met..." Tsuki said.

"What's that?" Konata asked.

"That is..." Tsuki concentrated. The air around her began to distort. A pillar of pure energy rose around her.

* * *

**In the seats that haven't been destroyed**

"Kakashi-sensei, what's going on? What is she doing?" Sakura asked her former teacher. Kakashi took his headband away from his eye.

"...!" He looked surprised. "She's opening the third gate!" He shouted.

* * *

**Back in the arena**

"To protect the life of someone precious!" Tsuki yelled, throwing both her arms to her sides, her skin blood red. The ground around her crushed downward. She disappeared.

"What's this?" Kanzen asked.

"Where did she go?" Taeru asked. His question was answered as pain hit him in his gut.

"OODAMA RASENGAN!" Tsuki shouted. The Rasengan ground against the man's stomach and sent him spiraling into the ground. He skidded on the ground until he hit the center. Kanzen reached her and roundhouse kicked her. She ducked, now easily up to speed with him. She swept his leg out from under him. She circled around and grabbed him by his jaw. She kept spinning and threw him, sending him careening into a wall. She jumped to the side to dodge an energy blast from Taeru and rolled onto her feet again. She pounded him in the stomach with a punch and kneed him in the cheek. She jumped into a back flip, avoiding another blast from Kanzen. She landed directly behind him with a smile on her face.

"Hm?" He spun to try and meet her. The second he was around again, he felt grinding in his stomach.

"OODAMA RASENGAN!" Tsuki shouted. Another Rasengan blasted Kanzen into the opposite wall, shattering the glass that was on that wall. The audience shrieked with terror and took cover under their arms to protect themselves from the falling glass as best they could.

"Damn it..." Kanzen growled through his teeth. "The energy I got from Kyōbōna isn't enough... I can't compete..." He muttered. He pushed off the wall and exploded forward, using energy to push off the ground and increase his speed. As he got near, Tsuki bent over and raised a foot. It caught Kanzen in the stomach and allowed Tsuki to dodge Taeru's kick. Tsuki straightened out and threw her momentum into a kick that caught Taeru on the bottom of the chin. He was sent flying into the air. She jumped, dodging Kanzen's blast. She caught up with Taeru and brought her fists down like a hammer on top of his head, sending him crashing in to the ground again. She landed in time to see Kanzen with a sphere of energy in his hand speeding towards her. She had time to caught him by the arms. He sent energy through the bottom of his feet, making him press against her harder. Her arms began trembling with the effort of keeping him away.

_What would Mom do..._ She wondered. It came to her. She sent her foot out and kicked Kanzen's foot out from under him. It sent his energy ball into the ground. It exploded and sent him flipping into the air. Tsuki appeared above him and hammered him into the ground next to Taeru. She landed a few yards away from them. "Let's settle this with one burst!" She shouted. She ran and hit them both so they bounced off the ground. She reached the opposite wall, jumped off and hit the roof. She jumped off the roof towards the two in the center of the arena.

"Total... Destruction...?" Kanzen muttered.

"GRAAAH!" Tsuki shouted from the exertion. She pulled back her hand to reveal her attack. She shredded half the arena by the size of it. "CHOODAMA RASENGAN!" She shouted, crushed the two beneath the power of her attack. The energy exploded in a cloud of dust. Tsuki rolled out, looking regular again, until she came to a stop near Tony and Konata.

"Whoa..." Konata muttered.

"Ouch..." She groaned.

"Great job Tsuki..." Konata crouched next to her friend.

"I get 'em?" Tsuki asked, her voice full of pain.

"Yeah... yeah you got 'em." Konata smiled.

"Great..." Tsuki sighed and let her head rest. Konata stood up and smiled over to the opening to the arena.

"Akira? You calling this thing or what?" She asked.

"Well..." Akira mumbled. Konata looked back over. Kanzen knelt over Taeru, a hand on his chest.

"Rest, brother." He said.

"Brother... Live... Complete the mission, kill... that..." Taeru coughed blood.

"Rest well." Kanzen said eyes closed. Taeru coughed blood once more, and was still. Kanzen stayed there a moment, paused by the death of his teammates. Then, he stood up and cracked his neck. "That he had this much energy left is surprising." Kanzen looked at his hand, flexing it. He looked back over to see Konata standing shakily.

"Damn..." Konata muttered. She was still exhausted from her attack earlier.

"You've done well to come this far, I'll give you that, but..." Kanzen breathed. His image shimmered again. Konata growled as Kanzen's energy armor shined on him. Konata took a shaky stance. "It seems you have reached your limit. I'll admit you surprised me with your little transformation, but it took everything you had. Do you really think you can stand between him and I?" Kanzen asked.

"I'm gonna try!" Konata shouted.

"Thanks." A voice came from behind her. She turned around to see Tony, standing strong. "But it isn't necessary." He said. "I didn't know you were holding that kind of power Konata." Tony smiled.

"Yeah, neither did I..." Konata smiled and sat down. Tony looked back at their opponent.

_I haven't got near the power I should, and he's a lot stronger than I am. That energy armor is insane. I wish I could call on Hachiman, but he said not to call him..._ Tony thought.

"You're a very poor loser. You should give up." Kanzen said.

"Never gonna happen man." Tony said. _Wait... Hachiman..._ Tony thought.

**_KID!_****_ Hachiman shouted... Armor of pure_ _energy._**

_How did Naruto beat that...?_ Tony wondered. _Energy... Energy was grinding against it..._

"Go Kan-chan!" Tony heard, his ears perking up from a voice he hadn't heard in a while. He looked up and saw Tereya, standing up even though there was no longer any glass to protect her. Tony smiled warmly.

"You can do it Kan-kun!" Tsukasa, very close to her, shouted.

_Tereya... Tsukasa..._ He smiled. _... That's it._ He got an idea. Then he put his fingers to his temples. _That's how I win..._ He smiled. _I don't have anywhere near the power for an attack like that right now... Hachiman..._ Tony thought. Yet another idea occurred to him.

"It's a little late for strategizing." Kanzen began walking towards him. "Against me, all strategies are useless."

_He told me never to even begin to try it... But if I put all of my energy to its containment..._ Tony thought. He put his right hand out palm up. _Well, let's hope this works, or everyone around here is dead._ He thought. _How cliche._ He thought before he began using every resource he had to search above his hand.

"You'll never defeat me like that. I don't know what you're trying, but it won't work." Kanzen shouted, quickening his stride. He was entirely ignored.

_Come on... I've got to raise it higher..._ Tony thought, concentrating the hardest he ever had. He grabbed his right wrist with his left hand. He found what he had been looking for. _There..._ He smiled. He broke the atom. The sudden rush of energy instantly began overwhelming any defenses he had put up, flowing over the relatively meager amount of energy he had been able to assign to the job. Suddenly, the well of energy he had taken from to heal Sojiro returned in force. Again, he couldn't figure out how much energy was in the well. His first notion was that Hachiman had sensed his distress and come to his aid, and it did feel like energy from Hachiman, but the God would have said something by now... Tony wasted no time in taking its power to contain the blast. With his attention fully on the ball of extreme energy desperately seeking direction, he couldn't keep an eye on the well, so he wasn't sure of how much of it the blast was taking to contain.

"Kan-kun!" Tsukasa shouted.

_**Wha... That...**_ Tony had the urge to smile. The effort of suppressing the energy made most coherent thought impossible, but he had intention. The energy began swirling in his hand, forming an orb not unlike another move he had devised earlier.

"You're quite stubborn." Kanzen said in disgust.

_**Perfect...**_ Tony looked at it.

"Who the hell to do you think you are?" Kanzen shouted. Tony moved his head up. The blast contained in his attack, he began taking from the well to refill himself.

"A **Big _Damn HERO!_**" Tony shouted. "_**Alright, listen up.**_" Tony said. "_**This... Is the power of Love!**_" He shouted, holding the ball up. It shined with a power and beauty unmatched thus far. The energy inside, given direction by Tony, swirled at speeds the eye could barely follow, and so many strands of pure energy were inside, it was impossible to keep track of any single one. He lowered his hand and put it behind.

"Just give up!" Kanzen shouted, taking off into a run.

"_**Not on your life!**_" Tony shouted as he ran at Kanzen.

"What's the point of doing all that?" Kanzen shouted.

"_**To win!**_" Tony shouted.

"It won't go that well!" Kanzen shouted and threw a punch with all his power, intending on killing Tony with one strike.

"_**TSUKASA!**_" Tony shouted as he shifted down and let the attack go over his shoulder. He thrust his attack and made contact with Kanzen's stomach. The power behind it shattered the armor on his stomach. Tony smiled a faint smile. The lapse in concentration was enough to make the grinding attack expand to encompass him and all the arena around the two for a full meter. Kanzen screamed in agony as pure energy ground against him and against other strands of energy, tearing the man apart of the seams. Tony gritted his teeth and put what defense he could against it while keeping containment.

"KAN-KUN!" Tsukasa shouted, leaping from her seat and hitting the small wall that separated the audience from the fighters. In her adrenaline rush, she put her foot on the top of the wall and jumped. Masuta grabbed her by the collar and pulled her back into the stands. She fell back and hit the stone seats and winced.

"Don't do things like that!" He scolded her. "Let's go around." He shouted as the energy stayed for a moment or two, but then dissipated at it was used up ripping at the two people inside. Tony was collapsed on the ground, shirt in tatters but his pants still miraculously intact.

"No..." Tsukasa muttered, horrified. She felt a hand on her arm pulling her. She looked over to see Masuta had grabbed her and pulled slightly. She nodded and followed him down. They ran inside the pit as Konata pushed herself onto her elbows and watched, hoping that her brother was okay. She would be over checking on him as well, but she barely had the energy to look, let alone walk. She glanced over at Tsuki to see the girl had deemed it appropriate to simply lay there, though Konata expected she had given too much to get over it so quickly.

"Ototo..." Masuta mumbled as Tsukasa ran over and collapsed on her knees next to Tony, hugging him.

"Kan-kun... No..." Tsukasa mumbled. Masuta knelt down and felt Tony's neck.

_Damn... His pulse is weakening._ He began thinking. He looked over to the collapsed Tsuki. _Maybe..._ He walked over.

"Come back to me Kan-kun..." Tsukasa said.

_Come back to me Kan-kun..._ Tony heard. He was in darkness. He recognized this place. He had been here once before. Back, all those years ago, after Sarnia. He was on the border between his world and the next. A river of Yomi. He could hear other's screams where he couldn't before. In the place Sarnia once stood to block him, there was a great light. It was extremely comforting, as the screams of the dead were driving him near insane. They stabbed his ears like ice picks and gave him a horrible headache. The light soothed him. The light comforted him. He wanted to go into it so badly. _Please come back..._ He heard a voice cutting through the screams. It wasn't from the light. It offered him no comfort. Why should he listen to such a voice? The voice gave no sign as to who it was. It just was.

"Hey, you use energy like Ototo, right?" He asked Tsuki, producing a bag. She merely grunted in assent and nodded a bit, being on her back. "Here, this is called Dengen. Eat all you can. It will give you a LOT of energy." Masuta said.

"Good?" Tsuki asked.

"Yeah." Masuta said.

"Gimme." Tsuki muttered. "Feed." She requested. Masuta opened the bag he had and put some into her mouth, only enough to give her the energy to eat on her own. She instantly gagged, but the position she was in forced her to swallow the dengen.

"Good?" Masuta asked with a smirk.

"Hate your soul." Tsuki muttered. She suddenly perked up. "Oh! Wow, you're right..." She pushed herself into a sitting position. "I suppose I can stomach some of that. Besides, now I'll be able to heal Tony..." She smiled and ate some more, refilling her energy. She pushed herself to standing and walked over.

"Can you heal him?" Tsukasa asked.

"Of course." Tsuki smiled and knelt. She put her hand on him. "..." She hesitated a moment. "..."

"Tsuki?" Tsukasa asked.

"Um..." She looked panicked. "I... don't know what to do here!" She said in a panic. "I can't even make out what kind of damage is done to him, let alone how to heal it!"

"Kan-kun!" Tsukasa shouted at her boyfriend. She hugged him and cried.

_Kan-kun!_ Discomfort. Tony grunted with discomfort in the darkness. He looked back at the light and felt comfort again. He began to make his way to it.

Tsukasa shook Tony with all she had. Medical teams began coming in.

"NO!" Tsukasa shouted at them. "Tsuki, you have to do something!" Tsukasa shouted at the girl. Tereya ran over. She fell on his knees, putting her momentum in a hit to Tony's chest. She hit him again.

"Come on you selfish bastard! You're not allowed to die until you kiss your future wife, remember?" Tereya shouted. She put both hands on his chest and pressed down two inches. She did it again and again. Suddenly, a pink haired girl and a blond with spiked hair landed near them.

"Here, I'll help!" Sakura said. She knelt and put her hands on him, Tereya backing off and shrinking, realizing she was out in front of everyone. Her friend came over and put her arm around her back, hand on her opposite shoulder. Sakura concentrated a moment. "This is... This is extremely advanced stuff..." She mumbled. "This is the kind of stuff that would challenge Lady Tsunade..." She muttered, shaking a bit. She bowed her head in apology. "I can't help... I'm sorry..."

"No one?" Tsukasa looked around. She looked back at Tony.

"_Now!_" She heard in her head.

_What? What's going on?_ She asked in thought, beginning to freak out.

"_Foolish mortal, it is I, Amaterasu! Must I spell it out for you? The song! Sing the song!_" Amaterasu screamed in her head. "_Honestly, you mortals are so clueless..._" She complained. Tsukasa blinked a time or two.

_That's... Right..._ She remembered. She took a breath.

_"Spirit gleam Divine...  
Let your power Shine...  
Make these wounds benign  
Bring back what once was mine..."_

Suddenly, there was an incredibly bright light from her pocket. She brought out the white gem to see it shining with a powerful light. She clasped it in between her hands, as if to pray.

_"Heal all that's malign...  
Change our fate's design..."_

The stone Konata held began shining with a light as strong as Tsukasa's. She brought it out and looked at it.

_"With our pow'r combine,  
Bring back what once was mine..."_

The stone Tony kept began glowing.

_"What once was... Mine..."_

All of their stones began shining almost painfully bright. Tsukasa's light enveloped Tony. There was a snap and he coughed.

"...Wha...?" He cracked his eyes open.

"KAN-KUN!" Tsukasa rammed her head into his stomach. It hurt him a lot, but she didn't even care anymore.

"Demonic ponies... What's going on?" Tony asked, almost hyperventilating.

"Demonic ponies?" Tsukasa asked.

"Who's been dancing on my chest?" Tony struggled and pushed himself up. He looked over at Tereya with a hard look. She blushed and averted her gaze. "Did you call me a selfish bastard?" He asked.

"P-Probably..." She muttered. Tony breathing, though still considerably faster than normal, slowed a bit. He looked around at everyone.

"Who... What happened? Did you heal me Tsuki?" Tony asked.

"No~!" Tsuki said. Tony looked around again and remembered his fight with Naruto.

"You pink hair?" Tony asked.

"My name is Sakura!" Sakura shouted. "And I didn't heal you."

"Then... who?" Tony asked.

"It would be that girl nestled in your stomach." Mikado pointed. Tony looked at Tsukasa and smiled. He put a hand around her.

"Well then... I guess I owe you my life again, Tsukasa..." Tony said. Tsukasa looked up at him and shook her head.

"No... You being alive and with me is more than enough. You don't owe me anything." Tsukasa said. She hugged him again. Tony ached all over, but didn't care. He hugged her around her back and stood up, bringing her with him. His legs trembled under his weight, but Tsukasa somehow was able to help him support his weight along with him. Akira came back out.

"I guess that makes you guys the winners!" Akira said. She brought her voice down so only group could hear her. "Due to a survey with the last audience we had for a tournament here, we decided to give out the prize money right after the last fight. Some of them couldn't be there to see you accept it, so they were a little angry..." Akira said.

"Cool, so we get money now?" Konata asked.

"Yep!" Akira said.

"Awesome!" Konata cheered.

"Seeing as how there are three of you, you each get a portion of the money!" Akira said. As three checks were handed to each of them, Akira began to announce. "The winners are Team Taisei-"

"HEY!" An unfamiliar voice shouted. Tony and everyone looked over to see a redheaded girl with a wooden sword run out. "Those Cataclysm whatevers were cheating! I dunno how, but they totally cheated us out of that victory!" She yelled.

"Ayano, calm down." A man strolled in casually. "We'd have lost anyway." He said. The girl named Ayano turned and pointed her sword at him. Suddenly, it lit on fire, but took no damage.

"Quiet you! This is all your fault Kazuma!" She yelled at him. "If you had taken the fight seriously, those guys would have been no problem!" She shouted.

"But I didn't. It wasn't worth the effort. Plus, they paid me a ton of money to throw the fight." The man named Kazuma said casually.

"You know I really wanted to win this tournament, didn't you? That's why you threw the fight, wasn't it?" She asked, brandishing her weapon at him.

"Why do you care?" He asked. A smaller, blonde boy looked out from the entrance the three had taken.

"Um... Ayano?" He mumbled.

"Um..." Tony mumbled.

"The focus seems to have shifted..." Konata commented.

"You hush!" Ayano pointed her flaming weapon at the two. "I challenge you to a battle! I'LL TAKE ALL OF YOU ON!" She shouted.

"You're gonna get your ass kicked." Kazuma commented.

"SHUT UP!" Ayano yelled.

"They won. You lost. Deal with it." Kazuma said. "You though..." He turned his orange-brown eyes on Konata.

"Hm?" Konata hummed inquisitively.

"You're beginning to use the powers of the wind, aren't you?" He asked. Konata studied him for a moment.

"Yeah. Why?" Konata asked.

"I'm a wind magic user myself. I could give you a great tip that'll help you come along if you want." Kazuma said.

"Wow... really?" Konata asked. Kazuma smirked.

"Of course, not for free." He said. "That'll be your portion of the tournament winnings." He said. Ayano looked at him.

"Oh, that was your plan. Collect on their bribe and get your portion anyway." Ayano sighed.

"Sorry, but I have plans for that money..." Konata said.

"I'll buy it." Tsuki said. She put her hand with the check out. "Give her that tip now!" She said.

"You can't do that Tsuki! That's too much to give just for something that I'll probably learn eventually!" Konata said. Tsuki shook her head.

"That money isn't going to do me any good where I'm going. Besides, you've helped me out so much already, letting me stay with you guys and everything, even though you hardly knew me. I've gotta give you something back." She said with a smile. Kazuma, while they were chatting, took the check from her hand.

"Looks like everything's in order." He said as he began to walk out. "You're commanding the power of the wind. You can't do that. If you don't listen to the Spirit of the Wind, you're not gonna get very far." Kazuma said.

"Do you mean Fujin?" Konata asked. Kazuma laughed.

"No. Tell me, are you able to hear the voice of the wind? If not, then you'll never manage to be able to use the power of the Wind to it's fullest." He said. He turned back to her for a second, a smirk on his face. "The voice of the wind is telling me it wants to rage around more. If you don't listen to her, you'll never begin to draw real power." Kazuma said before he left the arena. "Come on Ren. We're going."

"Ah, hehe... Sorry guys..." He waved over at the small crowd of people. Ayano looked at Kazuma, then at Konata, then ran after him.

"WHAT DID YOU MEAN HER?" She yelled.

"Her?" Konata repeated to herself. _He was referring to the Spirit of the Wind. So, the Spirit of the Wind is female? How do I talk to her though?_ Konata wondered.

"_Travel to the Forest of Spirits..._" She heard in her head. She recognized the deep, slow voice. Fujin was talking to her.

_What? Where's that? _Konata asked.

"_Travel to the Forest of Spirits..._" Fujin said again. She felt his presence vanish._  
_

_Damn it, he couldn't help me to which forest it is? _She thought. _Maybe I can ask Kagami..._ She thought.

"Hey! Um..." Naruto addressed Tsuki.

"My name's Tsuki!" She said.

"Yeah, Tsuki! Where did you learn the Rasengan? Did Pervy Sage teach you?" Naruto asked, kind of hoping to meet someone else who knew him.

"Hm? Pervy Sage? Who's that?" Tsuki asked.

"Lord Jiraiya." Kakashi said.

"Um... Never heard of him... " Tsuki said.

"Oh... Then who did you learn it from?" Naruto asked.

"Well, a man taught my Dad, and he taught me!" Tsuki said.

"Huh..." Naruto said.

"Tsukasa, how did you heal me?" Tony asked.

"Amaterasu taught me a song that was really strong!" Tsukasa said.

"What's up with the songs? Are you just going to use all kinds of spells with songs now?" Tony asked.

"Well, Amaterasu said something like "My voice was the voice that would prawn the heavens"... Or something like that..." Tsukasa said.

"I think you mean "pierce", Tsukasa." Konata said with a smile.

"Oh... That doesn't make much sense either..." Tsukasa said.

"Either way, I'm glad that you healed me. Otherwise, I'd be dead. Stone dead. Definitely deceased. Passed on. Ceased to be. Expired and gone to meet my maker." Tony said.

"A stiff. Bereft of life, he'd rest in peace." Konata added.

"Pushing up daisies." Tony said.

"His metabolic processes are history." Konata said.

"Off my twig." Tony said.

"Kicked the bucket." Konata said.

"Shuffled off this mortal coil." Tony said. "I'd be an ex-man." Tony said.

"I think we should stop this, it's getting silly." Konata giggled.

"Yes, too silly, far too silly." Tony said.

"So Kan-kan, what's with your eyes?" Konata asked.

"What do you mean?" Tony asked.

"Your eyes glowed when you were using that attack." Konata said.

"Which one?" Tony asked.

"Tsukasa." Konata said.

"Never use that move again!" Tsukasa shouted.

"What? Why?" Tony asked.

"A move named after me almost killed you! I don't want to be the one who killed you!" Tsukasa said.

"Well, that kind of sucks." Tony said, chuckling.

"What happened, anyway? Your eyes glowed when you used it." Konata said.

"I... don't know. I didn't notice anything." Tony said.

"That's weird..." Konata said. She turned to her girlfriend. "Hey Kagami, what are some really spiritual forests?" Konata asked her, seeing as how she was a miko.

"Hm? Odd question, what brought this on?" Kagami asked.

"Well, I was thinking... That guy, Kazuma, said I needed to speak with the Spirit of the Wind. Then Fujin told me to go to the Forest of Spirits. But he didn't tell me where that was!" Konata said. Kagami smiled, crossed her arms and hummed, nodding.

"Gotcha..." She began thinking.

"I think what you're looking for is Seifa Utaki." Tadao said.

"Hm? What Dad?" Kagami asked.

"It's the holiest sanctuary of Rikyu Shinto. From what I remember, I think they're particularly animistic. If you're looking for a legitimate spirit that dwells in a forest, I think that'd be the place to go." Tadao said.

"..." Everyone was silent for a moment.

"That's... really far away..." Kagami mumbled.

"By car, that's gotta be almost two full days straight driving..." Miki said.

"Across ferries..." Konata said. "And I doubt Fujin would lend me a hand getting there..." She said. Tony had an idea.

_That well..._ Tony thought. "I might have a way of getting there..." Tony said. Everyone looked at him.

"What? How?" They all asked.

"The Divine Well." They heard a voice.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya Luckies~! I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami~!"

"And I'm the assistant, Minoru Shiraishi!"

"Alas, that concludes the story of our dear protagonists." Akira said. "Moments after the voice said that, the sun suddenly exploded, creating a supernova that annihilated everyone." Akira announced. "It then turned into a black hole and destroyed even their atoms, just for good measure." She continued her report. "A tragic tale, one to remind you that no matter what is going on, a cosmic event can kill everyone at any given time for no reason whatsoever." Akira said. "So that's the end. Goodbye." Akira said.

"Wait... What?" Minoru asked.

"Meh... Never mind. I take it all back. That was just the alternate ending." Akira said.

"Okay... Alternate ending? There were some of those, huh?" Minoru asked.

"There are hundreds. They're constantly changing, too." Akira said.

"Wow..." Minoru said.

"Kan-chan was almost killed my assassins!" Akira said.

"Er... Yeah. They just read that, Akira." Minoru said.

"Assassins really impress me..." Akira said.

"Yeah, I understand. They train so hard to be really good at... what they do." Minoru said.

"No, that's not it." Akira said. "They fit the word "ass" in there twice..."

"Oh... I guess that does make sense." Minoru said.

"You seem like you're a little startled Minoru... What's wrong?" Akira asked.

"Nothing... I just... Nothing." He said. Akira noticed he had been looking at her for a bit. She blushed, surprising.

"Well... Okay then. I guess we should... end?" She suggested.

"Sure." Minoru said.

*Music Tone*

"I... guess that's all the time we have for today... Hope to see you again next chapter! Bye-nii~..." She waved, embarrassed under Minoru's gaze.

"..."

"So what's wrong Minoru?"

"It's nothing Akira, just kind of distracted."

"Is... is that so...?"

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

No, the story isn't over. Got it out before two months! I've had it mostly done for a little while, but simply couldn't get the time to work on it. Plus I hit a block with Yutaka and Minami's part. It's the reason I never write for the other characters :P Anyway, better cut it short before I run out of time to work on this.


	51. Chapter 51: Divine What?

Chapter 51: A Halloween Chapter!

...

Wait, seriously? Still no continuity? FINE THEN! I didn't want to do a smelly Halloween chapter anyway! Having the characters learning about Halloween doesn't appeal to me in the least! Feh...

Chapter 51: To be announced.

What up? See? I told you we hadn't ended quite yet! Which is good, 'cause I still have a lot of stuff to put in here. Man, for every chapter I write, I come up with a couple hundred ideas. You know how I said the festival was the half way mark? Yeah, not so much anymore (otherwise, the end of the story would be in 13 chapters. By this point, if I really wanted to, I could drag a few days out to be 13 chapters...) Doesn't really matter what happens in those chapters, short of cosmic disaster, the story is most definitely NOT ending. Geez. I had no idea this story was going to be such a massive undertaking XD I think about it at work, school, martial arts class, and the occasional video game/children's card game. I have to constantly think about it to get the kind of stuff I come up with hehe. Anyway~... So, Tsuki is confusing people even more... Great! If you guys could figure out who is was, you'd be weird. Like, really weird. Seriously, go write some poetry, it'll get really famous and people will be interpreting it a thousand years from now. Only someone with a brain as weird and twisted as mine can be sometimes could come up with her background XD Please, don't let that stop you from trying to get it. There are some pretty good ideas out there... Sqweebs, there's a good reason none of the Cataclysm Combatants showed up in a google search! They're original characters that I devised!

* * *

**About where we left off...**

Tony and the small crowd of people turned to meet the voice. There was a man that most everyone knew, but couldn't recognize at the moment.

"Let's take this somewhere more private, eh?" The voice said. A mass of nausea later, the crowd found themselves inside Tony's training room, it being large enough to fit them all. Now outside the eye of so many people, the spell that kept the man from being recognized lifted.

"Hey Boss!" Tony said. Tereya looked between the man and Tony.

"S-Shin?" She asked. "Y-You two k-know each other?" She asked. Tony and Hachiman chuckled.

"I'm guessing this is Tereya." Hachiman said. Tony nodded.

"Yep." He chuckled. He turned to Tereya and Mikado. "Tereya, Mikado, this is Hachiman." Tony gestured to the god.

"WHAT?" Mikado shouted.

"Um... G-God of W-War?" Tereya asked.

"Yep. The same." Tony said.

"HOW?" Mikado shouted.

"Well, I was claiming I was-"

"Not that! I don't think I ever told you my name before!" Mikado shouted. "How did you know it?" She asked.

"Tsukasa told me." He said. He looked at his girlfriend triumphantly. "See? She never told me. She admits it!" He said. Tsukasa pouted cutely.

"Hmph." She huffed.

"Anyway, I was claiming to be the god of fighting as my tournament name. Hachiman apparently found it appropriate to come down and kick my ass around to drive the point that I am not, in fact, a god." Tony chuckled.

"Hmmm..." Mikado nodded. "Did you at least make a flashy entrance?" She asked the god a little too casually.

"When I came to earth? Yeah, I came down like a shooting star." Hachiman smiled.

"..."

"..."

"..." All were silent for a moment.

"That can't be the star we all wished on." Tony said.

"No way. You hadn't even entered the tournament when we had that slumber party." Kagami said.

"I TOLD YOU IT WAS A SLUMBER PARTY!" Konata cheered.

"Gah!" Kagami was taken aback. She was caught. "What... What were we talking about before?" She asked.

"You said you had some way for us to get to Seifa Utaki?" Tony asked Hachiman. Hachiman nodded.

"Ah, yes. Quite. Well, maybe. You see, it's something YOU do." Hachiman said. "Undoubtedly, you've begun to notice a huge amount of energy that seems to pop up out of nowhere whenever you need energy."

"Usually at extremely convenient times." Tony added.

"Yes. That is called the Divine Well." Hachiman said. "You've utilized it several times, during your healing of Sojiro and when you healed Tsukasa." Hachiman said.

"Wait, even back then?" Tony asked.

"Yes, you didn't notice it until you were more attuned to energy." Hachiman said.

"It felt like it was limitless." Tony said.

"Hm. It does have limits. Very clear limits." Hachiman said. "But it is called the Divine Well, not the Divine Pool, or the Divine Puddle. It has an extreme amount of energy in it, and it even regenerates energy on it's own."

"How?" Tony asked.

"It's complicated." Hachiman said.

"Divine Well... That sounds like something that a god would have, not me." Tony said.

"It is... generally speaking. It's rare that it pops up in mortals." Hachiman said.

"How rare?" Tony asked.

"You're the only one." Hachiman said.

"The... Only one? There aren't any across any other dimensions or anything?" Tony smirked. Hachiman stared at him for a second.

"... Did I stutter?" Hachiman asked.

"...No boss." Tony mumbled.

"NO BOSS, that's right!" Hachiman repeated. "Anyway, it's power is NOT something that you should use lightly. Even as attuned to energy as you are, using too much energy from the Well will tear your body to shreds. I think you remember what happened the last time your body was wrecked with energy. Tsukasa had to come to your aid." Hachiman said. He turned to the aforementioned girl. "Which, by the way, I don't recommend using often either." He turned to Tony.

"So, this is a pool of energy that GODS draw from?" Tony asked.

"Each have their own. Compared to mine, yours is relatively small." Hachiman smirked at him.

"Is that what you used to tank Naruto's last attack?" Tony asked.

"Yup. Using it so... spur of the moment... is still tiring, even for me." Hachiman said.

"So you didn't want to be called because you were so tired from using it." Tony said.

"Correct." Hachiman said.

"So, basically you want me to use the energy from this "Divine Well" to teleport me and Konata and whoever else to Seifa Utaki, and then back again." Tony said.

"Basically. The only thing is... You can't control it. It only shows up when you absolutely need it. As it should. For a mortal, it's a defense mechanism that should only ever be used when your life is in danger. However, for you... I think you may be able to handle the stress after a while. You would still need to learn to use it at will though." Hachiman said sagely.

"By unlocking my seven chakras." Tony said matter-of-factly.

"No, by unlock... Yes." Hachiman said. "How... How did you know that? That's one hell of a guess..." Hachiman said.

"I've watched Avatar." Tony said.

"Ah... Well... Okay then... Well, the basics are the same, but it is different in some ways." Hachiman mumbled.

"Well then, when do we start?" Tony asked.

"Later. Your body is still gonna get wrecked soon because of your little stunt. Which I'm forbidding you from ever using again. No amount of focus will be able to master that technique. Not while you're still mortal." Hachiman said.

"Is there some case in which I become a god here? What do you mean while I'm still mortal?" Tony asked.

"Er... That was hypothetical. Of course, I used to be mortal as well, so who knows? Maybe if you can get a Divine to acknowledge you." Hachiman chuckled.

"I don't have much interest in becoming a god unless it's to help my friends." Tony said. Hachiman rose his eyebrow and shrugged.

"Even so, don't use that technique again by yourself. I can barely use it for the purpose of regaining energy." Hachiman said. "I don't think I could use it in an attack."

"So you said each god has their own Divine whosiwhatsit, right?" Tony asked.

"Right." Hachiman nodded.

"Does Amaterasu?" Tony asked. Hachiman laughed loudly enough that he disturbed everyone else's conversations. On seeing that this wasn't an actual joke, calmed down a bit, though it was still very clear he found the question amusing. They listened to the conversation between the two for a bit, but were utterly confused by what they were talking about. That being the case, they all turned back to their respective conversation.

"Yes. All of us. Amaterasu, Tsukiyomi and Susanoo ARE special cases, though. Their Divine Well is so great, it manifests itself physically. Amaterasu's manifests a the sun itself, a well of power so great, it can burn for millions of years and still be no where close to running out. Tsukiyomi's is powerful enough, it became rock and took to the sky. His Divine Well and Amaterasu's are never in the sky at the same time without one eclipsing the other." Hachiman said.

"Ha." Tony laughed once humorlessly at the god's pun.

"Susanoo's Well is a bit more complicated. His encompasses the entirety of Yomi. With a constant amount of souls feeding into it, he takes the energy the person had left when they died. It feeds into his well and refills it. When he uses it, he can also take energy from the dead as well." Hachiman said.

"It sounds like he's got the best deal out of all of this." Tony said.

"It really depends on who you ask. The energy from all of the mortals to have ever lived, or the eternally refilling energy of the sun?" Hachiman said.

"And the moon?" Tony asked.

"It's always at it's maximum." Hachiman said. "I also have to recommend you never use too much of it. If the energy from the well runs out,-"

"I die, right?" Tony asked.

"Well, no. It just won't regenerate anymore. When a Divine's well runs out,-"

"They die?" Tony asked.

"No, but we turn mortal. You have to put energy into it yourself until it hits it's maximum before you can even begin to use it again. It's a hole you end up throwing energy into without knowing how close you actually are to completing it. Luckily there are very, very few instances in which it running out has been an issue. The most well known one among the Divine is from Susanoo's battle with Yamata no Orochi. Susanoo himself would tell you he won the fight without any problem, but it's pretty well known he almost used the entirety of his Divine Well. Luckily, he made it through without depleting it." Hachiman said.

"So wait, the legend of that fight says the same thing, that it was pretty much a one sided fight." Tony said. "Is that not the case?" He asked.

"Well, a lot of what really happened isn't known for sure. We know what he told us and about his use of the Divine Well." Hachiman said.

"So. What happens if a god dies? What happens to their Divine Well?" Tony asked.

"It's absorbed by the killer." Hachiman said. "If you have a Divine Well, it will add onto your maximum. If you don't, the energy will fill you up to your fullest and keep filling you until you likely explode." Hachiman said. "It's the reason no mortal should ever attempt to kill a Divine. Though, us Divine are extremely durable." Hachiman said.

"So, there's no way of coming back from something like that?" Tony asked.

"Well, if the Divine see it fit, they can deify you. You get a Divine Well along with it. Thing is, the well you get is from the person who deified you to begin with and comes off their maximum." Hachiman said.

"So if Amaterasu deified me, whatever Divine Well I would get would be shaved off hers?" Tony asked.

"Precisely." Hachiman nodded.

"This is a lot to absorb." Tony said. "Basically, the point of this conversation as I understand it, is that once I learn to control this power, I can use it to teleport me and Kon-kon to Seifa Utaki." Tony said.

"Correct." Hachiman said.

"Well then. Thank you very much for the information." Tony said.

"One other thing you should probably consider is to attune yourself to energy." Hachiman said.

"And how would I do that?" Tony asked.

"Meditating and letting energy flow through you. Your body will get "used" to the energy. In fact, that training you went through that got you all of the energy in your ring was almost perfect." Hachiman said.

"Well cool. Thank you very much Boss." Tony smiled.

"Any time kid." Hachiman smiled.

"So!" A voice interrupted them. They looked over at Mikado, looking at them. "Let me get this straight." She started.

"Yes?" Hachiman asked.

"You're the god of war. The honorable Hachiman. Right?" Mikado asked. Tereya seemed to be hiding behind her. Hachiman nodded.

"Right." He answered to the affirmative.

"You're this super powerful god that can probably kill everyone here in one blow if he wanted. Right?" Mikado asked. Hachiman nodded.

"Probably." He said.

"You also can do crazy awesome stuff like he can. Right?" Mikado asked, referring to Tony.

"That would be correct." Hachiman answered.

"And you came down to do nothing more than talk. Right?" Mikado asked.

"Right." Hachiman said.

"Can we have some proof? You can do anything you really want, right?" Mikado asked. Hachiman smirked and raised an eyebrow.

"What did you have in mind?" Hachiman asked. Mikado glanced at Tereya. She walked up to Hachiman and began whispering in his ear. He nodded, nodded again, then sighed. "Um, Mikado, there are a few addendas, some quid pro quos..." Hachiman mumbled.

"Oh, so you can't do it..." She mumbled, looking thoroughly depressed. Hachiman thought for a moment. He sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It's done. But you have to put some effort into it as well. Do your best." He said, looking in her eyes. Mikado sighed again and looked in his eyes, nodding.

"Got it... Thanks!" Mikado seemed determined and back to her bubbly self. Tony could feel that Hachiman was lying, but he seemed to betray nothing to Mikado.

"What did you do?" Tony asked as Mikado turned back to Tereya.

"I gave her confidence. Hopefully. Mikado is strong. Maybe she'll get her girl." Hachiman smiled.

"So, there's nothing you can really do for them?" Tony asked.

"Confidence is a really powerful tool. If love is true, it finds a way." Hachiman said.

"Don't you know if she'll get it? I thought you could usually see the future or something?" Tony asked. Hachiman sighed. "And you tried to help her, so you must have seen something bad." Tony said.

"I'm not saying that..." Hachiman said.

"Did she fail?" Tony asked.

"I'm not saying that." Hachiman said.

"Then what are you saying?" Tony asked.

"I'm saying that I need to see a girl about a rabbit." He said as he turned away.

"You're not going to give me a straight answer on this, are you?" Tony asked.

"What do you think? No. No spoilers." Hachiman said. He walked over to Kagami, Tsukasa and Konata. Tony saw Hachiman talk to Konata and Tsukasa for a moment. The two of them nodded, looked at each other, and walked over to Tony.

"What's going on?" Tony asked.

"Not sure. Hachiman said he needed to talk to Kagami alone." Konata said.

"Huh. I wonder what about." They all turned back to the two, though couldn't hear them.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

"So, what did you need to talk to me about?" Kagami asked. "I'm assuming that it's really important considering you wouldn't let Tsukasa or Kona hear it." Kagami said.

"Indeed. Things are going to happen soon. These are very serious things." Hachiman said.

"So amazingly important things that it will affect everything ever?" Kagami asked with a smirk.

"Yes. You and your friends are going to change." Hachiman said. Kagami, seeing his seriousness, got serious herself.

"How so?" She asked.

"It's going to begin soon. Konata, when she finds the Spirit of the Wind." Hachiman said.

"She isn't going to change physically, is she?" Kagami asked, concerned. After all, her Kona was too cute to allow her to change so easily.

"She isn't going to look any different. But you will all need to learn your limits and stick to them." Hachiman said.

"So why are you telling me this? Why couldn't you say it in front of Kona herself? If this is about her, then you should probably let her know." Kagami said.

"This isn't about just Konata. You'll change too. I'm telling you this because you will be the one to change the most." Hachiman said.

"Hm?" Kagami perked up.

"The change you will undergo is going to be severe. With the rest, it will be something temporary. Something that can be switched off. It will not be as... easy... for you." Hachiman said.

"Anything specific?" Kagami asked.

"No." Hachiman said bluntly. Kagami huffed.

"Anyway to stop it?" Kagami asked.

"You'd have to cut ties with Tony." Hachiman said.

"So no." Kagami said. Hachiman smiled. "This change... will it help me keep Kona and Tsukasa safe?" Kagami asked. "Is that something you'll tell me?"

"I can't tell you specifically what happens. I simply don't know everything. It will probably help with that. Maybe." Hachiman said.

"If it does, then I don't care. Bring it on. I'm going to protect my Kona and my sister. I don't care what happens to me or to this body. Whatever I need to do. I'll always protect them." Kagami said.

"Whatever you say Yuno." Hachiman said. Kagami jumped and blushed. She didn't look like she regretted what she said though.

"I don't mind whatever happens to me. If they're safe, I can be happy." Kagami said. Hachiman smiled.

_I'll have to let her know they're on their way._ Hachiman thought. _It shouldn't be too long before they can get to her._ He thought.

"You look contemplative. Anything else I should know?" Kagami asked with a smirk.

"Hmph." Hachiman couldn't help but huff at how casually Kagami was talking to him. "Just be careful when you do end up going to Seifa Utaki. The Spirit of the Wind is an ancient being, but she has an odd personality." Hachiman warned.

"How would you know?" Kagami asked.

"You could say I've met her." Hachiman smiled. "Well, that's really what I wanted to say to you." He smiled. As he went to turn away, Kagami put her hand on his shoulder.

"One question." She said. Hachiman, now very surprised, turned back and looked at her.

"Alright then." He said.

"How did you know?" Kagami asked. "You said you don't know everything. What DO you know?" Kagami asked.

"You're getting pretty demanding, aren't you?" Hachiman smirked.

"Maybe, but I want to know." Kagami said. He sighed.

"Well, if you undergo THAT change, then I'll put my faith in you to go through one more. If you can do that, you'll definitely be able to protect Konata and Tsukasa from most any threat." Hachiman said. Kagami's eyes widened.

"No way... Really?" Kagami asked. Hachiman nodded.

"I've been told you'll go through one. I wasn't told what it was. Only that you'd be very changed." Hachiman said.

"Huh. Sounds fun." Kagami sighed in thought. "Who said it?" Kagami asked.

"Classified information." Hachiman said. Kagami blinked for a moment.

"You didn't." She said.

"I did." Hachiman nodded.

"You're really not going to stick to that, right? It was a joke, right?" Kagami asked.

"Nope. Not a joke. The information is classified." Hachiman said. "Well, that's about it."

"I guess I'll see you later." Kagami said.

"I'll be in touch." Hachiman smiled. He walked away. Konata came back over.

"What was that all about?" She asked.

"Much ado about nothing." Kagami smiled.

"Kagamin~, if you're keeping something from me..." Konata mumbled.

"Kona, I wanna learn Wing Chun." Kagami said.

"W-What?" Konata asked.

"Would you mind teaching me? I don't want to always be protected." Kagami said.

"But I don't mind protecting you Kagamin." Konata smiled warmly.

"I mind you having to protect me constantly." Kagami said. "I don't need to be on your level or anything, just enough to where I can do something by myself. You may not always be there when I'm threatened. As much as I'd like to pretend we'll be together for every moment of every day from now until the day we both die, I know that's just a dream." Kagami said. Konata smiled a little despite knowing the same.

"Sure. I can give it a try. I've never actually taught anyone. I had one student that was supposed to call, but I haven't heard anything from him. Then again, he was pretty badly hurt." Konata said. "When do you want to start?" Konata asked. Kagami looked around.

"We're in a training room." She said. She walked over to the closet and opened it, taking out Tony's sword. Having a sword in her hand felt very... natural, strangely enough. "Think Tony would mind if I used hi-"

"Kagami!" Konata yelled as she snatched the blade from her hand. Her yell drew the attention of the room.

"Hey, what are you doing with my sword?" Tony asked.

"Kagami, you never touch a weapon you don't know how to use." Konata said very seriously. "If you seriously want to be my student, you'll never touch a weapon I haven't trained you to use again. Understand?" Konata said in a tone that could command Haruhi Suzumiya. Kagami shrunk quite a bit.

"I..I'm sorry Kona..." She said.

"Apologize to Kan-kan as well. You don't just take someone else's weapon without their permission." Konata instructed. Kagami turned to Tony, looking like a child being scolded.

"I'm very sorry Tony. I've done something really wrong. I'll never, ever touch your sword again without your permission." Kagami said.

"Well, nothing bad happened this time, so I suppose it's okay. Where did you learn to talk like that Kon-kon?" Tony asked.

"Hm? I was trying Ms. Kuroi's voice when she scolds me." Konata said. "I thought it might make a good teacher voice."

"Thought I heard a little Haruhi in there." Tony said.

"Totally did. Tried to add a little of her in there too." Konata smiled. "So Kagamin, you really want to start now?" Konata asked.

"Yeah, if we put it out too much, it's just never going to happen, you know?" Kagami said. "This way, maybe I can even lose some weight! If I have something like Wing Chun, I can defend you guys PLUS I can totally get fit!" Kagami said.

"First of all, you don't need to get fit. You're perfect as you are." Konata said. Kagami's face lit up in a blush. "Second, you don't need to defend me. I'd like to think I can handle myself." Konata said, trying to keep Kagami from endangering herself if she could help it.

"What about Tsukasa though?" Kagami asked, shooting a glance towards her twin, who was talking Tereya and Mikado. "She'll never be a fighter. Even if we tried, she can't hurt another living thing." Kagami said.

"Well, Tsukasa IS our healer..." Konata chuckled. "Looks like my initial evaluation was all wrong..." Konata giggled.

"What do you mean?" Kagami asked.

"A while ago, I thought Tsukasa would be our clumsy mage and Miyuki would be our cleric..." Konata pointed out. Kagami thought back.

"Oh yeah~... And you said I was a barbarian." Kagami said in an annoyed, matter-of-factly way.

"I stand by what I said." Konata said. "I'm the warrior, our tank! My main feature is my avoidance instead of taking the attacks head on!" Konata said.

"And Tsukasa is the healer, huh?" Kagami asked.

"Yep! That's right!" Konata said.

"She just better not end in any actual battles." Kagami said.

"Nope! I'm the tank, so it's my job to keep them off of her!" Konata said.

"And I'm the barbarian." Kagami said.

"Yep!" Konata nodded.

"So you have to teach me Wing Chun so that I can fight along side you." Kagami said.

"Well, if you're really that interested in learning, I'll do my best to teach you!" Konata said. She motioned to Tony. He came over.

"Hey, what's up Kon-kon?" Tony asked, Hachiman having come over too.

"Would you mind if I used your training room to teach Kagami how to fight?" Konata asked.

"I wouldn't mind at all!" Tony said. "You interested in learning, Kagami?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, I was also wondering if you could drop by once in a while and maybe see if you could add anything?" Kagami asked.

"Oh, what, I'm not enough?" Konata teased.

"No, that's not it! I just really want to learn as much as I possibly can, you know?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah, I understand." Konata said.

"I would be happy to Kagami! Whenever you like." Tony said.

"Think you could stay for my first lesson?" Kagami asked. "I was gonna ask if Kona would like to teach me now!" Kagami said.

_Man she seems excited about this..._ Tony thought. "I can ask Tsukasa what she's doing..." Tony said.

"I wouldn't push yourself kid." Hachiman said.

"What do you mean?" Tony asked.

"You already pushed your body during that fight. It was only because of that song Tsukasa sang that your body has held out this long. Pretty soon, you're gonna crash, why bring it on any sooner than you have to?" Hachiman asked.

"Can't you do something about that?" Tony asked.

"I think it better I don't. That way, you'll learn something about restraint." Hachiman said.

"Great, so I'm going to get knocked out with pain again, huh?" Tony asked.

"Well, it might not be so bad this time. It'll still be pretty bad though." Hachiman said.

"Well if I'm going down, I might as well go out with a bang." Tony smirked. Hachiman sighed.

"Do what you want." He said. Tony nodded and walked over to Tsukasa.

"Hey Tsukasa, what are you going to do now?" Tony asked.

"Well... It depended on what you were doing..." Tsukasa said. "I didn't want to make plans without asking you first..." Tsukasa said. The shy way she said it made Tony smile.

"What were you thinking?" Tony asked.

"Well... I would like to go with Teri-chan and Mika-chan and hang out a little... You're free to come along!" Tsukasa added. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind..." Tsukasa said. Tony sneaked a glance at Mikado. She was staring at him intensely. She either really wanted him to come, or she really, really didn't. Tony used his finely honed instinct into all things female to debate it in his head. Eventually, he innie minnie minnied moed it. He chose to stay and oversee Kagami's training.

"I think I'll stick here. Kagami was going to start training in Wing Chun under Kon-kon. She asked if I wanted to stay here so that I can see if I have anything to add." Tony asked. Glancing at Mikado, she smiled warmly. _Man, she really doesn't want me there... _ Tony chuckled in his mind.

"Onee-chan is learning to fight?" Tsukasa asked.

"Yeah, it surprised me too." Tony said. "But, she wants to learn, so I want to teach with Kon-kon!" Tony said.

"Alright then Kan-kun. Me, Teri-chan and Mikado are going to hang out then... Call me if you need me or if you want to come!" Tsukasa said. Tony smiled as she scurried off to her new friends. He turned back to see Inori and Matsuri talking to Kagami and Konata. Hachiman not visible in the room, Tony guessed that he had departed. He walked back over.

"So what are you two going to do?" Kagami asked.

"We're going to go see a movie together!" Matsuri said, putting her arm around Inori's shoulder.

"So what's going on between you two now?" Kagami asked. Matsuri cocked her head to the side.

"What do you mean Imoto?" Matsuri asked.

"Are you two dating? Is this a serious relationship?" Kagami asked. Inori averted her gaze for a moment and Matsuri turned somber.

"We'll have to talk about this later Imoto." Matsuri said seriously. She turned and led Inori out of the room following Tsukasa and her friends. Tony looked around. Tadao and Miki had been watching the spectacle from a distance before walking up.

"You hear all that?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah." Tadao said.

"What do you think Dad? Would you accept them if they were serious?" Kagami asked. Tadao crossed his arms and thought. After a few moments, he sighed.

"I don't know. I've been thinking about this as well..." Tadao said.

"Is this about religion? Or yourself?" Konata asked. Kagami gasped a little and looked at her.

"Myself, mostly. I would also have to think about it from a religious stand point, but I don't think that's the main obstacle here..." He said. "The thing is... I only just recently began seriously thinking lesbian relations as anything that could be real. To add incest onto that..." Tadao sighed. Miki put a hand on his back. "What do you think Miki?" Tadao asked.

"I think it's their life." Miki said. "If this makes them truly happy..." Miki smiled. Tadao sighed.

"I need to think about this... Tsukasa went with her friends, what are you doing Kagami?" Tadao asked.

"I'm gonna stay here for a little while if that's okay." Kagami said.

"Fine by me." Tadao smiled. "Maybe me and Miki will go on a date!" Tadao said.

"Ooooh, I'm game for that..." Miki hugged onto Tadao's arm as the two left. This entire time, Miyuki and Masuta had seemed to be in deep conversation, ignoring anything else that had been going on.

"I agree, her short hair would make for a warrior's cut, which would explain armor and weapons, but what was the thing behind her..." Masuta asked.

"And why would she be wearing plate armor?" Miyuki asked.

"What are you guys talking about?" Tony asked as the three approached.

"There was a mysterious girl we saw during your final match. We couldn't see any features because she was dressed in a full body cloak." Miyuki said.

"She was completely hidden from our view, but we could make out vague details based on educated guesses." Masuta said.

"So... You're telling me... that there was a woman observing us... with a full suit of armor... a weapon on her side... and something jutting out of her, er... tail." Tony said.

"Yes." Masuta said.

"Basically." Miyuki said. "Except it didn't look like a full suit. She moved too freely." Miyuki said.

"Uh-huh." Tony nodded. "Well, that's lovely." Tony said. "Why would there be an armored warrior watching me, Kon-kon and Tsuki?" Tony asked.

"She was more watching you than any the other two." Masuta said.

"Though she noticed Konata. You were the main focus of her attention." Miyuki said.

"Maybe someone ELSE sent to kill you?" Masuta chuckled.

"If that were the case, why wouldn't she attack during the match? Any more than what we were fighting and we would probably have been killed already." Tony said.

"That's true..." Masuta said. "You were pushed to the edge there in that last battle and mostly got you ass kicked." He chuckled.

"Hey, that's!... very true." Tony said.

"Well, then we just need to get to the Spirit of the Wind that much quicker! That way, we can get powered up before she makes her move!" Konata said. "So, you find a way to get there Kan-kan?" Konata asked.

"Kind of. It may be a little bit before we can get there. It's about that thing I did when my eyes glowed. I get access to a massive amount of energy that I can teleport us with." Tony said.

"Coolio." Konata said. They turned to Masuta and Miyuki. "So, Kagami's parent went on a date. Her sisters went on a date. Why don't you two?" Konata asked. Masuta and Miyuki sighed in unison. They simply turned around and left together, not saying another word. "Think I annoyed them?"

"Maybe, but we can get annoyed by them not going out and constantly trying to tell us that there's nothing going on between them." Kagami said.

"A bunch of people who annoy each other. Sounds like a family to me." Tony smiled.

"If they get married and you get married and Kona gets married with me..." Kagami smiled. "Then we will literally all be family. You'll be my brother in law through Tsukasa, Miyuki will be my sister in law through Masuta." Kagami said, getting excited.

"Kon-kon will be your sister in law too." Tony said.

"Huh? What?" Kagami was surprised.

"Kon-kon is my sister, so she'll be your sister in law." Tony said.

"Konata isn't your blood sister." Kagami said. "Besides, I wouldn't care about that anyway."

"She'll be even more of my sister since she'll be my sister in law after I marry Tsukasa and you marry her." Tony said.

"It might be a while you know." Konata said. "Our marriage is still against the law." She said.

"Come on, don't be a downer!" Kagami said.

"I think we're gonna have to find out what's going on with that..." Tony said.

"Yeah! But we're gonna change that! There is one thing though Kona." Kagami said.

"Hm?" Konata hummed.

"It's something called Shudo." Kagami said.

"What's that?" Tony asked.

"Shudo is basically a relationship between a master and a student that existed in ancient Japan." Kagami said. "This kind of stuff was also in places like ancient Greece. Sparta, for example, actually encouraged you take a fellow warrior as a lover on the battle field. It inspired courage because they didn't want to be seen shrinking from a battle in front of their lover." Kagami said.

"Shudo was mostly between males though, Kagami." Konata said. "And it wasn't a permanent relationship like marriage." Konata said.

"Even so. At least for now, we could actually be interpreted as lovers." Kagami said.

"That type of relationship typically ends at the coming of age. It would only last until you were twenty." Konata said.

"Kona..." Kagami said. "You seem so adamantly against this..." She said sadly.

"That's because I don't want us to be interpreted as lovers." Konata said. Kagami was taken aback.

"Wh...What?" She asked.

"I want us to BE lovers." Konata said. "Our love is true. It doesn't end at your coming of age. It doesn't end at all. We don't need to be "interpreted" as lovers." Konata said. "We already ARE lovers."

"Kona..." Kagami could almost feel tears coming to her eyes.

"So. Shall we get started?" Konata smiled. She put her fist in her hand and bowed. Kagami stood for a moment, feeling her heart warm. She brushed away tears with a happy smile. She studied the movement and duplicated it. Konata giggled. "Kagami do you know why we do this?" Konata asked. Kagami hummed.

"I'm going to be honest, I really don't. I just saw you and that old martial artist do it in that video of the tournament in Lohan." Kagami said.

"Ah, well you see..." Konata began to describe the original reasons behind the motion, and then why it was inverted by Wing Chun practitioners, both of which have been skipped for time.

"That's interesting..." Kagami said.

"I honestly never knew what it was, but you did it before every fight, so I assumed it was just a greeting..." Tony chuckled. "That's why I tried to do it back to you when you did it." Tony said.

"I noticed that. We were kind of in a weird place for me to explain it then though." Konata smiled. "Alright, so. Let's start with a basic stance. This one is called Gee Kim Yeung Ma." Konata said. She walked over to Kagami and looked her up and down. "You're way too stiff. Just... relax. Stand naturally." Konata said. Kagami sighed and tried to relax herself.

_You never realize that you have no idea how to stand naturally until someone tell you to..._ Kagami thought to herself. She stood as naturally as she could.

"Alright, now make a fist in both hands." Konata demonstrated. Kagami mimicked her. "And bring them to around the bottom of your ribs, but don't let them past your torso." Konata said. Kagami nodded and followed Konata's movements.

"Alright..." Kagami said.

"Now bring your feet together, heels touching." Konata said. "Keep your back straight. Now, bend your knees and swing your toes out." Konata said. Kagami replicated it once again. _She's learning this pretty quickly..._ Konata noted. "Now do the heels as well." Konata said. Konata dropped the stance herself as Kagami did it. She moved over to her girlfriend and motioned to her knees. "There's gonna be a lot of pressure of the knees here." Konata said. "The knees are also pressing inwards. Your legs may hurt from this much, but it's normal." Konata said.

"Mm... No, not really." Kagami said.

"Hmm..." Konata looked around her student. "Usually, people who are comfortable in this stance for their first time are doing it wrong... But you're not. This is already perfect." Konata said. "Huh. Alright then, now do all of the previous movements in reverse." Konata said. Kagami followed instructions and reversed all of her movements. "End it with straightening up and breathing in and out." Konata said.

"So... How would I fight from this stance?" Kagami asked. Konata sighed.

"You don't. This isn't a fighting stance, I can't stress that enough. This is simply a stance to help you develop your balance and leg muscles." Konata said. Kagami sighed.

"I know you're doing this the right way, but is there any way I could learn something to help me in the mean time? If someone attacked me tomorrow and neither of you were there, how could I defend myself?" Kagami asked. Konata stared at her for a moment.

"Kagami, I can't teach you Wing Chun stances if you don't have good balance. I can give you certain tips and tricks that will help you in a fight, but I can't teach you legitimate Wing Chun like that." Konata said. Kagami shrugged.

"I'd love to learn Wing Chun, but I don't have an issue being a faker." Kagami said.

"Well... First off, there's one thing I can't stress enough." Konata said.

"What's that?" Kagami asked.

"There's only ever one surefire way to make it out of a fight." Konata said. Kagami's eyes perked up. "The only way to survive a fight for sure is to avoid it in the first place. Diffuse the fight through any way possible before you start a fight." Konata said.

"Oh, you mean like the way you diffused that fight with the guys at the diner on our date?" Kagami asked. Konata scratched the back of her head.

"I'll admit, I was showing off for you." Konata chuckled. She got serious again. "But in all seriousness, AVOID A FIGHT WHEN POSSIBLE."

"Talk to them, keep their mind busy. If you know for an absolute fact that a fight is completely and totally unavoidable, strike when they speak. Keep talking, keep asking them questions, keep them thinking. Then hit them with everything you've got." Tony interjected.

"That's kind of cowardly..." Kagami commented.

"Better a coward than a corpse." Tony said. "You never know what other people are capable of." He said.

"If you looked at me on the street, you'd never imagine that I know Wing Chun. You've known me for years and you only just found out about my martial arts." Konata said.

"I suppose that's right." Kagami said. "So, hit while they think and speak." Kagami said, then nodded.

"When you make a fist, make sure your thumb isn't actually past your fingers. Have it in the crook that your fingers create on the side of your first." Konata said. Kagami made another fist and looked at it. She tried both ways.

"I don't feel a difference." She said. Konata walked over and grabbed Kagami's hand and arm.

"Make a fist with your thumb past your fingers." Konata said. Kagami did so. "Now, don't let me bend your wrist." Konata said. She put some strength in her arms as she bent Kagami's wrist with ease. "Now do it the other way." Konata said. Kagami put the thumb on her finger instead of past them. "Now, same thing." Konata said. She put some more strength into her arms. Kagami's wrist stayed straight much easier.

"Wow... I feel the difference now." Kagami said. "It's much stronger." Kagami said. "Why is that?" She sounded very interested.

"Well, there's a flow of energy that flows through your hand." Konata said, tracing a half circle around the inner part of Kagami's hand. "When your thumb is past that finger, it breaks the connection." Konata said. "How to explain..." Konata thought.

"A hose?" Tony suggested.

"Right!" Konata said. "Good idea Kan-kan. When you break the flow in a hose, it's much easier to move it after the break it, right?" Konata said.

"Yeah, that makes sense." Kagami smiled. "These are cool tips." Kagami said. She looked down at the ground and thought for a moment. "If I can combine this stuff with a good posture, like you were trying to teach me..." Kagami trailed off. She began going through the movements that Konata was teaching her earlier. She went through them slowly. She stopped at one point, her knees bent. Konata raised an eyebrow, interested in where Kagami was going with this. "If I..." Kagami trailed off, talking to herself. Remembering what she had seen Konata do in the past, she kept her back straight and put a hand out. She breathed in and out, trying to make a stance. Konata raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"What on Earth... Kagami, you're a natural." She said. She walked around Kagami. "Almost perfect already." She commented. She looked at Kagami's arm, the one that wasn't still at her side. Konata tapped the elbow off of her body. "Keep the elbow from touching your body." Konata said. She looked up. "Your shoulders are too stressed." Konata said. "You need to turn off your shoulders or this becomes a contest of strength." Konata said.

"What do you mean... Turn them off?" Kagami asked.

"Well..." Konata thought. She walked in front of Kagami. "Imagine you take a nail and a hammer. You hit the nail with the hammer and it goes down." Konata said. "Now, your shoulder is the nail." Konata put her clenched hand on her shoulder. "Now, strike it with the hammer." Konata said, pretending to bring her other fist down on her shoulder, bringing the shoulder down. She dropped her other shoulder.

"Ah..." Kagami looked at her shoulder. She breathed and did her best to drop it.

"That's pretty good for your first time..." Konata said.

"Looks like Kagami is practically a genius when it comes to this stuff." Tony said. Konata looked around Kagami again.

"Your stance is amazing for someone starting out." Konata commented. She was briefly reminded of Kagami's adeptness at learning the move she showed her earlier that she used to flip Tony. It was incredibly unlikely anyone could just naturally come up and almost perfect a stance of Wing Chun by watching a video of a Wing Chun practitioner. Still, here Kagami was, using a stance she modified from a basic stance to be almost exactly like Konata's Siu Nim Tau stance.

"How is this?" Kagami asked.

"Incredible." Konata said. "Your grounding is amazing." Konata said. She came around and put a hand on top of Kagami's wrist. "Well, I guess we continue from here..." Konata said, trying to keep up. Kagami was picking it up at a pace Konata had never seen with all of the people she had seen trained.

"Am I getting it quickly?" Kagami asked.

"Much faster than I did and Master Liu said that I learned it at a crazy rate." Konata said.

"Well, I've always been quick to pick things up! Maybe this is just something like that." Kagami suggested.

"Yeah, but not this quickly... This is insane." Konata said.

"Maybe Kagami is an angel!" Tony suggested grandly. "I know her sister is." He said before laughing.

"Do angels know how to fight?" Konata asked. Tony blinked a few times.

"I was joking Konata." He said.

"I'm not... With everything that's going on, maybe Kagami has some mystic background that no one knows about." Konata said. "Maybe she IS an angel that was sent to Earth." Konata said. Kagami blushed and fidgeted a little.

"Thanks Kona..." She smiled. Konata shook her head.

"I'm not flattering you. Maybe you lost your memory?" Konata asked, looking into Kagami's eyes to assure she was serious. Kagami had to stare at her for a moment to understand that she legitimately wasn't joking.

"I remember everything perfectly, Kona." Kagami said. "I remember when we first met. I remember when Tsukasa first met you. I remember my childhood. I didn't lose any of my memories." Kagami said. "There is nothing mystic about me. I don't have some crazy origin story, I'm just me." Kagami said. "I'm the me that's a twin." Kagami said. She took Konata's hand. "I'm the me that gets lonely whenever you're not around." She said. She took Konata into a warm hug. "I'm the me that fell in love with you and will always love you." Kagami said. She could feel Konata smile cutely into stomach.

"Kagamin..." Konata chimed. "You went deredere Kagamin..." Konata mumbled.

"I'm ALWAYS deredere for you Kona." Kagami smiled.

"... Does that mean I can call you a Tsundere now?" Konata asked. Kagami couldn't help but giggle at the lovable little loli.

"There is no Tsun, only dere." Kagami giggled.

"No... There's still some tsuntsun in there. There's gotta be." Konata said. She brought her head from Kagami's stomach and looked up. Kagami looked at her girlfriend to see a long missed catgrin. "Cute Kagami is cute, but I need ya to breathe some fire at me sometimes." Konata said. "THAT'S who I fell in love with." Konata smiled at her younger lover. Kagami stared at Konata for a moment in disbelief. "Be you Kagami. If you're not, how can I be me?" Konata asked. Her question broke Kagami's from her trance. Kagami smiled and chuckled, closing her eyes for a brief moment. She planted a set of knuckles firmly on top of Konata's head.

"... Idiot..." She mumbled. "I was trying to get even with you for before..." Kagami giggled.

"Kagamin, don't keep count like that... I love you, we can't try to get each other back like that." Konata smiled. Kagami sighed with a large smile on her face.

"I love you too Kona." Kagami said, grounding her knuckles a little bit. Konata giggled.

"Now..." Konata cleared her throat and backed up. "Shall we get back to it?" Konata gave great effort to putting her professional persona back on. Konata put her hand in her fist and bowed. Kagami replicated it.

* * *

**POV Miyuki (Second time she gets a POV this story. Seriously, go look. Isn't that sad?)**

Miyuki and Masuta walked down the street.

"Alright, so what do you want to do?" Masuta asked.

"Tsukasa can't fight." Miyuki said suddenly. The statement was random and blunt enough that Masuta wasn't exactly sure how to respond.

"Er... What?" Masuta asked.

"Teach me. Teach me like you did Kanpeki-san. I want to learn." Miyuki said. Masuta became very serious.

"Ototo is much different from you, Miyuki." Masuta said. "No offense, but he's a little more physically fit than you are." Masuta said.

"Then give me the facts. I'll work with them." Miyuki said. "Teach it to me. I don't need to know it all, but I want to know enough to defend Tsukasa." Miyuki said.

"Don't you trust Ototo and Konata?" Masuta asked.

"Kanpeki-san and Konata-san are good, but him, her, and me are better." Miyuki said.

"Those two have had years and years of training on their side. You can't match that with pure intelligence." Masuta said. "Don't get me wrong, you're brilliant, but even that can't make up the difference." Miyuki couldn't help but blush at the mixed praise.

"I know that I can't match them... Not yet, at least. But I can defend against small threats such as robbers and molesters." Miyuki said. Masuta sighed.

"You're not going to budge on this, are you?" He asked, sounding thoroughly exhausted.

"Not at all~." Miyuki said in a quiet, sing-song voice. Masuta was likely one of the only people to ever hear that voice from her. Even in his sour mood he couldn't help but smile at it.

"I guess it can't be helped..." Masuta sighed, shrugged, and smiled the smile of the doomed. "I'll help teach you whatever I can." Masuta said.

"Shall we start at my house?" Miyuki asked.

"That would be best." Masuta said. "I'm guessing you're wanting to keep this from the others, aren't you?" Masuta asked. Miyuki nodded.

"Namely, Tsukasa. If she knew about this, I would bet she'd want to stop me." Miyuki said. "She wouldn't want me to put myself in harms way." Miyuki said.

"And you're going to do it anyway." Masuta said. Miyuki gave Masuta a very rare, sly grin.

"If you're any good at teaching, I wouldn't be in harms way, now would I?" She said. Masuta chuckled.

"My teaching isn't something that can be doubted." He said proudly. "It's your ability to learn the physical side that would hold you back." He teased. Miyuki smiled a little wider.

"So you'll teach me?" Miyuki said.

"For self defense purposes only." Masuta said.

"But you ARE teaching me?" Miyuki asked.

"Yes. I AM teaching you." Masuta said.

"Good." Miyuki said. The two continued walking.

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

Tsukasa, Mikado, and Tereya walked down the street, talking merrily about the most random of subjects. Tereya, though hiding behind Mikado for the most part, seemed a little more talkative than normal.

"So." Mikado stopped the conversation suddenly. It caused Tsukasa to look at her in surprise. "How did you and Tony meet?" Mikado asked. Tsukasa smiled.

"Onee-chan brought him into the group. I'm not sure why, but that's how we met." Tsukasa said.

"Love at first sight?" Mikado asked. Tsukasa blushed.

"I... I don't think so... He... Kind of tried to date Onee-chan first..." Tsukasa said. Mikado reeled back a little while Tereya let loose a shy gasp.

"No. Way..." Mikado chuckled. "Did he fail miserably?" Mikado asked.

"They actually did go out on a date." Tsukasa said.

"Get OUT!" Mikado shouted, laughing as she playfully shoved Tsukasa back a few feet. The action surprised Tsukasa, who ended up on her rear.

"Owie..." Tsukasa mumbled as she rubbed her rear. She pushed herself back up. "Why did you do that?" She asked Mikado, her yellow bow flat against her head. Mikado suddenly felt bad for a habit she'd had for a long time.

"Sorry..." Mikado scratched her head ruefully.

"S-She does t-that... sometimes..." Tereya smiled a small smiled from behind Mikado. Tsukasa looked at her. Tereya didn't seem to be hiding from Tsukasa so much as she was everything else around them.

_This must be how she is all the time..._ Tsukasa thought to herself. "It's alright, you just surprised me is all." Tsukasa smiled.

"When did you fall for him?" Mikado asked. Tsukasa looked at Tereya again. She seemed interested as well. However, even greater than her nostalgia of how she and her love met, Tsukasa was curious about the two girls in front of her.

"Maybe I'll tell you..." Tsukasa said with a smile.

"Muo!" Mikado shouted.

"If you answer a few of my questions." Tsukasa said. Mikado stared at her intensely for a moment.

"What kind of questions?" Mikado asked.

"Like how did you two meet?" Tsukasa asked. Mikado and Tereya looked at each other for a moment. They both looked up with an odd unity, as if the answer were in the sky. They were thinking so hard about it, in fact, that they had stopped walking. Tereya gasped a little knowingly and smiled. Mikado looked at her.

"Did you remember?" Mikado asked. Tereya giggled a little bit and looked warmly at Mikado. The look was endearing enough that Mikado had to look away and blush a little.

"O-of course." Tereya smiled. "How c-could I forget?" She asked. Mikado suddenly felt guilty that she had forgotten. Despite that, she still couldn't seem to remember their first meeting.

"Um..." Mikado scratched her cheek sheepishly, looking higher into the sky, probably in the hope that the heavens themselves would write out the answer in the clouds.

"Hm hm." Tereya giggled a little more. "It was a long time ago." She started.

* * *

**A long time ago, in a school far, far away...**

"Ha! Stupid little kid!" A faceless, though rather large, kid laughed. Tereya landed on her rear with a thud. Tears poured down her cheeks as a few more kids gathered around her. She looked around, desperate for help.

"You don't have any parents~!" Another kid chanted. Tereya looked around at everyone. She had lost her parents several years ago. As bad as this all was at the moment, it was relatively tame to how she was ordinarily treated. A kid came up and kicked her in the right arm before turning tail and running like his life depended on it. Tereya gasped in pain and grabbed her arm. Ever since she had gotten the burns on the right arm, she had been an outcast. It had been years, and yet the bullying never stopped. They never tired of it. The first kid approached and drew his fist back. Tereya closed her eyes in anticipation of the attack.

"Hey you idiot!" She heard a loud voice shout. A girl with bright pink hair launched herself into the middle of the fray and pounded the bully in the face. She looked no older than Tereya, but at that moment, she seemed centuries the bullied girl's elder. She stood tall in front of everyone. "Now stop with all this stuff! How could you all do this to someone?" She yelled at everyone.

"Who's she?" One whispered.

"Isn't she that new kid?" Another answered.

"Why is she sticking up for that thing?" Yet another asked.

"If any of you idiots wanna pick on her, you're gonna have to get through me to do it!" The new girl shouted. All of the other kids looked at each other.

* * *

**Present**

"Ooooh, now I remember!" Mikado shouted.

"That was brave Mika-chan!" Tsukasa said. "Then they all left you alone?" Tsukasa asked. Mikado chuckled nervously.

"Well..." Mikado mumbled, scratching her cheek and averting her gaze.

* * *

**Very nearly as long a time ago, but about five minutes in the future...**

"Y-You didn't have to d-do that you know..." Tereya mumbled as she bandaged the girl up. The girl looked away and pouted.

"'Course I did. What, did you expect me to just leave ya there, gettin' beat up?" The girl said, wincing when Tereya touched one of the bruises. The girl was only slightly interested in the fact that Tereya seemed adept at doing such things with one hand.

"Still... T-Thank you..." Tereya mumbled. The girl looked up at her, though one eyes was forced closed by a welt just above it, and smiled.

"Any time! What's your name?" The girl asked. Tereya started fidgeting, seeming very scared all of the sudden.

"M-My name..." She mumbled.

"Yeah!" The girl said.

"T-Tereya... Tereya Hanikamiya..." Tereya said. The girl smiled widely and offered a hand.

"I'm Mikado! You're gonna be my new friend!" Mikado shouted. Tereya blushed at the determination in the young girl's voice. Had she not just gotten beaten badly to defend her, Tereya would be extremely weary of this girl.

"Are... Are you s-sure?" Tereya asked. Mikado smiled with teeth showing this time.

"Absolutely! We're gonna be the very best friends Teri-chan!" She shouted. Tereya looked extremely shocked at the nickname, something Mikado took note of.

"Teri...chan...?" Tereya repeated. Mikado looked a little sheepish.

"Er... Too much? Guess I did over do it a little..." She chuckled. Tereya shook her head and smiled.

"N-No... I l-like it... Thank you..." Tereya smiled. Mikado smiled widely again.

"Teri-chan it is! Let's be great friends from here on!" Mikado shouted. Tereya smiled a very small smile, tears coming to her eyes as she nodded.

"Yeah... Let's..." She smiled.

* * *

**Present**

"And that's that!" Mikado said. "We met that day, and we've been together ever since!" Mikado said loudly. Tereya smiled in nostalgia. Mikado had to smile at seeing the girl's smile, knowing that simply her presence had turned that horrific experience into something worth smiling over.

"Ah..." Tsukasa smiled. "That sounds really cool... Almost like when I met Kona-chan..." Tsukasa commented to herself, though nothing intentionally making the comparison out loud.

"Oh? Who's that?" Mikado asked. Tsukasa smiled.

"She's one of my best friends!" She said with a smiled. "You saw her on the train the day you met Kan-kun. She fought in the tournament! She was the girl with blue hair!" Tsukasa said. Mikado and Tereya nodded.

"So how did you two meet?" Mikado asked. Tsukasa smiled at the happy memory, though it had been scary at the time.

* * *

**Not so long ago, on a street not an unfair distance away...** **Tsukasa was under an attack!**

Tsukasa walked along. She didn't particularly care for going quickly, there wasn't much point in going home. Homework and then sleep were all that ever seemed to await her, so she had gotten in the habit of ditching her older twin to walk around. She was now walking down the street, heading lazily home to fail on her homework, as per usual. She sighed and looked up as she suddenly ran into someone. It was a large man with blonde hair.

"For me, but can you help me find the reason, listed on this page?" He asked. Tsukasa backed up a step and stared, fear in her eyes. He looked confused as well. He then cleared his throat.

"A-mer-i-can..." He said. "Many people believe that rose." He seemed to ask. Tsukasa was frozen in place when suddenly, there was a flash of blue.

"Don't worry Akira, I'll save you!" The girl, even shorter than Tsukasa herself, flashed in front of her. "Round one: Fight!" She shouted.

"Huh?" The American cocked his head to the side. Konata walked up and punched him in the gut ten times quickly.

"Senpuukyaku!" Konata shouted as she released a beautiful hurricane kick. The American was thrown onto his back. "Yatta!" Konata cheered.

* * *

**Back at the present once more**

"So she saved you from some dangerous American?" Mikado asked. Tsukasa chuckled nervously.

"Not exactly... He was just trying to ask for directions, but I didn't understand him when he was asking, so I got scared. She showed up and helped then..." Tsukasa said. Both Mikado and Tereya nodded.

"That's cool. She's a really good fighter." Mikado said. "Even though she doesn't look like it at all." Mikado added as an after thought. Tsukasa giggled again.

"Yeah, she doesn't look like she can really do that kind of stuff, especially not when you first meet her like that..." Tsukasa said.

"I can understand that... So where are we going, anyway?" Mikado asked. She looked around as they had been unconsciously walking the entire time after they had begun sharing stories. They seemed to be outside a mall.

"Ooooh! Let's go watch a movie!" Tsukasa said.

"What's playing?" Mikado looked up. "Oh! Avengers!" Mikado said. She felt a tug and looked down at Tereya, shaking her head almost pitifully. "Er..." She looked back up to see the other options. None of them seemed particularly appealing. There was one, one she knew Tereya would enjoy, but she wasn't altogether sure if Tsukasa was. It was a child's movie, after all, and even when someone liked it, they wouldn't generally tell their new friends something like that. However, both Tsukasa and Tereya seemed to have their hearts set on watching a movie, so Mikado figured she could at least suggest it.

"U-Ummm..." Tereya mumbled.

"We... We could watch Lion King in 3D..." Mikado suggested. Tsukasa looked at Mikado with a smile. Mikado had to reel back. Tsukasa's smile was almost literally beaming. It was almost as if divine light was radiating from her.

"Yes." Tsukasa said simply. She grabbed Mikado and Tereya as the three practically ran into the theater.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya Luckies~! I'm Akira Kogami, your navigator~!"

"And I'm Minoru Shiraishi, the assistant!"

"Hey." Akira shifted personalities almost instantly. Minoru got a chill down his back.

"Y-...Yes?" Minoru asked.

"Why aren't we in any of the new projects?" Akira asked.

"Well... I'm sure there was just not a good way to fit us in! Maybe there wasn't enough money to pay us?" Minoru suggested.

"I want some damn parts. Just because I'm rich now doesn't mean I don't enjoy acting." Akira said.

"Does anyone even know about the other projects?" Minoru asked. Akira brightened up.

"Oh, I dunno!" She said. She looked back at the camera. "Everyone, it's been three long months. We missed you soooo~ MUCH!" Akira shouted, flailing her arms to emphasis exactly how much you all were missed. "However, there are reasons! Actually GOOD ones this time~!" Akira shouted.

"Acsuperman is announcing that they're working on even more stories than this one." Minoru said.

"Which is why this story has been slow recently! There are two main ones being written, and a few smaller ones that are being done on the side! Finally, a reason for being late that you all can actually SEE!" Akira restated.

"Brainstorming for other stories on the side of this one has been taking a lot of time, not to mention all of the other excus- reasons that have been given in the past that are consuming even MORE time." Minoru said.

"Luckily for us, we're under CONTRACT~! So this story can't end any time soon, or we get a butt load of money!" Akira shouted. "And he hasn't got the dough to cough up." Akira chuckled.

"That being the case, we're all hoping these speed up once again as other stories are written." Minoru said.

*Music Tone*

"Oh, I guess that's all the time we have for the day! We'll see you all next time! Bye-nii~!" Akira shouted, waving.

"..."

"So, any chance we're getting in the other ones Minoru?"

"I don't think there's much of one... The others don't really have room for us."

"Feh. Lazy writers..."

"Akira!"

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

Yeah, that took a while. However, I did manage to get out a new chapter of It's a Lucky Life! For everyone who hasn't read it... Well... It's up. It is early, it's not Christmas, but aren't things coming earlier every year? That's one of the main ones I'm working on. The other is another idea that I've had for a very, VERY long time. Like since early Luckier Star. But now I have a new take on it, so it's gonna be easier to write! Hopefully I can get that out quickly as well! Of course, I have at least four ideas for other stories that I've been exploring. Anyway I'm gonna cut this short. Have a good one everyone, let me know what you think!


	52. Chapter 52: It's a Training Montage!

Chapter 52: Training Begins!

Oh my god, I actually left that last chapter's name "To be announced". I usually just put that there while I think of a chapter name and replace it later. I wonder if that's how the last episode got it's name...  
Alrighty. So, this was kind of the same as last chapter. I came out with a chapter of It's a Lucky Life, then I came with this. Think it's even been the same time period (around three months). Geezy creezy.  
New reviewers! Awesome! I got so pumped up when I saw them, I got to work immediately! I hit a couple of blocks (one of which took the better part of a month and a half...), but here it is! Please enjoy!

* * *

**In the Training Room**

"Wow, again Kagami..." Konata said. She adjusted Kagami's stance a little bit. "Perfect." She said. "Your stance is perfect." Konata said.

"Awesome!" Kagami shouted with joy. Konata still had an incredulous look on her face. "So, how am I doing?" Kagami asked.

"You're months into training." Konata said. "Your stance, your balance, your... everything..." Konata studied Kagami for a moment. Kagami blinked, at a loss for words.

"Huh?" Kagami asked.

"It took me several months to get to where you are now." Konata said.

"Is that... bad?" Kagami asked. Konata sighed and shook her head.

"No, not bad. Just... perplexing..." Konata said. "You get really strong when you go all Tsuntsun, sure, but... This kind of progress is just unnatural." Konata thought out loud.

"Hey!" Kagami said.

"No offense." Konata added, though more as an afterthought than of any guilt. Kagami sighed. "I didn't give much thought to it when you learned that arm lock earlier with such ease, but... Now that I think about it, it wasn't that simple a move." Konata said.

"You've also learned the things I've taught you rather easily." Tony said.

"Maybe I'm just a natural?" Kagami suggested.

"No, I was a natural." Konata said. "You're supernatural."

"Ahehe... I'm not entirely sure how I should take that..." Kagami mumbled.

"Yeah I'm not entirely sure how I meant it." Konata said. "I'd say to take it as a compliment." Konata said.

"Then do I learn weapons soon?" Kagami asked. Konata shook her head.

"No. I know you're learning quickly, but no where near quick enough to warrant being taught any weapons after a day." Konata said.

"Awww..." Kagami sighed.

"Why do you want to learn to use a weapon so much Kagami?" Konata asked. Kagami looked up.

"I wanna be able to defend myself and Tsukasa in case you guys aren't there." She said.

"With what?" Konata asked. Kagami looked confused.

"What do you mean?" Kagami asked.

"Do you intend to carry a weapon around with you? 'Cause I think that's illegal." Konata said.

"I'll just improvise a weapon! You did it when you were in that alley and you defended me from those thugs!" Kagami said.

"Wait wait wait wait wait... wait." Tony interrupted. "When did this happen, what happened, and where?" Tony asked. Konata put her hand up in front of him dismissively.

"Later." She said before briefly turning her attention back to Kagami. "I got lucky Kagami. There just happened to be something I could use. You're not going to get that lucky every time. I don't even want you to be." Konata said. Kagami regarded Konata with a hurt expression.

"What do you mean by that?" Kagami asked. Konata looked almost annoyed.

"Kagami, these are last resort defenses. It's my hope that you never have to use anything I teach you here. I don't want you to HAVE to get lucky." Konata said. "You'd be surprised how little this stuff can actually be used in your normal, every day life." Konata said.

"But our life has been anything but normal recently." Kagami said. "And shouldn't I be learning everything I can while we have this time of peace?" Kagami asked.

"You act as if you're expecting a fight to break out at any second." Konata said.

"Couldn't it?" Kagami shouted. Konata took a step back at Kagami's sudden outburst.

"Kagamin..." Konata began.

"Konata, I just watched you two almost die!" Kagami shouted. "Those guys could have killed you!" The volume of her voice only grew. Konata could only stand and listen to her, unable to put up a defense. It was true, after all. "And even before that..." Kagami said, her voice getting quieter. Her fists were clenched tightly, tightly enough that they were trembling. "A guy just walked up on the street... And he almost killed you and Tony..." Kagami mumbled. "You two keep putting your life on the line for me and Tsukasa..." Kagami's voice cracked. "How can I not want to be there with you... To put everything on the line helping you guys... Maybe the risk would be less with me helping you, ya know?" She asked. "How could you ask me to just sit there and watch as you two constantly get beaten almost to death?" Kagami shouted at Konata. Konata let a sigh loose.

"Kagami, do you know why we fight, me and Kan-kan?" Konata asked.

"Why does anyone fight at all? Why can't we all just... not... fight?" Kagami asked, her mood almost pitiful.

"People have been asking why people fight for as long as people have fought..." Konata said with another sigh. "To ask why we fight is to ask why the leaves fall." Konata said. "It is in their nature." She said. Kagami looked up at her with damp eyes. "For some, they fight for honor. Some do it to achieve harmony." Konata said. "But for people like me and Kan-kan, it's to protect family... To protect friends and home..." Konata said. She smiled. "I suppose the better question is... what's really worth fighting for?" Konata asked Kagami. Kagami stood, seemingly stunned for a moment. "You are why I fight." Konata said. "I may enjoy it, but I fight to protect you and everyone I love." Konata said. "At least..." She trailed off for a moment. "That's what I think." She said, almost to herself. Kagami sighed.

"Kona..." She closed her eyes for a moment, seemingly trying to reel her emotions in. "Please... Don't go overboard. If it comes down to a choice between me and you..." Kagami began to trail off.

"I'm going to choose you, Kagami." Konata said.

"But Kona-!" Kagami began.

"Wow, so this is how Miyuki feels..." Tony commented to himself.

"Kagami, I have to." Konata said. She smirked. "Just like I know I couldn't convince you to put yourself ahead of me if push comes to shove." Konata chuckled. Kagami blushed a bit.

"... Yeah... That's true..." She said. "Even if you say that, I can't really feel happy knowing that you'd sooner die than live if you had the choice." Kagami said.

"I want to live-" Konata said.

"This is kinda depressing." Tony mumbled.

"- it's just that I want you to live more!" Konata said.

"I want you to live more than me though Kona." Kagami said.

"Why are we even talking about this?" Konata asked. "Hopefully, we won't even be faced with a situation like this." Konata said.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Kagami sighed. "Kona..." Kagami said as she closed her eyes in contemplation.

"Yeah Kagamin?" Konata asked in a rather cutesy way. Kagami walked over and put her hand on top of the older girl's head. Moving her hand back and forth, she began to pet her.

"You may be small, cute, and really, really cuddly, but..." Kagami smiled and opened her eyes. "You somehow found a way to be stupid and wise at the same time." Kagami chuckled. Konata hummed a sort of chuckle.

"Ahehe... I'm not entirely sure how I should take that." Konata smiled.

"I know exactly how I meant it. I'd take it as a compliment." Kagami's smile widened a bit. She backed up and went over to the door. "I'm gonna go get drinks, do you two want anything?" Kagami asked.

"Water is fine." Konata said.

"Same here." Tony smiled.

"Alright." Kagami nodded and left the room. Konata sighed a contended sigh, unable to stop a smile from spreading across her lips. Tony walked over.

"Impressive little speech you gave about why we fight Kon-kon." Tony said.

"Thank you." Konata said.

"Where'd it come from?" Tony asked.

"World of Warcraft." Konata said.

"Thought so." Tony smiled.

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

Tsukasa, Tereya and Mikado walked out of the theater, Tsukasa wiping her eyes with a smile.

"I always cry when Mufasa dies." Tereya commented.

"But I don't think I've ever seen someone cry when Scar dies." Mikado said. Tsukasa giggled self-consciously as she finished drying her cheeks.

"Well... He had his own family, even if he was evil. He had a wife and cubs who relied on him, and looked up to him." Tsukasa said. She smiled a little bit. "So I like to think he wasn't all evil." She said.

"Huh..." Tereya said. "I never thought of it that way..." Tereya said. Mikado, however, would not be so easily convinced.

"Yeah, I guess." She said. "But still. He killed Mufasa! How can you defend him after he did something like that? What did Mufasa ever do to him?" Mikado asked. Tsukasa breathed a heavy sigh, one of contemplation.

"He was always compared to his older brother." Tsukasa began. "Just because Mufasa was successful. His father did everything for Mufasa so that he could succeed because he was a prodigy at being a lion. Mufasa was the strongest son. He was the favorite son. Can you really blame Scar for turning out the way he did?" Tsukasa asked. Mikado looked at Tsukasa for a moment, a bit speechless at how much the young airhead had thought about this.

"No, I guess I really can't." Mikado said. "Tsu-chan, how do you know all of this?" She asked curiously. Tsukasa gave another heavy sigh and looked up a bit, seemingly in a daze for a moment before turning back to her two friends with a warm look.

"Knowing that your sibling is better than you in everything that counts is really frustrating, you know?" She asked. "To see them constantly succeed in everything you fail at..." Tsukasa paused for a moment, as if choosing her words carefully. "It isn't fun." She finally decided on, turning her gaze to the sidewalk in front of them. Her friends looked at her for a moment to see if she would continue, but the airhead simply stood, staring. Finally, Mikado decided to speak up.

"Hey, Tsu-chan." She said to catch her attention. Tsukasa looked up as if pulled from a day dream.

"Hm?" She turned to her friend.

"For what it's worth, I like you better than Pigtails." Mikado smiled a genuine smile. Tsukasa stared at her for a moment as if trying to comprehend what she had heard. As what was said to her dawned, she smiled a big smile.

"It's worth a lot, Mika-chan." Tsukasa said. Fully taking it in, she smiled even wider. She giggled giddily. "Thank you Mika-chan!" She shouted and hugged Mikado. Mikado jumped and blushed. But soon, Mikado hugged her back and began jumping up and down along with the airhead.

"Welcome Tsu-chan~!" She chimed. Tereya looked at the two from a small distance away. It was odd. She had never really seen Mikado talk to a lot of other people. For an instant, she wanted to be Tsukasa. She then shook her head and cast the thoughts aside. The whole scene only lasted a handful of seconds, but Tereya felt an eternity go by. When the two friends finally broke apart, the three smiled at each other.

"So what do you guys want to do now? We can probably go to a few other places." Tsukasa said. Mikado thought.

"Want to go see what's for sale in the shops?" Mikado asked. Tsukasa cheered.

"Yeah! I don't have a lot of money, but it's fun looking!" Tsukasa said.

"I've got a bit of pocket change too, maybe I can get something!" Mikado matched her enthusiasm. Tereya smiled a small smile and followed the two as they leaped into the horde of people.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Kagami walked back into the room, three bottles of water balanced precariously in her hand. Tony and Konata each grabbed one and took a drink.

"Thanks Kagami." Tony said.

"I should be thanking you two." Kagami said. "It's your training and your water." She chuckled. "So, what am I learning now?" She asked.

"With all you've done so far, I'm surprised you aren't tired." Konata said.

"It's only been a couple hours! The only thing I regret is that we don't have more time to train!" Kagami said. Tony thought for a moment.

"What's up Kan-kan?" Konata asked.

"I'll have to ask Hachiman about that. I'm sure there's some way he could help with that." Tony said. Kagami smiled and put her hands together in joy.

"Yeah! He's a god, he should have something!" Kagami said. "Man, I wish we had asked him while he was here!" She said.

"Can't you call him at will? Like you did against the ninja guys?" Konata asked. Tony sighed.

"Yeah, but I'd feel bad about calling him as soon as he left." Tony said.

"This is my training though!" Kagami said. "Please? What if Tsukasa's in trouble and I'm the only one there! Then you'll wish you had been a little rude in calling Hachiman, right?" Kagami asked. Tony stared blankly at her.

"Are you really trying to use Tsukasa to get me to call Hachiman?" Tony asked. "First of all, her necklace will call me to her if she's in danger. Second of all, there aren't many situations in which we aren't together, and those opportunities are gonna vanish almost altogether once she's actually moved in and living here." Tony said. "I'm probably gonna be around her even more than you are Kagami." Tony said. Kagami grabbed her twin tails and pulled a little.

"Come on, please?" Kagami asked. Tony sighed. "I'm gonna cry if you don't." Kagami said. Tony's head snapped up.

"You wouldn't dare." He said. Kagami sniffled.

"Y-you hate this... do-don't you...?" She asked. She rubbed her eyes with her sleeves.

"You're playing unfair!" Tony said.

"Do it Kan-kan..." Konata pleaded. Tony looked over at her to see she looked heartbroken at the fake-crying Kagami.

"ALRIGHT FINE!" Tony shouted. He put his hands together. _Hachi Style: God Seal Release._ He thought.

"_Hm? Kid? Didn't I just leave there?_" Hachiman asked. "_Is there trouble__ already?_" He asked.

"_No, but Kagami wanted to ask you a question._" Tony said. Hachiman seemed almost agitated by the name.

"_Her again? She's been pretty needy_ _today._" Hachiman said.

"_You're preaching to the choir on that one Boss._" Tony said. "_She cried so that I would call you for this._"

"_SHE CRIED? Wow, that's just plain playing dirty._" Hachiman said.

"_I know, right? So anyway, she's begun training to learn how to fight. She said she wanted to be able to train more and I let it slip that you might be able to help with that. I remember that you stopped time before when you were first teaching me how to use my abilities. Could you or I or someone do something like that for her too?_" Tony asked. Hachiman was silent for a few moments, letting Tony know that he was thinking.

"_You wouldn't have anywhere near the power to stop time for anywhere near that length of time. You couldn't help her in that regard. But... There is one idea._" Hachiman said, though keeping his thoughts a secret from Tony.

"_What is it?_" Tony asked.

"_I'll just show you..._" Hachiman sighed. Suddenly, the door to the closet opened and Hachiman walked out. "Alright. So, I have an idea, but it may take a bit of time to actually work." Hachiman said.

"What is it?" Kagami asked.

"Have you ever heard of the Multiverse Theory?" Hachiman asked. Kagami nodded.

"Yeah." She said.

"Um... Of course! That's about songs... right?" Konata asked. Kagami smiled and turned to Konata.

"No, you idiot." She said affectionately. "Very basically, the Multiverse Theory is that there are an infinite number of planets and universes that exist. That being said, that means there are an infinite amount of possibilities. So somewhere in existence, there may be a world where I'M teaching YOU how to fight." Kagami explained.

"Ah... So endless possibilities for stuff. Gotcha." Konata nodded.

"So, how do we use that?" Kagami asked.

"I could search the plane of existence to find a certain one. One I'm sure Konata here has heard of." Hachiman said.

"What do you mean? I've never even heard of the multisomething..." Konata said.

"If it's true that there are an infinite number of universes, then so do must if stand that one of them has a time dilation when compared to this one." Hachiman said.

"Time dilation?" Konata asked.

"That means that time moves at a different pace." Kagami explained. Konata gasped.

"The Hyperbolic Time Chamber..." Konata said.

"Exactly. If I search, I'm sure there exists such a place. It would allow for a year in that world to merely take a day in this one." Hachiman said.

"Huh. Cool." Kagami smiled. "If there is a dimension like that, it would definitely go a long way to helping. Thank you." Kagami smiled.

"I love how we aren't even surprised by something like alternate dimensions and real Hyperbolic Time Chambers." Konata said. Kagami chuckled.

"After everything that we've been through, I think it'd take a lot to phase us anymore." Kagami said.

"Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if Kagami suddenly turned out to be an angel." Konata said, while staring at Hachiman. Kagami sighed. Though she was initially flattered, now the concept was almost irritating.

"This again, Konata?" Kagami asked. "Didn't I tell you I wasn't an angel?" She said. Though she said that, she couldn't help but glance over at Hachiman to see how he reacted. Hachiman laughed.

"I can't imagine that would be the case. I would have noticed something like that a while ago." Hachiman said. "You feel weird, but I know the feel of an angel." He commented off-handedly. He glanced at Tony.

"You sure? She's learned everything we've taught her almost instantly." Tony said. "I can't help but think that kind of ability is... supernatural." Tony said.

"So how do you think something like that's possible?" Hachiman gave a look that practically screamed 'Amuse me.'

"Well... Have there ever been any angels to come down to Earth?" Tony asked.

"For any extended period of time? Well, first of all, what do you consider to be an angel?" Hachiman asked.

"Well, angels are typically servants of the gods, right? I'd imagine that they'd have very enhanced physical abilities and even magical abilities to further their role as servants." Tony said. Hachiman raised an eyebrow.

"Impressive. If that's what constitutes an angel to you, then there are many. But not any that typically leave the heavens for an extended period of time, even by mortal standards. At least, none that I know of." Hachiman said. "None coming down at all recently." Hachiman said.

"So, Kagami being an angel is out of the question?" Konata asked. Hachiman thought for a moment.

"Probably." He said. Tony studied him for a moment, though didn't comment. "I don't feel much of an aura from you, Kagami. Even though most mortals have none, you do. That's weird. But it isn't nearly as strong as that of an angel's." Hachiman said.

"Well then. I guess that answers that." Tony said.

"I answer your question Kagami?" Hachiman asked. Kagami thought, casting her gaze up to the ceiling.

"You're gonna look for a Hyperbolic Time Chamber, right?" Kagami asked. Hachiman sighed and nodded.

"I'll look for it. Whether I can even get you to it should I find one is still incredibly debatable." Hachiman said.

"Cool. Thank you so much for all your help, Hachiman." Kagami said.

"Uh-huh." Hachiman mumbled dismissively. "I'll work hard on this, so you better work hard in your training. Remember our deal." Hachiman said.

"Right. If I can do it, you'll help me." Kagami said. Tony and Konata looked between them.

"Do what?" Konata asked.

"With what?" Tony asked. Kagami waved her hand.

"We'll talk about it later, Kona." Kagami said.

"You always say that, but we never do..." Konata said.

"What about me? I don't get to talk to you about it later?" Tony asked.

"I'm gonna go. If I'm gonna find this any time soon, I need to get to work." Hachiman said. He walked over into the closet again and closed the door. When the door creaked back open, he was gone. Suddenly, Tony felt his presence brush against his mind one more time.

"_Boss?_" Tony asked.

"_I'm glad you called me, I was trying to remember to tell you something. There was something odd at the tournament._" Hachiman said.

"_Hm? Odd? How so? What was it?" _Tony asked.

"_It was an aura of divinity. An angel's aura, if you_ _will._" Hachiman said.

"_What? Who? Where? Didn't you just say Kagami wasn't an angel?" _Tony asked.

"_It wasn't Kagami. I couldn't tell who it was. It was too faint for me to pinpoint who it was. I just know it was someone in the_ _crowd._" Hachiman said. Tony thought for a moment.

"_There was a figure that we didn't know who was in the crowd watching the fight. Do you think it could be her?_" Tony asked.

"_Hm? No, it was someone in the group we were in. I still sensed it after I teleported us to your house._" Hachiman said.

"_What does this mean?_" Tony asked.

"_Just be on your guard. I don't know of any angels who have descended to Earth recently enough and the aura was particularly weak. Or they were suppressing their powers._" Hachiman said. "_I don't know what their intentions are, but just try to be careful._" Hachiman said. "_I can't imagine their intentions are good considering they're trying to hide the fact that they're an angel._" Hachiman said.

_"Thanks for the heads up, Boss." _Tony said.

"_It's no problem kid. Just keep your ear to the ground._" Hachiman said as his presence vanished.

"So... Should we go?" They heard a voice say. The three people left in the room turned to see Tsuki and Yutaka standing in a corner, seemingly enjoying the show.

"Tsuki, have you been here this whole time?" Konata asked.

"Yep! Been watching all of it. It's fun to watch you teach." Tsuki said.

"You too Yu-chan?" Konata asked.

"Yeah, it was really fun!" Yutaka said.

"So what do you think Tsuki? Do you think Kagami could be an angel?" Konata asked. Kagami groaned.

"You JUST heard Hachiman say that I'm not an angel, Kona! For the love of all that's holy, stop with the angel talk! Tell her Tony, you heard him!" Kagami shouted.

"Well... er... Yeah..." Tony mumbled. Having Hachiman just tell him he sensed an angel, he couldn't bring himself to disagree with Konata. Feeling like he would be lying, he couldn't get out anything other than a small mumble.

"You too, Tony? GAH! I need to go cool off!" Kagami shouted as she tugged her twin tails. She power-walked out of the room. Konata's gaze lingered on the door her love just left through.

"So..." Konata started. "What do you think Tsuki?" Konata asked. Tsuki scratched the back of her head ruefully.

"I don't think that my contribution would really be appropriate here..." She commented.

"What does that mean?" Konata asked.

"I just don't really think that my opinion would matter here." Tsuki said.

"I think Kagami-sempai is really nice! She could be an angel!" Yutaka piped up.

"Well..." Konata sighed. "Whatever the case may be, I might have just ticked off Kagami pretty badly..." She scratched the back of her head.

"She'll be fine. Just no more angel talk." Tony said.

"I guess I'd better just drop it. I dunno, it just kind of sounded... right." Konata said.

"That said, Kon-kon..." Tony started. He told Konata about what Hachiman had told him.

"I WAS RIGHT!" Konata shouted.

"No. He said it wasn't Kagami." Tony said.

"You never know! He might be mistaken!" Konata shouted.

"I'm sorry Kon-kon, but... This is a bit ridiculous. We've spent as much time on this as we have on teaching Kagami." Tony said.

"I guess..." Konata sighed. "Sorry about that." Konata apologized.

"You don't need to say sorry to me. I think Kagami is the one you ticked off." Tony said.

"Yeah... I'm gonna go apologize for obsessing about this so much." Konata said. Konata walked out of the room.

"Huh. So, what are you guys gonna do?" Tony asked Tsuki. There was a moment of no response. "Tsuki?" He asked, looking over. He was alone in the room. "... How the hell..." He looked around. "... Did she do that? I guess she must have teleported." Tony shrugged. "That sucks. I wanted to talk a bit more." He sighed. He walked over to the wall. He sat down. "I wonder what Aniki is doing." He thought.

* * *

**POV Masuta**

Masuta and Miyuki were walking down the sidewalk, traveling to their home.

"Hey Miyuki." Masuta said.

"Yes?" Miyuki asked.

"Did... Did I make a mistake?" Masuta asked. Miyuki looked over at him and smiled a warm, kind smile.

"About what, Masuta?" She asked.

"Telling Tsukasa to move in with Ototo. I know it might have helped her get over the break up before, but I didn't actually think about it. They're actually doing it. And now, it seems like it could go very wrong if a bad situation were to arise." Masuta said. "Did I make a mistake?" Masuta asked. Miyuki stayed silent for a few moments, seemingly giving the question a great deal of thought. Masuta smiled. He was happy that he could make her think, but it was nonetheless nerve racking. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, Miyuki opened her eyes and spoke.

"So far, it doesn't seem the case." She answered. "She HAS only just moved in though. And while I do admit that there are a great many things that could go awry, so too does it stand to reason that many things could go just as well. I believe that there is a better chance that the two of them will be happy together, even more so now that they're living together." Miyuki said. "Did you make a mistake? I don't believe so. But only time will tell." Miyuki said as she smiled over at Masuta. It was a smile that, while it was rare even for Miyuki, was one that made Masuta's heart skip. It was kind, loving, and very reassuring. He could feel his cheeks heat up. He wanted to see that smile every day. He gave a quick glance around. He knew there was a restaurant around the corner. Now...

"Hey Miyuki..." Masuta started. Miyuki giggled and smiled again at him.

"Yes, Masuta?" Miyuki asked again.

"May I ask a... a hypothetical question?" Masuta asked. Miyuki opened her eyes and gave him a warm eye-smile. Another thing he hoped to see every day.

"If I may give a hypothetical answer, then yes." She said. Masuta smiled and chuckled.

"I have a friend." He started.

"Not fairly surprising." Miyuki interrupted. Masuta smiled a bit wider.

"Not finished." Masuta said, chuckling again.

"Then please continue." Miyuki said. Masuta nodded.

"I have a friend. He went through the special forces, ace in every one of them." Masuta continued.

"Is it you?" Miyuki asked.

"I didn't say that." Masuta said. "Anyway, I have a friend who went through the special forces. He recently moved in with his little brother-"

"It's you." Miyuki said.

"May I finish?" Masuta asked, almost impatiently. It was taking a great deal of courage to talk to her right now. Miyuki giggled a little bit.

"My apologies. Please continue." She said, giving a small, polite bow. Masuta couldn't bring himself to stay irritated with her.

"Anyway... My FRIEND moved in with his little brother. He met a nice, quiet girl through him." Masuta said. Miyuki's eyebrow raised.

"Oh, did he?" She asked, an innocent smile on her face. Masuta felt his breath taken away from. He inhaled and exhaled deeply to calm himself again.

_Years and years of intense training. Combat experience on five continents. An "A" rating with every weapon that shoots a bullet or holds an edge. All of that and I'm still so insanely nervous just talking to her about this..._ Masuta thought."Yes... He did..." Masuta said. Miyuki smiled a bit wider.

"Details, details! Tell me about her, I might know her!" Miyuki said. Masuta smiled again.

"You probably do." Masuta chuckled. "She's beautiful... Kind and generous... An amazing wit-" Masuta began describing.

"Sharp enough to shave with?" Miyuki asked. Masuta laughed loudly at her comment as she demonstrated exactly what he was talking about.

"Perhaps sharper! Might cut your cheek! She's intelligent and proper, but never conceited or egotistical, even though she's more than qualified to be so." Miyuki eye-smiled warmly. "And the prettiest eyes you've ever seen. So, what do you think of her so far?" Masuta asked.

"I have no memory of such a person." Miyuki said.

"Oh yes, and she's very humble." Masuta added with a chuckle. Miyuki giggled a bit.

"So, what about this girl?" Miyuki asked. Masuta swallowed, his face heating up again.

"Well... he was, my friend that is, thinking about... well, about asking her out. On a date." He said. At the moment, he really admired Tony and Konata for their courage in being able to confess to their respective love. "What do you think?" Masuta asked. "Do you think she'd say yes?" He turned to her. Miyuki's smile faded to a look of deep contemplation, though it was very obviously a facade.

"Hmm... A tough one..." She said. Her inner maiden was doing backflips in joy. After a moment of silence where she pretended to contemplate, mainly to hide her struggling to keep from shouting her acceptance, she turned to address Masuta again. "Is your friend perfect?" Miyuki asked. Masuta chuckled.

"No, far from it. Perfect is his brother." Masuta said. Miyuki smiled and giggled.

"I think that she would say... Yes and that she would very much like to go out with him." Miyuki said. Masuta let out a breath and grabbed her by the hand.

"Thank you. He's going to be very happy." Masuta said.

"I'm sure she will be as well." Miyuki answered. Masuta pulled her lightly in the direction of the restaurant. Miyuki glanced around before giving him one of the warmest eye-smiles he'd ever seen. Masuta smiled as she had undoubtedly scanned the surrounding area as he had earlier and determined where he was going from there.

"Shall we take Konata up on her advice?" Masuta asked. Miyuki giggled.

"You mean your friend?" She said slyly. Masuta laughed.

"Yes. My friend shall take her up on her advice!" Masuta laughed loudly. The two ran off together hand in hand.

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

"Mika-chan, this is way too embarrassing!" Tsukasa shouted. "Why am I wearing something like this?" She asked from inside the dressing room.

"Come on, Tsu-chan! You look totally cute in it!" Mikado shouted. Tereya stood nearby. "It's Summer, so we should enjoy the weather!"

"But this is..." Tsukasa walked out in a red bikini. It looked rather similar to the one Miyuki had worn the last time the group had visited the beach. "It's kind of revealing... you know?" Tsukasa asked.

"Well, we can keep Kan-chan in line like this!" Mikado shouted. "But may I say that you look very hot!" Mikado shouted. Tsukasa blushed as Mikado eyed her up and down. Tereya shuffled closer.

"Y-Y-You're very pretty i-in that..." She commented. "W-We should go to the b-beach sometime..."

"Yeah! It's been a while since I went... I don't think I've been for a couple years..." Tsukasa thought to herself.

"Wow Teri-chan, I'm surprised you would suggest something like that..." Mikado commented. Tereya smiled shyly.

"Maybe... with y-you two..." She said.

"When would you like to go?" Tsukasa asked. Tereya shrunk a little bit, seemingly thinking. Mikado came back from paying for the bikini to see Tereya thinking. Observing for a moment with a smile, she decided to give her suggestion.

"We could also go to Karaoke." Mikado suggested. Tereya looked up at her with a look of hope.

"Please?" She asked. Tsukasa looked between the two.

"Teri-chan, you like Karaoke?" Tsukasa asked. Tereya looked at her, as if having forgotten she was there for an instant. She nodded a little.

"I-It's one of my favorites..." She mumbled.

"Well, do we have enough for it?" Tsukasa asked. She took out her purse and looked in. She only had a few hundred yen. She looked over to see Tereya in a similar situation. Tsukasa sighed, as the closest Karaoke club was 600¥ per person, though they would have a while to sing as it would cover them until around five in the afternoon. Tereya began to look depressed. Tsukasa looked over at Mikado, who was staring at Tereya. When Tereya's look fell, Mikado looked into her own purse desperately. She started counting her money. She then looked relieved.

"I don't h-have enough..." Tereya mumbled.

"I can cover us!" Mikado said cheerfully.

"Let's go!" Tsukasa shouted. Mikado stopped her though.

"Too embarrassing, huh?" Mikado smirked, looking her up and down. Tsukasa looked down to see she was still wearing the bikini. She blushed, her face burning red. "Go get changed." Mikado said, smacking her on the bottom. Tsukasa blushed and jumped, scurrying into the changing room. Tereya stared at Mikado for a long moment before Tsukasa came back out. Tsukasa looked between the two obliviously.

"Alright, I'll go put it back up..." Tsukasa said as she walked over to the rack.

"Nah, I already paid for it." Mikado said. Tsukasa turned around, looking at her.

"Mika-chan~! Why did you do that? This is way too embarrassing to wear in public!" Tsukasa shouted.

"You were just ready to run out into the street in it!" Mikado pointed out. Tsukasa blushed.

"And you spanked me..." Tsukasa blushed more. Mikado smiled.

"I couldn't help it, you're just so cute I could die!" Mikado shouted. Tsukasa couldn't help but shrink.

"Mika-chan..." Tsukasa whined a little.

"You're not helping your case at all, Tsu-chan." Mikado giggled. Tereya stared at her. Mikado glanced at her curiously, but returned her attention to the airhead shortly enough. "Are you two ready?" Mikado asked, looking between the two. Tereya sighed.

"D-Do you have enough s-still?" Tereya asked. Mikado winked and gave a thumbs up.

"Sure do~!" She shouted. Tereya nodded and started walking. Tsukasa looked at her as she walked by herself.

"Is she alright?" Tsukasa asked Mikado. Mikado seemed to think for a moment.

"I'm sure she'll be fine." She nodded. The two caught up with the girl.

* * *

**POV Konata**

Kagami walked back in the room and smiled.

"Alright! I'm all cooled off!" She said. "Now, where did we leave off?" Kagami asked, beginning to take a stance.

"Um, Kagami..." Konata mumbled. "Do you mind if... we leave off for today?" Konata asked. Kagami's shoulder's slouched.

"Awww, why? We were having fun!" Kagami said.

"Well, I've done nothing but fight today... I woke up, I fought in the tournament, I came here, and then I started training you. I'm really tired. "I wanna do something else, something fun!" Konata said. "Could we at least take a break for a few hours?" Konata asked. Kagami sighed and closed her eyes for a moment.

"I guess so... I can see where you're coming from. Alright then... We can be done for today then." Kagami said.

"Yaaaay~!" Konata cheered. "What are we gonna do? I wasn't sure that'd actually work!" Konata said.

"Hmmm..." Kagami thought. "We could go join Tsukasa. Or spy on Miyuki and Masuta." Kagami got a mischievous look on her face as she suggested the second one.

"We could also go see Inori and Matsuri. See if they are actually lovey-dovey and everything." Konata said.

"So many options..." Kagami smiled and thought. "We could do all of them!"

"All of them sounds good!" Konata said. "Kan-kan, we'll need your magic to find them and disguise us! Oh, this is gonna be good~!" Konata said excitedly.

"Let's go!" Kagami shouted as the two rushed out. Tony stood there for a moment computing what had just happened.

"... I guess I'm going then..." Tony mumbled as he walked out after them.

"Where do you wanna go first Kona?" Kagami asked. Konata thought for a moment.

"Well, since we'd be hanging out with Tsukasa, I think we should go to her last. So spying on either Masuta and Miyuki or Matsuri and Inori." Konata said.

"Hmmm..." Kagami thought. "I'm really curious about Matsuri and Inori. Masuta and Miyuki are ones we know are going to get together, but I don't know about those two..." Kagami said.

"I know what you mean. They've been very vague about it this whole time." Konata said.

"Every time we ask them, they avoid the question." Kagami said.

"So, they said they were going to a movie. Does that mean that they went to the mall to watch it?" Konata asked.

"Well, it's the closest theater. Let's go take a look!" Kagami suggested.

"Where's Kan-kan, I don't want to be recognized!" Konata said.

"I'm here, I'm here..." Tony sighed as he caught up. "What are we doing?" Tony asked.

"Can you scan the area to find people?" Konata asked. Tony looked at her blankly.

"I would rather not. I would have to touch the minds of every single individual until I found the people I'm searching for." Tony said.

"How will we find everyone then?" Konata asked.

"I can zone in on the necklace I gave Tsukasa. My brother and Miyuki, based on where they left, looked like they were heading to either Miyuki's home, or something else in that direction. Matsuri and Inori said they were going to a movie, the closest of which is at the mall where we went to go see Lion King in 3D." Tony said. "I think that's the quickest place to look first." Tony said.

"Can you make it so that people can't recognize us?" Konata asked.

"I guess so. Hachiman did it earlier. I did something like that before. Yeah, it should be possible." Tony said. Konata cheered.

"Great! Let's go!" Konata shouted. Tony breathed and began to word his spell in his head to alter the light waves around them to distort their image into someone else. It didn't take a huge amount of energy, but it was a constant stream of it. He released it.

"To do it, I'm not gonna be able to do it for very long. Once we get near the mall, I'll do it again." Tony said.

"Alright. Let's go!" Kagami said. The three of them began traveling. They made some small talk in the mean time, but there didn't seem to be much to talk about.

"So... What are we doing about Matsuri and Inori?" Konata asked.

"What do you mean, Kona?" Kagami asked.

"Well... If they have a serious relationship. It's a yuri, incest relationship." Konata said. "What do you think of that?" Konata asked.

"Yuri has nothing to do with it, Kona. They're my sisters. I love them." Kagami said. "They supported me when I told my father about how much I loved you. You remember." Kagami said.

"Yeah..." Konata smiled.

"Even if I didn't approve, I want to support them all the way. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for their relationship if it makes them happy. Everyone has a true love, I'd like to believe. Maybe they just found it in each other." Kagami said with a smile. "What do you think Kona?" Kagami turned to Konata. Konata let loose a sigh. Kagami recognized it from earlier, when she gave her speech. Kagami smiled. She was actually looking forward to Konata's response. The last time, it had been a very well thought out, coherent explanation that left Kagami in awe. She looked over at Konata to see her gazing up in a sagely manner.

"I think..." Konata started, taking a long pause to properly word her response. She thought for a long moment. She smiled, nodded, and looked Kagami in the eye, seemingly coming to a decision. "Incest is wincest." She said. Kagami stared blankly at her for a moment.

"Well... I guess that's typical." Kagami smiled. "You idiot." Kagami put her knuckles lovingly on Konata's head.

"But I'm your idiot!" Konata said. Kagami giggled.

"That's right Kona. You're my idiot." Kagami said.

"We're getting close to the mall. I'm going to put on the shroud." Tony said.

"Let me guess, we can't get too close to people or it won't work?" Kagami asked.

"No, it'll work regardless of distance. We don't look the same as we normally do. Even Masuta wouldn't be able to recognize me. Tsukasa wouldn't recognize Kagami." Tony said. "Our voices are disguised to everyone else too. Since we're affected by the magic, we don't notice the difference." Tony said.

"Alright, we get it. We aren't gonna be recognized by anyone." Kagami said. "Whoa, talk about lucky! Matsuri and Inori are coming out of the mall!" Kagami said. They looked at the two, Matsuri pulling Inori excitedly by the hand. "Damn it, I can't hear what they're saying!" Kagami said. "Tony, can you do something about that?" Kagami asked.

"I'm kind of really trying to keep our disguises up. We can get closer." Tony said. "I can't concentrate enough to keep the illusion and amplify their voice for only us." Tony said. They kept watching the two as Inori pulled her hand from Matsuri's. Matsuri continued a step or two before realizing it and slowing to a stop. She turned around and looked at Inori, who held her hand out a little bit before taking it back. There was more talking.

"Let's get closer." Kagami said. The three of them began approaching the two. Even with a disguise keeping their identity a secret, it was still odd to approach the two without them realizing it. It felt like every step could be the one to tip the two off. They could hear their voices, but over the dull roar of the other people, they couldn't make out the words. Matsuri approached Inori and took her by the shoulders. Konata, Kagami, and Tony all froze. A crowd of people passed between them. Once the crowd was gone, Inori looked shocked. Matsuri smiled. More talking and the two continued on, hand in hand.

"... This feels weird." Tony said.

"I feel bad spying on them." Konata said.

"I think we figured it out. They aren't just being weird in front of us. I think they're legitimately in a relationship." Kagami said. She smiled. "Good for them. I'm glad they're happy." Kagami said. "I'm hungry, you guys want to get something to eat?" Kagami asked the other two.

"I could eat." Konata said.

"Great, can I take off this shroud? It's really taking my energy." Tony said.

"I would rather not, just in case Matsuri and Inori decide to stay around." Kagami said. Tony sighed.

"Alright. But you have to buy me some extra food to compensate for the energy I'm using." Tony said.

"Agreed." Kagami said as they entered the food court. Suddenly, she put her arms out to stop Konata and Tony. The two stopped abruptly.

"What's wrong?" Tony asked.

"Mom and Dad." Kagami said. She pointed to a table. Miki and Tadao were sitting, enjoying a meal together.

"Hasn't it been too long for a meal?" Konata asked.

"You didn't have to stop like that Kagami. The shroud is still in place." Tony said.

"Does no one else question why they're still here?" Konata asked.

"So they don't recognize us?" Kagami asked.

"I think we already cleared that up." Tony said.

"Nope, I guess we're just rolling with it." Konata said.

"Maybe they finished and are just talking now Kona." Kagami said. Konata blinked a few times.

"... Ah, that would work." Konata said.

"Let's go. I think it would be weird to spy on them." Tony said.

"Yeah, let's- Kagami!" Konata shouted as Kagami pulled the two around a corner, out of line of sight from the married couple.

"What's the big deal Kagami?" Tony asked.

"Mom looked over here." Kagami said. The other two looked at her for a moment.

"She looked over here." Konata said.

"She can look around, Kagami. Just because we happened to be over doesn't mean anything." Tony said. "Based on how much energy I'm losing, the illusion is still in place." Tony said. Kagami shook her head.

"She didn't just look over here." Kagami said. "She made eye contact." Kagami said. Konata and Tony blinked a time or two.

"That's significantly different." Tony said. "You're sure she made eye contact with you?" Tony asked.

"I'm pretty sure." Kagami said. Tony looked around the corner to see Miki in conversation Tadao. Tony looked back at Kagami.

"Let's go back out. This time, I'll keep an eye on her." Tony said. The three nodded and walked back out. Tony walked in front of them and leaned against a wall. Kagami walked around a bit. Konata stayed nearby. Miki, however, looked Tony in the eye and smiled. She giggled a little and turned back to Tadao. Tony's eyes widened. _What...?_ Tony thought. _How did she know...? _Tony wondered. He double and triple checked to make sure his spell distorting their image was still in place. It was. Miki seemed to be a little surprised and looked over to Konata. Again, she smiled. Tadao looked around at Konata, but looked very confused. Miki giggled and seemed to explain something to Tadao. Tadao turned slowly back to Miki. Konata dashed over to Tony.

"I see what she mean... She made eye contact with me specifically. How did she know?" Konata asked.

"Hm... I feel like this should be so obvious that it isn't..." Tony mumbled. "Maybe she's an angel?" Tony suggested with a chuckle.

"Haha. Very funny." Konata said.

"Excuse me." They heard a voice. They both looked over to see Miki walking up to the two of them. A breath caught in their throat. Tony was the first to speak.

"Is there anything we can do you for ma'am?" Tony asked.

"Yes, I seem to have misplace my "mirror". Would you happen to know where it went?" She asked with a motherly smile.

"I don't think I have ma'am, I'm sorry." Konata said. Miki smiled to her.

"Are you sure?" She asked. Konata and Tony were barely keeping it together.

"I'm pretty sure. Sorry we couldn't help you." Tony said. Miki smiled and bowed.

"Thank you anyway." She said before she turned and returned to her table. Konata looked at Tony. The two walked around a corner to see Kagami with her arms folded.

"What did she say to you guys?" Kagami asked.

"I think she might have asked about you..." Konata said.

"What?" Kagami asked.

"She asked if we knew where her mirror went." Tony said.

"Hm... A double meaning. Mom is smart." Kagami said. "Let's get out of here." Kagami said.

"Yeah, that's creepy." Tony said. The three began to rush away. In their rush through the huge crowd, the couldn't see where to go exactly. Tony felt an impact and hit the ground.

"Ouch!" They heard.

"Hey, watch where your going kid!" Matsuri shouted as she got in between the stranger and the fallen Inori.

"It's alright Matsuri." Inori pushed herself up. She looked at Tony. "Sorry about that kid, I wasn't looking where I was going." Inori said.

"It was my fault, I didn't watch where I was going." Tony scratched the back of his head. Matsuri put her hands on her hips and glared at him. Tony got back up. "Sorry, I'll just be going now." He bowed. He, Konata, and Kagami left. They rushed away, determined to put some distance between them quickly. After a few moments of rushing, Tony finally dropped the disguise. He slowed to a stop. Konata and Kagami slowed down too.

"You okay Tony?" Kagami asked.

"I kept it up a lot longer than I thought I'd have to... I was barely able to hold onto it when I bumped into Inori." Tony said, breathing heavily. "Seriously, we need to go eat something now." Tony said.

"Alright. What's around here?" Kagami asked.

"Come on, I know where there's an awesome place to get food!" Konata shouted, running off in a seemingly large hurry. Tony took a step to follow her, but suddenly, as if a jolt of electricity ran through his body, his entire body tensed and he fell to a knee. Kagami crouched down in a panic and put a hand around him.

"Kona, wait!" Kagami shouted as she looked at Tony. "Tony, are you okay?" She asked. Tony breathed deeply a few times.

"Y-yeah..." He shook himself a little and pushed himself up. "Yeah, I'm alright." He said. Kagami looked at him wearily.

"... What aren't you telling me?" Kagami asked. Tony shook his head.

"Nah, it's nothing. Don't worry about it." Tony said. _Must be because I used the Divine Well earlier._ He reasoned as he followed Konata. Kagami looked at him suspiciously before following behind him.

* * *

**POV Miyuki**

Masuta and Miyuki sat together outside, waiting for a table in the restaurant. They had been sitting for a while, but it hadn't seemed like it at all. The two simply talked and enjoyed the company of the other.

"So Masuta..." Miyuki started.

"Yes Miyuki?" Masuta asked.

"Tell me about yourself. You know so much more about my personal life than I do about yours." Miyuki said. Masuta hummed.

"Hm... I'm not entirely sure I know what to say." Masuta chuckled. "There really isn't all that much more to tell you about me. The forces, training my brother, now. Those are the biggest parts of my life." Masuta said. Miyuki hummed.

"Did you not train Kanpeki-san when he was a young boy?" Miyuki asked. Masuta raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, I did. I was pretty rough on him for his age though..." Masuta said.

"Do you mean to say that you were already through the forces by the time you started to train Kanpeki-san?" Miyuki asked. Masuta shrugged.

"Well... Yeah. For the most part." He said.

"... Masuta, how old are you?" Miyuki asked. Masuta looked a bit tentative.

"...Does that matter to you?" Masuta asked. Miyuki looked at him for a moment. She then smiled a small smile and shook her head.

"No. Not particularly." She said. "I was merely curious." Miyuki said. "You do look young, however. I couldn't imagine you to be very old." Miyuki said.

"I suppose I'll take the compliment. But seriously, does my age matter to you?" Masuta asked. "Because if it does..."

"No no no!" Miyuki held up her hands and shook her head. "It honestly, truly has no bearing on how I feel. I like you very much, Masuta. I apologize for bringing up such a topic without considering your feelings." Miyuki said.

"It's not my feelings that I'm concerned about. I just want to make sure... Because I AM older than you." Masuta said.

"Then my respect for you only increases." Miyuki said.

"I don't want it to increase for no other reason than that I'm older. It makes me uncomfortable when peoples opinions of me change without me actually doing anything." Masuta said.

"My opinion of you hasn't changed, Masuta." Miyuki said, trying to go back over what she said.

"You just said it did." Masuta said. "Were you lying then or are you lying now?" Masuta asked. Miyuki started panicking on the inside.

_This must be a sensitive topic for him..._ Miyuki thought. She looked him over for a moment. _He crossed his arms, feeling more closed off. Feet switched from pointing to me to the door. Eyes hard. Poker faced. No, scanning... Visual clues are disappearing..._ "Neither. I was entirely truthful both times." She said cautiously. Masuta raised his eyebrow.

"Oh? You must have come up with something good." Masuta said. Miyuki looked confused, the comment seemingly coming from nowhere.

"Hm? I'm afraid you've lost me." Miyuki said.

"Don't play dumb, I'd recognize your Sherlock Scan anywhere. You were trying to read me." Masuta said. "I don't appreciate it." He said. Miyuki bowed her head.

"I'm very sorry Masuta... It's just... I did not expect you to react the way you did. It was merely my own curiosity that drove me to ask you such a personal question. I deeply hope that it won't affect our relationship." She said. Masuta looked at her for a moment.

"I understand. Sorry for reacting like I did." Masuta said. Miyuki smiled and sighed in relief.

_Thank goodness..._ She thought to herself. _We haven't even begun eating yet and I made a mistake. I do hope we'll be okay..._ Miyuki thought.

* * *

**POV Tony**

"How old IS Masuta, Tony?" Kagami asked. Tony had reapplied to shroud once Konata had gotten close to the restaurant. It was incredibly convenient that the good restaurant Konata was referring to happened to be the one Miyuki and Masuta had stopped at. The three had stopped and listened in on the conversation.

"Damned if I know. He was all grown up when I was a kid, if I remember correctly." Tony said.

"You don't even know how old your own brother is?" Kagami asked.

"Well, we've been out of touch recently." Tony said. "What do you want from me, a couple months ago was the first time I'd seen him in a very long time." Tony said.

"I suppose I understand, but still..." Kagami said. Tony sighed. Konata seemed to be paying even more attention to Kagami than usual. It seemed that Kagami took no notice, however.

"Can we go somewhere else? This place obviously has a long wait and I want to eat now. I'm seriously starving over here." Tony said.

"Sorry Kan-kan, but I'm curious. This looks so much like a date! I want to make sure they're on one! Then I can say that they took my advice!" Konata said.

"Please just bear with it for a little bit longer..." Kagami almost pleaded.

_What is up with these girls and spying today? Why are they so nosy in other people's business?_ Tony wondered. Miyuki leaned forward and looked at them for a moment.

"Something wrong Miyuki?" Masuta asked.

"Hm?" She looked back at him. "No, it just looked like Kanpeki-san, Konata-san and Kagami-san were over there." Miyuki said. "I suppose I was mistaken." Miyuki said.

"What?" Masuta looked back at the three.

_Crap, the spell must have slipped while I wasn't concentrating!_ Tony thought, making certain not to repeat the same mistake.

"I don't see the resemblance." Masuta said, turning back to Miyuki.

"Neither do I, but I was just certain I had seen them." Miyuki nodded. Masuta sighed a bit.

"I'll call Ototo, ask him if he's nearby." Masuta said, taking out his phone.

_Crap baskets!_ Tony panicked for a bit. Miyuki leaned forward again and looked in their general direction, though without looking directly at them. Tony took out his phone quickly and silenced it directly before Masuta made the call.

"Quick work." Konata said. Tony nodded.

"Thanks, it was difficult." He said. Miyuki looked around for a moment.

"... He didn't pick up." Masuta said. Miyuki leaned back in her seat.

"Whew." Kagami wiped her forehead.

"I'm never gonna get anything to eat..." Tony mumbled.

"Just a little longer Tony?" Kagami asked. "I'll treat you to as much food as you want! All my treat!" Kagami said.

"I've already let it slip once. It's up to you if you want to risk it." Tony said. "I'm getting a headache." He said.

"Now I'm curious as to how old he is..." Konata said.

"So Masuta..." Miyuki started.

* * *

**POV Miyuki**

"So Masuta..." Miyuki started.

"Yes Miyuki?" Masuta responded.

"You never really did answer me." Miyuki smiled.

"About what? I don't remember the question." Masuta said.

"About yourself. Your personal life. You never really told me anything." Miyuki smiled. Masuta chuckled.

"I really don't know what you're expecting of me." Masuta shrugged.

"Anything, really." Miyuki smiled.

"Hm..." Masuta thought. "I play the piano?" Masuta suggested. "It used to be great fun until we didn't have time for it anymore." Masuta smiled.

"You play piano?" Miyuki asked, very surprised. "Why has this never come up?" She asked fervently. Masuta was almost taken aback by her reaction.

"Y-Yeah, I play. Can't say whether I'm any good or anything, but I enjoyed it. Why? Do you like the piano?" Masuta asked. Miyuki looked almost as if she were daydreaming.

"I have a piano at my... at our home! You could play for us! Oh, i would so love to hear it..." Miyuki trailed off, looking into the distance. Masuta stared at her almost blankly for a few moments.

"Um... Sure. If it means that much to you, sure! Why do you have a piano, anyway? I didn't think you played and your mother... Well... How do I say this nicely...?" He wondered out loud.

"Couldn't learn and remember what keys did what if her life depended on it?" Miyuki smiled. Masuta nodded knowingly.

"That's it, thank you." He said. Miyuki giggled.

"No, neither of us play. However, Minami used to come over and play it all the time while we were growing up..." Miyuki took a moment to reminisce before continuing. "I suppose I love the piano so much simply because it brings back such fond memories... Minami WAS my only friend back then." Miyuki giggled a bit despite how melancholy what she had just said was. Masuta was almost crying for joy in his head.

_Score! I've got something now!_ He shouted. "Now I can't believe that Minami was your only friend. Someone as funny, beautiful, and smart as yo-" Miyuki suddenly looked at him slyly from the corner of her eyes, instantly quieting him. He blushed.

"I'm not sure about all of that, but no one ever seemed to care about me. They never tried to be my friend." Miyuki sighed. She seemed almost unapproachable to Masuta. "People would shy away from me as I walked by... They would quiet as I approached them mid-conversation. I was an outcast in every group. My own father left our family." Miyuki was getting more and more depressed by the moment. "So Minami was my only friend." She said.

"Miyuki..." Masuta mumbled.

"I'm especially ashamed to admit... I was almost suspicious of Minami for being my friend. She was my only friend, what made her want to be around me?" Miyuki wondered out loud. Masuta simply watched. "However, then I met Konata-san." She giggled. This seemed to be an especially happy memory for her.

"It seems like that's a pleasant memory." Masuta smiled. Miyuki giggled a bit, her eyes tearing up.

"Yes. It's one of my most precious memories... She didn't even know my name at the time... If Konata-san hadn't come..." Miyuki smiled. "But she did. And now I'm here." Miyuki smiled. "If Konata-san hadn't saved me, I'd have never met you. And who knows what would have happened to me then." Miyuki giggled. Masuta smiled.

"Well, then I'm glad she saved you." Masuta said. "I'm not gonna say my childhood was as depressing, but I never had any friends either." Masuta said.

"Hm? But you seem so cool and handsome an-" Masuta looked at her the same way she looked at him earlier. Unlike him, however, she merely looked on with pride. "I regret and take back nothing that I said." She said.

"Heh. Well, I was always the strongest in all of my classes. People were always fighting to have me on their team in sports. They never tried to actually talk to me though. I was just a tool for them to win. Once that happened, they never even let me celebrate with them." Masuta sighed.

"That's an awful thing to do!" Miyuki said. Masuta smiled.

"Meh. Compared to your past, mine isn't that bad. Eventually the teachers put a stop to all of it. They forbid me from participating." Masuta said.

"Can... They even do that?" Miyuki asked. Masuta shrugged.

"Dunno. Whether they could or not, they wouldn't let me play anymore. They didn't make it publicly known though, so I was just the guy who quit playing. When I wouldn't join a team, other kids would try to fight me. I'd beat them up, get in trouble, and repeat." Masuta sighed. Miyuki giggled a bit.

"Oh, a bad boy?" She asked.

"Don't mean to brag, but when the teachers would ask us to raise our hands if we knew the answer, I knew the answer." Masuta said.

"Mhm?" Miyuki let him know she was listening.

"I didn't raise my hand." Masuta said. Miyuki giggled.

"Couldn't you have let them know that you weren't allowed to participate by the teachers?" Miyuki asked. Masuta chuckled.

"I did. They didn't care though. As far as they were concerned, I was just making excuses up so I wouldn't have to play with them." Masuta said.

"Then they should have gotten in trouble, not you." Miyuki said.

"I won the fights, so I always looked like the aggressor." Masuta said. "Well, that happened. And that's who I was to everyone who I tried to make friends with. I was just an aggressive jock. A jerk of an aggressive jock. The guy who just quit for no reason." Masuta sighed. "No one likes that guy." Masuta said. Miyuki leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I like that guy." Miyuki smiled. Masuta felt his heart skip for a moment. He smiled and leaned his head on her's.

"I like you too." Masuta said.

* * *

**POV Tony**

"Alright guys, I'm done." Tony stood up. Konata and Kagami looked at him.

"What? What do you mean you're done?" Kagami asked.

"It was getting really good!" Konata said.

"I'm done." Tony said. "I'm leaving. Keeping this up is giving me a migraine, not even mentioning how hungry I am. All of that ignoring how wrong it is to be spying on such a private moment." Tony said. "I'm going. If you want to stay here, that's up to you, but they're gonna recognize you. Aniki would spot you in an instant, assuming Miyuki doesn't first." Tony said. Konata and Kagami both made a sour face.

"That sucks!" Konata said. Kagami sniffled.

"A-A little more?" She asked, beginning to false cry again. Tony turned around and looked at her.

"I'm hungry. My head hurts. I'm about a minute away from losing it here. Cry all the way to wherever we're gonna eat, I don't care. We're leaving, you're buying me food, and I'm eating until you're broke." Tony said. Kagami dropped the act and sighed.

"Alright, alright." She said. Tony stared at her for another minute before beginning to walk away. Konata and Kagami got up from the chairs they were sitting in and followed him.

"Where to next?" Tony asked.

"Well, we've seen Masuta and Miyuki, Inori and Matsuri, and unintentionally caught Mom and Dad on a date." Kagami said. "I think that's enough spying for the day." Kagami said.

"I meant where do you want to eat." Tony said. Kagami glanced at Konata, as if begging for the little girl's help.

"Sorry for pushing you so hard Kan-kan." Konata said. "And right after a match, too." Konata sighed.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll make ya regret it once I start ordering." Tony smiled back at the two. The two girls looked at each other and smiled.

"Well, I've still got my prize money!" Konata said.

"Nope, I'm gonna eat all of that too!" Tony shouted. The three began to run towards Tony's chosen establishment.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya Luckies~! I'm Akira Kogami, your navigator~!"

"And I'm Minoru Shiraishi, the assistant!"

"So, what did you think of this one Minoru?" Akira asked.

"I'm glad that Tsuki is still around, I thought she had left us!" Minoru commented. There was a moment where nothing was said.

"... What was that?" Akira asked.

"Wh-what?" Minoru asked.

"Well if you're so damn happy to see her, why don't I just quit and let her run the show?" Akira asked. Minoru jumped and raised his hands in front of him.

"No, it's nothing like that!" He said. "I'm happier to see you than I am to see her." Minoru said. Akira took her turn to just and blush.

"You idiot! I didn't say anything about me! You're a thousand years too young to be saying that kinda crap to me!" Akira shouted, her face turning an even darker shade of red. Minoru smiled, glad he was now accustomed to Akira shouted at him. He thought a little.

"Yeah you did. You said "Why don't I quit?" and then said she should take over." Minoru said. "I don't want her to take over, I want you." He said. Akira's eyes widened.

"What are you saying... Idiot..." She said. Minoru couldn't stifle a chuckle as the tune played.

*Music Tone*

"That's it. We're out of time." Akira said, arms folded and looking away from the camera with a large blush on her face.

"Bye-nii!" Minoru shouted.

"..."

"... I hate you."

"I know Akira."

"... I don't like you."

"I know Akira, I know."

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

Long, long, long, long waits. I hate having them, I hate giving them. Like I said, a couple blocks. I've got a few issues with some stuff, namely how to bring everything in. Meh, I'll work hard!


	53. Chapter 53: Her identity? Wait, whose?

Chapter 53: The identity of... wait, what?

Hey all, been a while! Again! Again! Got stuck again, more stuff getting stacked on, losing time, yada yada. ANYWAY! I haven't read either of those stories Red, but I have read Artemis Fowl. Love that book series, but I haven't read any of them in years. Mutant, I do indeed have a reason I handled Inori and Matsuri that way, but you're off on the reason. Again with Tsuki being too obvious... Maybe, maybe not. Yes Sqweebs. I did. Yeah, I know the original ending (For all those who care, Simba gets killed by Scar and Pride Rock was swallowed in flames, killing everyone. Shakespearean indeed.) Yeah, I'm not showing that to Tsukasa. Do you want to break her? Huh? Is that what you want? She hated two deaths, can you imagine her reaction to EVERYONE'S death? Talk about a blue screen of death moment... Maybe later, but not now. So, here it is! New chapter! Woo~!

* * *

**POV Konata**

"Uh... Kan-kan..." Konata mumbled. The three of them had all gone to a fast food restaurant, so as not to wait too long. When Tony had ordered way too much food for the three to possibly eat, the two girls laughed. Tony didn't. He was currently almost finished with all of it, and didn't look like he was about to slow down.

"I thought he was joking..." Kagami said.

"He really is gonna eat all of my tournament winnings." Konata said. "Uh... Hey Kan-kan, I kinda had plans for that money... so could you please try not to eat all of it?" Konata asked. Tony barely slowed down enough to answer her.

"Hungry." He merely replied. Konata sighed.

"I'm gonna tell Tsukasa what said you about Mom when we left the hospital if you eat too much." Konata said. Tony stopped cold.

"You wouldn't." He said. While him calling their mother hot could be told to Tsukasa without it being TOO bad since he had meant it to be a compliment to the twins, he knew Konata could make it seem really bad by simply omitting that part.

"I would and will. I really have big plans for that money, so I kind of need it." Konata said. Tony sighed.

"Fine." Tony sighed. "Then this will be my last burger." He said, practically finishing it in three huge bites. "I'm surprised you still remember that." Tony sighed.

"What?" Kagami asked.

"Well, I figured it could come in handy eventually." Konata smiled.

"What? What did Tony say?" Kagami asked.

"Now if I told you that, I'd be going back on my deal, now wouldn't I?" Konata giggled. "Well, I finished a while ago and so did Kagamin." Konata said. "Shall we go see Tsukasa and the other two?" Konata asked. Tony nodded.

"I'm good with that." He said.

"So, it's been a while since they went to the movies, it's probably been over for a bit. Where do you think they went?" Kagami asked.

"We could wonder about that. Or I could just use her necklace to track her." Tony said.

"Oh yeah..." Kagami said.

"Forgot you could do that already." Konata giggled a bit. "Alright, where is she?" Konata asked. Tony closed his eyes and began to concentrate. A moment went by as he used the thin string of energy that would call him in times of danger to find Tsukasa.

"... Got it... We'll need to take a subway train to get to where she is." Tony said, opening his eyes again.

"Oh boy..." Kagami mumbled. "Anyway we can... avoid... the subway?" Kagami asked. Tony turned to her, confused.

"What's wrong with the subway?" Tony asked. Konata scratched the back of her head ruefully.

"Well..." Kagami began, but trailed off.

"LAST time we went on the subway, you and Tsukasa broke up." Konata finished for her. "The time before THAT, I had to punch you in the stomach or we would have missed our stop." Konata said.

"And? You don't think either of those is gonna happen this time, do you?" Tony asked, an incredulous look on his face.

"We're just saying. Since we met you, we can't seem to take a ride on the subway without something huge happening." Kagami said.

"Huge stuff already happened today. Matsuri and Inori are together, Masuta and Miyuki are together, stuff happened today. What do you guys think is gonna happen?" Tony asked. "We've already been attacked by future assassins and gone through a huge training montage. I don't think we have anymore room for major developments today." Tony said. The two girls sighed collectively.

"Alright..." Kagami said. "I guess we should go then." She smiled.

"Cool! Let's go surprise them!" Konata cheered.

"Um... I actually kind of told her we were coming..." Tony mumbled.

"Wait, you can do that too?" Konata asked. Tony nodded.

"I was already close enough to touch her mind, so I figured 'Why not?'." Tony said, shrugging.

"Aw... Oh well." Konata said. The three got up and left the fast food place. "And you couldn't have asked her what they were doing?" Konata asked.

"Didn't think of it at the time..." Tony chuckled. Konata sighed, but Kagami spoke before she could.

"Man... A lots already happened today..." Kagami smiled. "You guys fought."

"I died." Tony offered. Kagami chuckled, imagining he was exaggerating.

"Then I was training, then Inori and Matsuri..." Kagami said.

"A yuri, incest pairing." Konata said.

"Admittedly odd, but even that has it's fandom." Kagami said.

"You being a part of." Konata said.

"Shut up." Kagami said. "How would you know that, anyway?" Kagami asked.

"When you were imagining yourself sleeping with Tsukasa and Tsuki." Konata giggled. Kagami opened her mouth and began to point at Konata accusingly, but her words were cut off. Her cheeks turned red. _And~... She's imagining it again. _Konata giggled harder. The sound brought Kagami back to reality. She crossed her arms and cleared her throat. She seemed to recompose herself.

"That isn't my fault." Kagami said.

"Oh? And why is that?" Konata asked. Kagami sighed.

"Because... Every time I see Tsukasa, all I can think is..." Here, she looked at Konata a little forcefully. "My little sister can't be this cute." She said. Konata laughed loudly.

"Kagami, when you say it like that, I can't tell if you're serious or just making a reference!" Konata said.

"Well, now you know how I feel." Kagami said. Konata stared at Kagami for a moment.

"Seriously. Do you think that?" Konata asked. Kagami giggled.

"Guess you'll never know~." Kagami said in a sort of sing-song voice. Konata groaned.

"Come on Kagamin~! I wanna know if I have a chance at getting a threesome with the Hiiragi twins!" Konata shouted. Tony put a hand on her shoulder.

"Kon-kon, I'd imagine you have about as much chance as me in that regard." Tony said. "But seriously, do you remember everything Kon-kon?" Tony asked. Konata scratched the back of her head.

"Everything important, yeah. And my time with you all is more important than anything." Konata smiled. Tony chuckled.

"Glad to hear. Let's go make some more memories, huh?" Tony said as the three arrived at the subway. The three boarded the train Tony specified and sat down in three conveniently empty seats directly across from the door. Kagami yawned.

"Kona~... I guess all that training really got to me..." Kagami mumbled.

"Take a nap, Kagamin." Konata said. Kagami smiled warmly and laid her head on Konata's shoulder.

"Is this okay Kona?" Kagami asked. Konata smiled.

"Wonderful." She said, enjoying Kagami's close presence. Kagami's breathing soon became slow and rhythmic. Konata looked over at her taller girlfriend. She looked all the parts a sleeping beauty. She did truly look exhausted. "Kan-kan, do you think you can do something to help her sleep so the subway doesn't wake her up?" Konata asked.

"I'll do my best." Tony said. He cast a spell that would keep Kagami asleep through an earthquake. He made it so that if she were hurt or if there were an injury to her, she would wake back up. Of course, he would release the spell once they hit their station. But this would make her sleep more peaceful. "It's done. She'd sleep through a volcano as long as it didn't hit her." Tony said.

"Thanks a lot, Kan-kan." Konata smiled. She sighed. "Wonder what Tsukasa is doing." Konata said.

"I don't know. I can't think of anything around where she was." Tony said.

"About how close will the train get us?" Konata asked.

"Pretty close, actually. We should only be about ten minutes away." Tony said.

"Cool." Konata said. The two fell silent for a time, listening to the random conversations on the subway. They could hear a few mumbles and whispers concerning the fact that they two had just won a tournament earlier that day, but they did their best to ignore them. "Could you do that thing where we wouldn't be recognized again?" Konata asked.

"They've already seen us. It wouldn't really help." Tony said. "It'd be like we just disappeared into thin air and were replaced by a few random nobodies." Tony said.

"Well that wouldn't do." Konata said. "Maybe you should name a move after them." Konata said.

"Ha ha, very funny, ho ho, it is to laugh." Tony laughed humorlessly. Suddenly, the train quieted down. They could hear a huge crash somewhere nearby. Tony and Konata began looking around as people began crowding the windows to look.

"What's going on?" Someone asked.

"A movie?" Another suggested as the train arrived at the station. Another crash rocked the train, almost jostling Kagami awake. The door opened to reveal a large portion of the station was only occupied by two people. One looked scarily familiar, but the other was someone neither of them had seen before. Tsuki landed in front of them, but she looked different. Her hair was a ghostly white instead of its usual color. She turned and saw them.

"Oh! Hey guys..." She was breathing very heavily. "This guy was asking questions about Tony, but I didn't feel like answering." Tsuki huffed. "After that, he attacked me..." Tsuki said. The man across from her saw Tony. His eyes widened.

"H-How are you alive?" He asked. "Beating the three of those idiots is unbelievable enough, but there's no possible way you could beat Kia!" He shouted. "Even with this girl's help!" He shouted.

"Kia? Who's that?" Tony asked, standing up. Konata stayed seated, but grew very tense. She wanted to stay put and try to protect Kagami if it got to that point. The man stared at Tony for a moment.

"You'd know her if you saw her." He said in a deadpan sort of way.

"I never saw any Kia." Tony said. "Each of my opponents introduced themselves, but there was no Kia there." Tony said. The man looked pissed.

"Damn it, what is that girl doing?" He said. "No matter, then she will never get the chance." He said. A shine came over him as if he were dipped in gloss. Tony cursed.

_That damn armor again... I practically died the last time I had to break it._ Tony thought. He also didn't have Tsukasa there to heal him if he had to do it himself. He glanced back at Konata, who was ready to grab Kagami and get her out of the way in case something happened. Tony understood, as the girl hadn't been in the line of fire before. He also recognized a certain glare from Konata.

"_I told you._" It practically screamed. Tony shrugged. He thought he'd made a good argument. He turned back to the man, who was ready to attack. Tony grunt and was about to press off the ground. Suddenly, it was like he was electrified as he hit the ground outside the train, on one knee. His body wouldn't move. The pain was incredible.

_Damn it... not now..._ He cursed himself. The man laughed.

"At least those idiots did SOMETHING right!" He shouted. "Now I can take my time." He chuckled. Tony glanced over at Tsuki. Her hair was back to normal and she was on her rear. The pipe that she had been using for a weapon was rolling away.

_She must have some sort of transformation or something... We must have talked too long and it ran out I guess._ Tony thought. That left Konata to take care of the man and Tony knew that even though she had had time to recover, she was in no way able to take him. _Well... shit._ Tony thought. The man saw Konata staring at him.

"Maybe I'll start with your friends." The man smiled. Tony glared angrily at him and tried to stand up. He met nothing by the pavement. The man laughed as he picked up the pole from where Tsuki had been rolling away. He stared directly at Kagami. On seeing Konata getting up, he threw the pole with such uncanny accuracy that it would impale Kagami through the forehead. Faster than Konata could move, they heard the pole impale something. Konata's head shot back to her girlfriend. "What?" The man asked. Konata let out a relieved breath. Kagami seemed to have moved in her sleep. "How did I miss?" He shouted.

"Kona... you shouldn't eat that..." Kagami mumbled in her sleep.

"Was that just an accident?" The man asked. Konata began thinking quickly. The train was in panic, but no one was going anywhere near the door. She couldn't move left or right with Kagami asleep like this. Konata was legitimately surprised that she had been able to sleep through all of this. She heard the snap of metal and looked back at the man as he threw another piece of pole. Kagami's head moved back towards the first just in time to dodge the other pole. Her head, however, was now caught between the two. Konata decided she'd take her chances and grabbed Kagami, trying to jerk her away as a final snap was heard. She was caught with her head between the poles however, and Konata couldn't pull too hard without seriously hurting her. Kagami would have to be moved forward. As Konata moved to do so, the final piece of pole came flying. This time, there was no dodging. And no need. "WHAT?" The man yelled as Kagami caught the pole.

"Kagami?" Konata asked.

"Are you mocking me?" The man yelled angrily. He growled. "No, she's definitely asleep." He said. Kagami stood up drowsily, though her eyes were still closed. There was an entirely other presence to her now, though. Konata was almost afraid of her.

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

Tsukasa walked back over to the couch as she finished her rendition of Valentine's Day Kiss. While Mikado and Tereya liked it, something seemed notably missing from it for Tsukasa. She shrugged.

"That's was awesome Tsu-chan!" Mikado shouted.

"V-very cute..." Tereya mumbled. Tsukasa scratched the back of her head and giggled a little.

"Really, I didn't do very good... You guys are much better." Tsukasa said. Mikado spoke up again.

"No way! That was the best performance ever!" Mikado shouted. She seemed to be trying to speak genuinely. Tereya put her head down a little so that her hair covered her eyes. She got up and walked over to the machine, as it was her turn to perform. Tsukasa went and sat next to Mikado.

"Mika-chan, why are you acting like this?" Tsukasa asked.

"What do you mean?" Mikado asked. "Acting like what?"

"Well... All the compliments and the... physical contact... why?" Tsukasa asked. Mikado giggled a bit.

"'Cause I like you, Tsu-chan!" Mikado said cheerfully. Tsukasa, while the statement made her a bit happy, tried to stick the script she had thought of on the way there. She had noticed Mikado paying more attention to her and less to Tereya, and it was showing in the shy girl's demeanor.

"But you realize that you're making Teri-chan feel uncomfortable, right?" Tsukasa asked. Mikado sighed. "You do, right?" Tsukasa asked a bit more forcefully.

"Why should I care?" Mikado asked. Tsukasa stiffened up. "And why should she care what I do? It isn't like we're dating or anything." Mikado said. Tsukasa jerked almost violently. Tereya turned to see them for a moment, but they both smiled and clapped for her to continue. She smiled shyly and continued. Meanwhile, Tsukasa thought about what Mikado had said. There had been a certain tone in her voice that Tsukasa could tell would cut Tereya deeply if she had heard them. Tsukasa was not in the least amused.

"What... did you just say?" Tsukasa asked.

"It isn't like me and Teri-chan are girlfriends or anything. Why should it matter if I choose to flirt a little with someone, have a little fun?" Mikado asked. Tsukasa was stunned a little at what the girl in front of her told her.

"I... can't believe you... I thought you liked Teri-chan... I thought you loved her!" Tsukasa said, barely managing to keep her voice below the level of music and, thus, out of earshot of the subject of their conversation.

"Well... I do." Mikado said. "But if she doesn't return my feelings... Then what else is there for me to do? I can't force her to love me back." Mikado said. Tsukasa sighed and thought. It was, after all, true that if Tereya didn't fall in love with Mikado, there wasn't much Mikado could do to FORCE her to love her. However, she could also tell that Mikado's attitude and behavior certainly weren't helping her cause.

"No, you can't." Tsukasa said. "Believe me, I went through something kind of like that with Kan-kun..." Tsukasa sighed.

"Hm? What do you mean?" Mikado asked.

"I didn't think he liked." Tsukasa said. "So I tried to force it by having him make me a potion. One that would make me look beautiful to him." Tsukasa said.

"Well, obviously it worked. Think he could whip me up one?" Mikado asked. Tsukasa shook her head.

"No. It... didn't work as intended. In fact, all it really did was probably hinder it. Love is something that you can't force." Tsukasa said. Mikado nodded.

"See?" Mikado said.

"But..." Tsukasa began. Mikado began paying even more attention. "When love it true..." She smiled here. "It finds a way." She said, looking at Mikado. "The way you're behaving isn't helping you at all. If you and Teri-chan are really meant to be together, then it will happen. Eventually. If you're not, then you have to respect that." Tsukasa said. "But... I think that either way, Teri-chan relies on you a lot more than you might think." Tsukasa said.

"So what do I do, Tsu-chan?" Mikado asked desperately. Tsukasa smiled.

"Just be you. Be the same person you've always been. Be the person who fell in love with Teri-chan. The person who is always there for her." Tsukasa said.

"But that's the person who got rejected." Mikado pointed out. Tsukasa looked at her.

"Wait... You mean... You've already confessed?" Tsukasa asked. Mikado sighed and nodded.

"I confessed a couple of years ago. She said... It wouldn't work." Mikado said. Tsukasa gasped.

"I'm... sorry. I didn't realize..." Tsukasa said.

"I think the worst of it though... Was that nothing really changed after that." Mikado said.

"But your relationship wasn't ruined, right?" Tsukasa asked. "Doesn't that say something?"

"I suppose. But she treated it like nothing happened. She ignored it and treated me the exact same as if I had never confessed." Mikado said. Tsukasa sighed a bit.

"I suppose I can understand how that would be irritating to be rejected and then ignored..." Tsukasa said.

"She didn't ignore me, just my feelings." Mikado said. Tsukasa hummed.

"Maybe... She couldn't handle it." Tsukasa said. Mikado's interest perked, she turned to Tsukasa completely.

"What do you mean?" Mikado asked.

"Well, I don't know Teri-chan as well as you do, so I'm sure or anything, but it looks like you're the only person she can really communicate with freely. She's opened to me and Kan-kun, but she talks to you without a second thought. She isn't reserved around you." Tsukasa said.

"I guess that's true..." Mikado said.

"Well, think about it. When you're really dependent on someone like that, when the only person in the world you can talk to is one person, what if something happens with that person? What if you get in a fight or something? She'd be almost cut off from the rest of the world." Tsukasa said.

"I'd never have a fight with her!" Mikado said. Tsukasa giggled.

"I can tell you first hand, you say that, but relationships also create a lot of drama... Just talking to Teri-chan for the first time made me get really protective over Kan-kun. I got super mad that he was spending so much of his time on her and not on me." Tsukasa said. "I know that Kan-kun loves me. But that didn't change the fact that I got really angry for some reason." Tsukasa said. Mikado sighed.

"I guess I understand. Teri-chan is easy to fall for." She said. Tsukasa smiled.

"But she has us now." Tsukasa said. "Maybe, with someone else to rely on in case of something like that, with someone else to confide in, there might be a chance that she'd be ready." Tsukasa said. Mikado sighed.

"I dunno. It hurt really really bad when she rejected me last time... I really don't want to risk going through that again." Mikado said.

"I understand that, but you have to!" Tsukasa said. She smiled warmly. "I think it was Onee-chan that said something like... "Love takes guts". At least, that's what Yuki-chan said she said." Tsukasa said.

"So... What should I do?" Mikado asked. Tsukasa sighed.

"Just... speak with your heart." Tsukasa said. "She'll understand." Tsukasa said. Mikado sighed.

"I sure hope so." She said. Tereya finished her song, which had been peculiarly long for some reason. Tsukasa wondered if she hadn't sung it more than once. She could recognize the very end of it as being a particular song from Hercules...

* * *

**POV Konata**

"Kagami...?" Konata asked.

"Che." The man spat. "I suppose I can't take my time as much as I'd like." He said. He put his hand up as pure energy shot from it in a beam. Konata went to push Kagami of the way before swiftly dodging to the side herself. However, her hand didn't hit anything as Kagami quickly dodged it.

"Here... go..." Kagami mumbled before launching through the subway door towards the man. Konata rushed over to Tony as the train pulled away in a rush. Kagami attacked in a deadly dance, landing nine major strikes to the man's armor.

"Kuh... Impossible! She shouldn't be able to keep up with me!" He shouted. "It matters not, your pitiful attacks can't break through my energy armor!" He shouted as Kagami stumbled and leaned on a wall.

"This guy doesn't have a clue..." Tsuki giggled. Kagami snorted in her sleep.

"Wall... Break?!" She said. Her pole flashed through the air, shattering time and space to tear apart the man's armor. His armor broken completely, her pole snapped in two on his shoulder.

"GAH!" He screamed. Kagami stumbled back and leaned against a pillar. "First that girl and now this one?" The station around them was luckily completely empty. "What the hell? My armor is twice as strong as that idiot Kanzen's! How can it be that some little nothing like her can break it so easily?" He questioned.

"Kon-kon..." Tony mumbled as he used what little concentration he could muster to summon the blade his mother had given him. It clanged loudly as it fell to the floor to his side. "Give Kagami the sword." He said.

"What?" She asked.

"It's obvious she can use it well! Just go ahead!" Tony said. Konata took the blade and ran over to Kagami. She held the blade out to her still sleeping girlfriend. When she didn't take it immediately, Tony spoke up. "Asleep!" He shouted.

"Right..." Konata said. She opened Kagami's hand herself and put the sword's hilt into her hand before closing her fingers around it. When Kagami gripped it, the blade turned a shade lighter, losing it's metallic look. No sooner did Konata run away than did the man pull himself together and practically explode in anger. Energy poured off of him in what was obviously a berserker power. Tony could feel the immense power coming from the man as he began channeling his power into a massive attack. He took the power into his hand.

"VERY WELL! I shall destroy this entire complex in one blow and kill ALL of you then!" The man shouted. "Take this! My ultimate power!" He shouted. He rushed at Kagami and struck with his full power behind it.

"Mmm... Useless..." Kagami mumbled as her body shone with an amazing power. Countering his attack with her own, she rammed into him. She smashed him into the wall opposite them, crushing the wall behind him. Backing up a bit, she slashed with Tony's blade. The man screamed in pain as the blade cut through him. A ball of energy formed in Kagami's hand as she put it to the man's face. Letting it go, she blasted him the face. Dust rose dramatically around the two from the impact. Kagami stumbled out of the dust before dropping the sword. She fell back, everybody being unable to catch due to paralysis of some sort between pain or awe, and hit the ground. Her head bounced off of the ground, causing her to snort violently. Her eyes shot open as she jerked awake. "Muo!" She shouted on instinct. She looked around. The dust settled to reveal a large cracked wall with a huge cut in it, though there was no body. "What... happened?" Kagami asked.

"Kagami, you..." Konata began. Kagami saw the huge crack in the wall.

"Gah! Tony, you idiot, what did..." She looked back at him. "...you..." She saw him collapsed, along with Tsuki. "...do..." She looked back at the wall again. "...Kona... Did you use your super chibi kawaii desu moe mode again?" Kagami asked.

"No, that was you." Konata said.

"Wh-...What... Ah, my head..." Kagami rubbed her head.

"You fell asleep on the subway. When we arrived, Tsuki was fighting a guy from the future that was apparently trying to ask about Kan-kan." Konata said.

"He was just about as strong as the huge dude I was fighting in the final tournament fight." Tsuki said. Tony did not look at all happy.

"Kagami." Tony growled, the pain dulling a little. "Do you realize what you did?" He asked. Kagami looked a bit scared, looking at the sword on the floor and the cut in the wall.

"What... What did I do?" Kagami asked. Tony stood up fully.

"That man had an armor, made out of energy, that he said was twice as powerful as Kanzen's. It took me the power from splitting an atom and grinding energy into him from every possible angle to break his armor, almost killing myself in the process." Tony said. "You did it by slashing." Tony said. "One slash. With a pole. Not even a sword." Tony said. "That's kind of frustrating." He said. Kagami, however, was still in a daze.

"Kagamin. You just kicked a guy's ass that had us on the ropes earlier, us having to use moves that we had never tried before today. You beat him without any effort, in your sleep." Konata said. Kagami turned to her girlfriend. Her eyes were still wide in shock. "I think... Considering that..." Konata mumbled.

"Kona..." Kagami finally spoke up. "What... who am I?" She asked, sounding terrified.

"What do you mean Kagami?" Konata asked.

"You... You said that you thought I might be an angel... Or something like that... That I had lost my memories... Or something..." Kagami mumbled. "What if you're right?" She asked. "What if... who I am... isn't me?" Kagami asked. Konata shook her head and walked over to her.

"Kagami, I was being stupid back then. Don't pay it any mind." Konata said.

"But Kona! What if I'm not me?" Kagami asked.

"You're you." Konata said. She grabbed Kagami by the shoulders. "Kagami I love you. No matter what, you're the person I love." Konata said. "You're not someone else. You're not someone with lost memories. You're Kagami Hiiragi." Konata said. Kagami stared at Konata for a moment.

"Guys..." Tony said, the pain subsiding entirely for the moment. "People are starting to come in. I put the shroud up from earlier, but I can't do it for long. I'm gonna get us out of here." Tony warned. Kagami was silent, though Konata turned to him and nodded. The four of them spun in, along with Tony's sword. Kagami and Konata barely noticed, preoccupied as they were with Kagami's existential crisis. They all hit the ground in an out of the way alleyway so that people wouldn't see four random people apparating onto the ground. While normally it wasn't an issue, after everything that had just happened in the subway, not attracting any attention to themselves would probably be a good idea. It was possibly just paranoia on Tony's part, but none of them had anywhere near the money it would probably take to fix the damaged wall, even with the tournament winnings, assuming they didn't need that money for other things like living. Tony stumbled against a wall the second he touched down. He let himself sink to the ground, beside Tsuki, who had yet to get up since she had fallen earlier.

"So..." Tsuki mumbled. "That was a thing." She said.

"What... was all of that?" Tony asked in an exhausted voice.

"Probably the same guys that tried to kill us during the tournament." Tsuki said.

"Yeah, I know that." Tony said. He looked over at the other two to see Konata still doing her best to comfort Kagami. "You know what I mean. Your hair was white. What was that?" Tony asked.

"Ehe... It's complicated..." Tsuki said. Tony sighed and looked at Kagami.

"You said "This guy doesn't have a clue.". That makes it sound like you knew what happened to Kagami. Why did she turn into a badass all of the sudden?" Tony asked. Tsuki chuckled nervously.

"Ehehe... It's REALLY complicated..." Tsuki said. Tony sighed. He could see he wasn't going to get anywhere with Tsuki. He sighed, staring as Konata tried to comfort Kagami.

"Kona, seriously!" Kagami shouted. Konata stopped and stared at her worriedly, listening. "What if? What if the real me isn't the person you fell in love with?" Kagami asked.

"Like I care!" Konata finally shouted. Kagami quieted down and looked stunned. "I don't! I really don't!" Konata shouted. Kagami started to look hurt. "Kagami, you're you. Right now, you're Kagami Hiiragi! You're not Kagami somethingelse! So I don't care if there's some other Kagami in there. Maybe there's another you named Kagami Vesperina Theotanasia Entheofushia or something. Maybe you're some princess of a different world, but that's not really you! It's a fake personality, THIS is you!" Konata said. Kagami stared for a moment and smiled a little, tears coming to her eyes. "This is the you I love!" Konata shouted. A tear ran down Kagami's cheek, her smile growing a bit. She sniffled.

"I'm having an existential crisis and you reference Negima..." Kagami giggled as she wiped some of the tears from her eyes. "As always, you can't read the situation..." She giggled, sniffling again. "You idiot." She said lovingly.

"Well, it IS one of your favorites." Konata said. "Another thing to identify yourself."

"... I'm the me that likes Negima..." Kagami said.

"You're the you that has a crush on Ne-" Konata began.

"We're having a moment here, Kona." Kagami giggled as she planted a set of knuckles on to her little lover's head.

"Hate to interrupt the moment, but..." Tony began. The two turned to him. "We're ignoring the obvious solution here." Tony said. They both cocked their head to the side simultaneously.

"Obvious?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah. Who, if anyone, would know if Kagami were either born here or somewhere else?" Tony asked. The two began thinking.

"Well, Hachiman would." Konata said.

"Did you two pick up the idiot ball?" Tony asked. "Usually when someone gives one hint, you gasp and get it immediately." Tony said. "Kagami's parents would know." Tony said.

"... Ooooooh..." The two said.

"Yeah, they would know..." Konata said.

"That being said, I think we need to focus on getting you home so we can ask. We can go to Tsukasa another time." Tony said. As the two were about to speak again, he cut them both off. "Hopefully not by the subway." Tony added. They both nodded.

"Can you teleport us?" Kagami asked. Tony shook his head.

"I can barely move. My body is beginning to crash from using the Divine Well during the fight earlier. Even if Tsukasa healed me from the damage my attack did to me, apparently it didn't do anything for the wreck my Divine Well caused." Tony said.

"So shouldn't we do our best to get to Tsukasa? She healed you from it before!" Konata said. Tony sighed.

"I suppose there's a point there, but as long as we get Kagami home, it'll be fine. I lost track of Tsukasa when we got off the subway. I could barely think since I used all my concentration to get that sword to Kagami." Tony said. He walked over and picked up the sword, inspecting it. It had returned to its previous, dull metallic white.

"Tsuki, can you heal him?" Kagami asked. Tsuki laughed nervously.

"I'm a wreck myself..." She said. "I couldn't work any magic right now if I wanted to, not to mention I'm not very good at that kind of healing..." Tsuki said.

"We get Kagami home, we ask about her past, and Tsukasa will be back eventually." Tony said. "Kagami's problem is bigger than mine is." Tony said. They sighed.

"Man. I forgot how much it kind of sucks not being able to just teleport around and stuff." Konata said. "The subway is no good, or something ELSE huge is gonna happen." She said.

"Thanks! See you in a few minutes." Kagami said.

"Kagamin?" Konata asked as Kagami hung up the phone.

"I just called Dad. I told him what happened and that we needed a ride. He's on his way." Kagami said. Konata cheered.

"That's our Kagamin! Always thinking of the best solution!" Konata threw her arms in the air. Kagami smiled.

"He should be here shortly." Kagami said.

"So Tsuki, you never did answer my question." Tony said. Tsuki chuckled nervously.

"What about?" Kagami asked.

"She seemed to know something." Tony said. Konata turned to her.

"Is that true, Tsuki?" Konata asked.

"Ehehehe..." Tsuki laughed nervously, looking at the three inquisitive faces in front of her, all staring at her. She put her hands up submissively. "A lot of stuff happened..." Tsuki mumbled. Things began to get weird again. Tony recognized it as having happened several times before. Each time, he had felt less like questioning things. This time, he felt the touch of magic. He raised a mental barrier around his mind that would prevent any tampering with his emotions. In his current condition, it was the most he could do. He felt his energy dip as he prevented something. "So Tony, are you sure you don't want to go see Tsukasa? Kagami's Dad could pick her up too! I know you're curious about what she's been doing~!" Tsuki said. Tony hummed.

"Yeah, he could pick her up!" Kagami agreed. Tony looked over at her.

_Kagami wouldn't drop something like this so easily, especially if it had something to do with her past. _Tony thought. He glanced at Konata.

"Is she still with Tereya and Mikado though?" Konata asked. Tony sighed.

_Yeah, something happened._ Tony thought. _Didn't Tsuki just say she couldn't use magic again, but... I suppose she could be lying. I wonder what she's up to._ Tony thought. _She keeps doing something that makes us less inquisitive about things. Why? _Tony wondered. He looked over at Tsuki to catch her staring at him. He jumped back a bit.

"You look confused." Tsuki said.

"I, uh... Just was wondering what Tsukasa was doing too. I didn't think to ask her earlier." Tony said. _I had better play it safe. I'll pretend that whatever she did worked._ Tony thought. There was a sudden beep, causing everyone to look over. Tadao sat in the driver's seat of the newest Hiiragi van and Miki in the passenger's seat. The four piled in.

"How did you get here so fast, Dad?" Kagami asked.

"You happened to call me when we were leaving from our date." Tadao chuckled as Miki giggled.

"How was it?" Konata asked.

"It was nice, as you can probably guess." Miki said before giggling again. Tony glanced to catch Konata glancing to him.

_She knows._ The two knew the other was thinking. Miki hummed. The two looked forward to see her staring at them through the mirror. Namely, Tony.

"That's an interesting blade you have there." Miki said. There was no smile on her face, no teasing in her voice. In fact, she sounded quite inquisitive. "Wherever did you get it?" She asked. Tony was a little uncomfortable under her stare.

"It's... complicated." Tony said hesitantly. Miki gave an almost icy stare for a moment that chilled Tony to the bone. He shuddered.

"I look forward to hearing about it later." She said sternly.

"Hey, Mom... Dad...?" Kagami began, taking her mother's interest off of Tony. Tony sighed in relief. Tadao hummed.

"Yes?" He asked. "What are you so reserved about? Are you coming out of the closet again? Because I think we covered that." Tadao said before laughing. Kagami laughed too, but mainly did so so that her father wouldn't feel so bad.

"I just want to talk to you guys when we get back home." Kagami said.

"Is Kagami an angel?" Konata asked bluntly. The entire Earth seemed to halt for a moment as Kagami's head creaked over and glared at her.

"Idiot. Why would you ask something like that so bluntly?" Kagami asked, torturing Konata with a stare.

"Well, I figured it would probably get it out of the way..." Konata scratched the back of her head.

"Of course you are Kagami!" Miki said cheerfully. Everyone save Tadao looked at her.

"Really?" Kagami asked. Miki giggled again.

"Of course! You are my daughter after all." Miki said.

"Mom, I'm serious!" Kagami said.

"Hello Serious, I'm Dad." Tadao said as dads around the world united in uproarious laughter. Kagami sighed.

"Yeah, okay. We'll see you in a minute." Tony said. "I love you too. Bye." Tony smiled. He put his phone away. "Hey, can we go get Tsukasa as well?" He asked. "I'll let you know where she is." Tony said.

"Sure thing!" Tadao said. Tony gave him the directions to the building that Tsukasa was at before refocusing on the prior conversation.

"But really Mom, Dad... Who am I?" Kagami asked. "Do I have some sort of background that I don't know about?" Tadao hummed.

"Well, there is SOMETHING, but I don't think it's what you're looking for." He said.

"What is it?" Kagami asked.

"I think we should wait for Tsukasa, as it concerns her too." Tadao said. However, now that Kagami had heard something like that, she was getting anxious. There was something about herself that she didn't know. And she wanted to. Badly. Konata put her arm around her girlfriend.

"Don't worry Kagamin. It isn't going to be too long before you know." Konata said quietly. The Tsundere barely calmed down at all, but continued to fidget around.

"So~, what's Tsu-chan doing?" Tsuki asked. The four of the people in the back continued to talk about things of little consequence, anything they could think of to keep Kagami's mind off of her past.

* * *

**POV Miyuki**

"So Masuta..." Miyuki began. The two had started their meal a short time ago, yet hadn't talked much. The silence, while present, wasn't awkward. Still, Miyuki wanted to know more about her new boyfriend.

"Yes Miyuki?" Masuta asked.

"What did you... use to do?" Miyuki asked. Masuta cocked his head to the side.

"Special forces, remember?" Masuta said. Miyuki shook her head.

"No, that isn't really what I meant. I mean in the interim. Between the time you stopped training Kanpeki-san and the time you came back." Miyuki said. Masuta nodded.

"Ah, gotcha." Masuta said. "Well, mostly what I did before I started with his training. I did... jobs... for the special forces. Lots of classified stuff, you'll understand." Masuta said.

"I understand. So what kind of jobs did you do?" Miyuki asked.

"But I just said..." Masuta began.

"I don't need details. Just... the kind of things you did." Miyuki smiled. Masuta sighed.

"I... don't really like to think about it. There were a lot of thing that I... didn't enjoy doing that I had to do." Masuta said. Miyuki's eyes widened as she bowed her head.

"I apologize. Once again, I didn't consider your feelings when I asked such a personal question." Miyuki said. Masuta sighed again.

"Well, it's not like you knew. Well..." Masuta said. "My jobs were mixed between special operations and off-the-books... jobs." Masuta said.

"Off the books?" Miyuki asked. Masuta stared at her for a moment.

"You're a smart girl, Miyuki." He merely said. Miyuki thought another moment. Then she realized what Masuta was saying and fell silent. "My special operations were mainly things that would have failed if any other method had been used. We were the last resort. The only real time there were other options other than us, the collateral damage would be extreme when compared to how we got it done."

"When was your last operation?" Miyuki asked.

"Just before I came here, actually. It was a big one, too." Masuta said. "I can't tell you directly what we were doing, of course, but still..." Masuta sighed. Miyuki smiled.

"You've spent so much of your life in the service of others." Miyuki said. She sighed and put a hand to her heart. "You truly are a good person." She said. Masuta smiled.

"Yeah... That "service", wasn't all good things. It wasn't exactly bringing ice cream to underprivileged orphans on Christmas." Masuta said. "Some of it, I'm really concerned ended up doing much more harm than good." He said.

"But the good you did overall outweighed the bad, didn't it?" Miyuki asked. Masuta sighed.

"I don't know." He said. "I'll never really know." He sighed and closed his eyes. "Families lost loved ones. Some of my best friends didn't make it." He said.

"But we have to believe that you did well, Masuta." Miyuki said. "You're a smart person, Masuta. You wouldn't let something you thought was wrong succeed."

"You'd be surprised." Masuta said.

"Masuta..." Miyuki mumbled.

"You'd be very surprised." He sighed. Miyuki was quieted. She felt almost uncomfortable with how resistant Masuta was to her attempts at reassuring him.

_Perhaps... This is what Kanpeki-san was talking about when he said there were aspects of Masuta that I didn't know of... __Perhaps I need to rethink my strategy... _Miyuki thought. "Masuta, you may have done bad things in the past." Miyuki said. Masuta sighed. "There's nothing you can do about that. What's been done has been done." Miyuki said. "None of that matters." She said with strength. Masuta looked at her curiously. It wasn't like her to say something like that. He was temporarily worried he hadn't been quite clear enough of the natures of his jobs, but she seemed to get the gist.

"What do you mean?" Masuta asked.

"I don't care about any of that." Miyuki smiled.

"Then why did you ask?" Masuta asked.

"As I said, I was curious. But... I don't care that you did bad things. You're a good person now." Miyuki said. "That's what truly matters to me. If you want to know what I truly care for... What truly shapes my opinion of you?" Miyuki smiled. "It's what you do. What you do shapes your image. Your age, your past, all of you previous actions... I do care for them, but what makes me feel the way I do about you are what you do now. You're a kind and caring person. You do your best to guide your friends and their actions. You're wise and smart and always know what to say to others who need to hear it. The person who did those bad things aren't you. It can't be." Miyuki smiled. "Someone as kind as you couldn't enjoy doing things like that." Miyuki said. Masuta stared at her for a moment, his face contemplative.

"..." He continued looking. "It sounds like you just described yourself." He smiled. "Miyuki, I'm glad you feel that way." He said.

"How could I not like you Masuta?" Miyuki gave her warmest eye-smile. "With all that you've done for me and our friends... I don't think there's any girl out there that wouldn't fall for you." Miyuki said. Masuta chuckled.

"I think you're pretty much one of the only girls who would actually go for me." Masuta chuckled. "And I really don't know why." He said. Miyuki shook her head.

"I don't know why you like me, if I were to be honest." Miyuki said. "I'm clumsy, I'm not very good at housework like cooking and cleaning, my sight is worse than twenty/two hundred." She began.

"You're smart, you're clever, you're witty, you're fun, you're pretty, you're, and I must quote Konata on this one, moe." Masuta finished. Miyuki's face flushed as she closed her mouth. "You really are a huge catch. Besides, being clumsy is cute." He said. Miyuki smiled and fidgeted. "Housework? I can do that." He said. Miyuki smiled a bit wider. "And your glasses? They're just too damn adorable." Masuta said. Miyuki blushed and adjusted her glasses. "Gotta admit, I kind of have a thing for girls with glasses." Masuta chuckled. "I was going to get an email about it, but it was taken..." He sighed. Miyuki giggled.

"I'm afraid I couldn't picture you with such an... interesting email." Miyuki giggled.

"Well, you're gonna learn a lot more about me, I'm sure." Masuta said. Miyuki smiled and cocked her head to the side, looking as mild as a sheep.

"I do so look forward to learning about you." Miyuki said.

"As I am you." Masuta smiled as the two held each other's hand.

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

As the Hiiragi car pulled up outside the Karaoke Cafe, Tsukasa began saying goodbye to her friends.

"Bye Mika-chan! Bye Teri-chan!" Tsukasa waved. "Mika-chan, you better remember what we talked about." Tsukasa turned serious for a moment. Tereya glanced at her friend as Mikado winked with a thumb up.

"Sure thing! Thanks for the advice Tsu-chan!" She said. Tsukasa nodded. "See ya Tsu-chan~!" Mikado waved energetically. Tsukasa smiled and got in the car. They closed the door and drove away. Tsukasa, still smiling, looked over at her frazzled sister. "Onee-chan? What's wrong? Is everything okay?" Tsukasa asked. When Kagami didn't seem to make a move to answer, Tsukasa looked to Konata, who was still holding her girlfriend.

"A lot of stuff happened." Konata said. She began to explain the situation to Tsukasa, who seemed quite upset. After all, in all of her life, Kagami had never once ignored her. She realized something huge must have happened for her to shut out her own sister like that, but it was disconcerting. First about their training session, then about their angel talk, the subway ride over, leaving out the bit about spying on everyone for obvious reasons. She then told her about what happened in the subway.

"Wait... Onee-chan... Did she...?" Tsukasa began to ask.

"No, there was no body." Tony said. He was lying a little, as the blood on splattered on the wall indicated that Kagami's cut had made contact. And the size of the cut was easily fatal. "My guess is that he was called away before the final blow was struck." Tony said. "So don't worry about it." Tony put his hand on her head.

"Onee-chan, are you saying you think..." Tsukasa began. Miki began to giggle, cutting her daughter off.

"Oh dear, is that was this is all about?" Miki asked. "You think you have some sort of mystic background?" Miki asked. Kagami looked at her mother.

"Look, Tsukasa is here now, could you tell us now?" Kagami asked.

"I'd rather wait until we're home. What I'm going to tell you is a little private." Tadao said.

"Come on, you can tell us!" Konata said.

"It's a family secret." Tadao insisted.

"But we're all family here!" Tsuki said. Tadao sighed.

"Sorry." Tadao said. Konata and Tsuki pouted. Tony could feel it in the air again. Something was happening, just like it had before when they asked Tsuki about Kagami.

"Are you sure~?" Tsuki asked. Tadao shrugged.

"Well, alright." He said. "You see, if you trace-"

"Honey!" Miki glared at him. He shook his head haphazardly.

"Sorry, don't know what came over me." He said. "Never mind." He said. Tsuki looked confused for a moment. Irritatingly, the air began to shift again. However, Miki looked in the mirror again. Directly at Tsuki. The air around them practically froze in her death glare. It wasn't even directed at him, but Tony shuddered again by being in the same atmosphere as that stare. "We're almost home, don't worry." Suddenly, it looked as if something went off in Konata's head.

"Hey Tsuki, you left with Yu-chan earlier, right?" She asked. Tsuki nodded.

"Yep, why?" She asked.

"What happened to her? She wasn't with you when the fighting broke out, was she?" Konata asked, concerned. Tsuki giggled a bit.

"She's with her Minami-chan~!" Tsuki did her best impression of Yutaka. It was actually pretty accurate. Konata sighed.

"Okay... I'm glad she wasn't there." Konata breathed a sigh of relief. "You walked her all the way there?" She asked.

"Yep! Minami was more than happy to see her. At least..." Tsuki trailed off a bit. "I think she was. She's hard to read." She sighed a bit.

"I know what ya mean..." Konata chuckled a little. "Man I feel a lot better..."

"Hey, we're home." Tadao said.

"Let's go!" Kagami said as she tore out of the car. The rest of the occupants of the vehicle hesitated for a moment.

"She does know she isn't going to find out before we even get there, right?" Miki giggled. They all exited the car and walked to the door. Upon opening it, they saw Kagami standing there with a somber expression.

"Looks like it might have to wait." She said. She looked a little tired of waiting, but that was understandable to all. They peeked into the living room to see Inori and Matsuri sitting down, facing the door. The television was off. Tadao could see how serious they were.

"Konata." He said sternly. "Do you remember what we talked about?" Tadao asked. Konata looked up.

"You mean about that... literature... you wanted me to obtain?" She asked. Tadao nodded his head. Konata turned to her girlfriend. "Kagamin, could you take me to where you brought my stuff? In that bag?" Konata asked. Kagami cocked her head to the side.

"Yeah, but how did you know?" The two left for Kagami's room. Those remaining, Tadao, Miki, Tsukasa, and Tony all stepped into the room. Tsuki seemed to think that she wasn't wanted and stayed behind in the hall.

"Dad." Matsuri spoke up. Tadao nodded. Inori stayed still with her head bowed. "I want you to listen to everything I have to say before you say anything." Matsuri said. Tadao nodded somberly.

"As you wish." He said simply. Matsuri took a moment to compose herself. After a few moments, she finally began to speak.

"Mom, Dad... I've spent the past while hanging out with Inori. We were joking around, upping weirdness and all of that..." Matsuri began, smiling. "We had fun. We saw movies together, had dinner, just enjoyed each other's company." She continued. She sighed. "Dad... I have to say it now, or I never will." She said as she stood up. "I am deeply in love with my sister, Inori!" Matsuri shouted.

"That so?" Tadao asked.

"I'm not finished yet!" Matsuri said. "I love Inori! And I don't care what you think about it either!" She shouted. "Me and her can both get a job! We'll move out and live together! We'll both find ways of supporting us and we won't have to hide our love! No one will care!" Matsuri shouted. Tadao chuckled. "What's so damn funny?" Matsuri shouted. "You don't think we can do it? I don't care what you think! Even if our love is some filthy, despicable thing! We'll leave in an instant!" Matsuri shouted.

"So leave." Tadao shrugged. Everyone in the room was stunned for a moment at his blunt order. "If that's what you want to do, then leave. But first, hear me out." He said, putting his hands up. He smiled. "I want you to read something." He said, walking over to the bookshelf. He looked around for a moment as Kagami and Konata reentered the room.

"We heard it from the hall." Kagami said. In Konata's hand was the bag full of manga and games that Kagami had gathered from her house.

"Ah, here it is." Tadao smiled as he picked out a large, old looking book. He walked over to the table in front of Matsuri and Inori and set it down. They looked down at it.

"Nihon Shoki..." Inori read. Matsuri looked at it for a moment and then back at her father. Tadao simply nodded. Matsuri and Inori opened the book and began to read.

"Mainly, sections two through four of the first part." Tadao said. The two skipped some and began reading.

"It's about the birth of Gods..." Matsuri said.

"Two of which are Izanagi and Izanami." Tadao said. Matsuri looked up.

"What does this have to do with what we were talking about?" Matsuri asked.

"Well, you see... When you two started with all of this, I decided to do a bit of research on the topic." Tadao said. "Much like I did with Kagami. However, this time I ignored what other people said. I didn't call other priests or anything like that. Frankly, that's not the issue here." Tadao said.

"I still don't get how this has anything to do with us!" Matsuri protested. Tadao chuckled again.

"Were not Izanagi and Izanami siblings?" Tadao asked. Inori, who had continued reading as if she had never read it before, looked up.

"Yeah, they were brother and sister." Inori said.

"They were also husband and wife." Tadao said. Here, he turned to Konata. "Konata, if you would." He said, holding his hand out. Konata reached into her sack and produced a manga, as well as a light novel she had taken from Kagami's room. Both had the same title as she gave them to Tadao. He, in turn, walked over and put them on the table.

"My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute..." Inori read.

"The title says it all." Tadao said. He turned to Konata again. "Another, if you would." He nodded. Konata took out another manga. She put it on the table.

"I Don't Like You At All, Big Brother!..." Matsuri read. She looked back at her father. "I still don't understand." She said.

"Incest." Tadao said. "It's in our culture, in our religion, and even modern day artists and authors accept it as a legitimate relationship. All of these books were written about the love of two siblings, both old and new!" Tadao said. "And it isn't just our culture, either! The Greek also had gods who were siblings, but they still married and had children!" Tadao said. "Is there a difference between the love you two share and the love between me and Miki?" Tadao asked, looking to his wife. She was smiling lovingly and shook her head. "No, I don't think so either." He said. "Incest is an inherited story that's passed through the generations since humanity has existed! So don't you dare call your love filthy! Don't call it despicable! Or else you're insulting the very concept of love itself and that isn't something I'm prepared to tolerate in my house!" Tadao said. "So leave if you're going to insult your love. However, if you're going to embrace this love of yours, you're always welcome in this house." Tadao said, with a big smile. Matsuri and Inori sat, completely stunned. "Of course, there's also the issue of you both being girls." Tadao chuckled. "But I think we already went through this with Kagami." Tadao glanced over at Kagami. Kagami was smiling warmly enough to heat a small room, as was everyone else.

"... I love you Dad..." Matsuri said as a tear fell from her eye. Kagami and Tsukasa both walked over and silently hugged their sisters.

"I love you too. Both of you." Tadao said. Konata looked at the scene and couldn't help but shed a few tears herself. She began to miss her own father. Then, she wished her father had been even half as understanding as Tadao had been. The family having a moment where none of them really talked, them all just hugging and enjoying each other for the moment, they passed a few moments in thankful silence. Finally, the moment passed, Tadao decided to revisit what would be the next huge thing on the agenda. He turned to Tony and Konata, who were still standing at the entrance to the room. "Konata, I want to thank you for your help. However, I'd like it if we could have a moment to talk to Tsukasa and Kagami alone. What we're about to say in a private, family matter." Tadao said. Tony and Konata, both nodding and understanding, left the room. With Tsukasa, Kagami, Matsuri, Inori, Miki and Tadao left in the room, they all sat down. The four oldest sat in a semi-circle in front of the twins.

"So what's this all about?" Matsuri asked, Inori's hand in hers and their fingers intertwined.

"I think it's time we told Kagami and Tsukasa about our family's lineage." Tadao said. Inori raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Really? We had to wait until our coming of age ceremony!" She protested.

"It's complicated." Kagami waved her hand dismissively. "Can we hear it? I'm dying to know about this!" Kagami said. Tadao crossed his arms and sighed.

"Alright." He said. "Like she said, usually we wait until your coming of age to tell you, but I suppose there's no harm in learning something like this a little early, is there?" Tadao smiled. Tsukasa cocked her head to the side.

"Learning something? What are we learning?" She asked. Tadao smiled at her.

"It also doubles as a ritual that's been handed down in our family for generations." Tadao said. "I know I say ritual, but it's really just a phrase that you learn." Tadao chuckled.

"A phrase?" Kagami asked. "What is it?"

"A small group of words standing together as a unit, typically forming a statement or a sentence, but that's not important right now." Tadao said.

"Why are we learning it?" Tsukasa asked.

"Patience." Tadao smiled sympathetically. "It's said that it helps release holy energy that's being held captive. Or something or another." Tadao chuckled. Kagami smiled a bit tiredly.

"I thought you were going to say that we had some sort of super ancestor." She said. Tadao hummed, clearly surprised.

"Well... Kind of. He's actually where this ritual originates." Tadao said.

_Angel._ The word ran across Kagami's head, but she shook it off. "Wow, really? We have an actual super ancestor? Who was it?" Kagami asked. Tadao smiled.

"Well, if you trace our lineage back a great distance, Yamato Takeru is our ancestor." Tadao said. Kagami sat there, stunned for a moment.

"...Whoa..." She mumbled.

"Um..." Tsukasa piped up. "Who's that?" She asked. Kagami turned to her.

"What? You don't know Tsukasa?" She asked. "Well... Basically, there was an Emperor, Keikô, who had a ton of kids. Two of them were Osu and Ousu. Osu was the younger one and killed his older brother because he wouldn't come to meals due to a dispute with his father. His father was afraid at how easily he did it and sent him off to conquer other territories. His aunt helped him with getting stuff to help with infiltrating." Kagami said. Here, Miki giggled a bit.

"How vague..." She said. Kagami looked sheepish.

"Sorry, I don't know what he actually got... I'm reciting from memory." Kagami said.

"She gave him a woman's robe and skirt, not to mention the blade he was hiding." Miki said. Kagami looked at her for a moment.

"Miki is kind of a history buff." Tadao smiled. "She knows more about our family history than I do." Tadao said. "In fact, she's the only one who'd ever heard of the phrase I'm going to teach you outside of the family." He said. Kagami smiled.

"Maybe you should be telling this story instead of me then, Mom." Kagami chuckled. Miki shook her head.

"No, you're doing a wonderful job. Please continue." Miki said. Kagami turned back to Tsukasa, but she had shrunk a little.

"Do more people die?" She asked. Kagami sighed.

"Yeah." Kagami said. "Well, even more basically, Osu went on to become Yamato Takeru who went on to accomplish a ton of amazing things. He defeated local deities of various places and even more men. He marries a bunch of women and probably has a bunch of kids." She said. "If there's anyone that can match the description of a legendary hero, it's him." Kagami described. "It's from his feats that Kusanagi gets it's name."

"Ooooh..." Tsukasa said in understanding. "Okay, I get it!" She smiled. Kagami nodded and turned back to her father.

"So, is there any particular reason you're telling us? Or just so we know? Why is it kept a secret?" Kagami asked.

"Ah, the name of Yamato Takeru isn't so much a secret anymore, the reason for that disappeared a while ago." Tadao said.

"So wait, if we're his descendants, wouldn't that mean that we have royal blood? He was a prince, right?" Kagami asked.

"Hail Empress Kagami." Matsuri chuckled.

"A yuri empress. That'd be a new one." Inori smiled. Tadao scratched the back of his head.

"Well, we may be descendants, but we weren't exactly legitimate..." Tadao said. "As a prince, he had a lot of women." Tadao chuckled humorlessly.

"You're the descendant of him and Princess Miyazu." Miki said. Tadao looked over at her.

"You never told me that before..." He said. Miki giggled.

"The explanation has never been needed before." She said. She closed her eyes and put a finger up to show she wasn't finished yet. "After which, since Kusanagi was left in her care before Yamato left for the mountain he met his fate on, she gathered it up and brought it back to Yamato's aunt, Yamato-hime. It was taken back by the gods some time later, however. A replica is kept at the shrine she tended." She said with a large smile. Tadao laughed.

"Now you're just showing off." He said.

"How do you know it's a replica?" Kagami asked. Miki looked surprised at the question, as if she hadn't been expecting it.

"Well, because Kusanagi was taken by the gods." She said. "So it must be a replica." She said.

"How do you know it was taken away?" Kagami asked. Miki chuckled.

"I read it somewhere." She said.

"She loves history." Tadao smiled. "It's been kept a secret from everyone basically because we technically could have claimed the throne. And if anything went wrong with the current emperor, people may rally behind anyone with a claim, figuring that it would have to be better than conditions were. However, it made things a lot less complicated by simply keeping the information a secret." Tadao said. "Now, the phrase." He said.

"Ready." Kagami nodded.

"I'll do my best!" Tsukasa said, full of confidence.

"Just remember, this part is a secret. If you have to tell the others about your heritage, that's your call, but this is to stay in this room and in private." Tadao said. "Do your best not to let anyone outside the family hear it." Tadao said. Both of the twins nodded.

"Understood." Kagami said. Tadao turned to the other twin.

"Tsukasa?" He asked.

"I won't say it to anyone not a part of our family!" She said. Tadao nodded.

"Alright then, this is it." He said. "I ask thee, Gods in heaven. Reveal my blood, yolked in twilight. Return my true power to me!" He said. He smiled. "Got it?" He asked. Both of the twins nodded again.

"Got it!" They both said. Kagami couldn't help but let her thoughts wander.

_What if this is some sort of super power? Like a transformation? With what happened earlier..._ Kagami thought. "I ask thee, Gods in heaven." She began. "Reveal my blood, yolked in twilight." She continued, tensing her muscles in preparation. "Return my true power to me!" She said. Suddenly, absolutely nothing happened.

"Yeah, that's it." Tadao smiled. Kagami sighed.

_Aww... That's a bummer._ Kagami thought. _What a letdown. _She slumped over depressingly. She brought herself back up. "So Mom, you already knew about this phrase before?" Kagami asked. Miki nodded.

"Yes, I remember reading it in a book somewhere. Though, it was a bit different in the book. It was also something Yamato-hime taught to Osu." Miki said. Kagami nodded.

"Alright. So that's pretty much the big story about my past that I've been worrying about this whole time?" Kagami asked. Tadao nodded.

"More or less. Was it what you were looking for?" Tadao asked. Kagami sighed.

"I don't know. I don't know what made something like the subway thing happen. I'm glad I didn't have to wait, like, three months to find out about my past though." She said. Here, Tadao shrugged.

"I don't know what caused it either. It was really surprising." Tadao said.

"Kagami." Miki said forcefully. Kagami snapped over to her quickly.

"Mom?" Kagami asked.

"I just wanted you to know..." She began. "You ARE our child." She said. "You've probably been concerned by all of this, that you were some different person who lost their memories or something." Miki said. Kagami groaned a bit.

_Right on the head..._ She thought.

"I just want to say that your concern in unfounded. You are mine and Ta-kun's child and we both love you two very much." Miki said. "You're you. You never lost your memories of being a different person." Miki said. Here she smiled. "So no, you aren't some angel thrown to Earth." She giggled.

"That would be your mother." Tadao added with a big grin. Miki elbowed him playfully.

"Now Ta-kun~..." She chimed happily before giggling. Kagami smiled at the sight. It felt as if all the tension she had been experiencing recently melted away. She was her. Her love was really her true love. The real Kagami loved Konata. She got up.

"Thank you guys... So much for telling me all of this. I feel a lot better now." She said. The parents in the room looked up to her and both smiled lovingly.

"We're glad." Tadao said for the both of them.

"I'm... gonna go tell Kona and the others that they can come back in now, if that's alright..." Kagami said. Miki nodded.

"Fine by me." She chimed. Kagami nodded.

"Thanks..." She walked out of the room. Miki giggled.

"That was interesting!" She said cheerfully, clapping her hands together.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya Luckies~! I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami~!" Akira shouted.

"And I'm the assistant, Minoru Shiraishi!"

"This really isn't a slice of life anymore, is it?" Akira sighed. "Who knows, maybe I'll~ get special training~!" She giggled.

"Yeah, everyone seems to be doing their best! Though, it is a bit odd that there doesn't even seem to be a villain if it's stopped being slice of life!" Minoru said.

"The future!" Akira shouted.

"But why?" Minoru asked.

"Because... powers? I don't really know..." Akira mumbled. "But at least there are some really nice parts! The way Inori and Matsuri were accepted was great!" Akira shouted.

"Yeah, isn't it great how when someone confesses, they'll probably get accepted?" Minoru asked.

"... Huh?" Akira looked over at him.

"What?" Minoru asked.

"... What's with the funny way you're wording that?" Akira stared at him suspiciously. Minoru put his hands up.

"What do you mean by funny?" Minoru asked.

"... Almost like you're expecting something from me..." Akira said. Minoru, chuckling, shook his head.

"Absolutely nothing." He said. "Just like you aren't expecting anything from me, right?" He asked. Akira looked away.

"Che, why don't you make yourself useful and find me a hundred billion yen?" Akira asked.

"If you want to find a hundred billion yen, just look in a mirror." Minoru said. Suddenly, Akira's jaw dropped as her head whipped around to stare at him.  


"... ah..." A slight noise escaped her throat.

*Music Tone*

"I guess that's all the time we have for today!" Minoru shouted as Akira continued to stare at him, her jaw agape. "We'll see you all next time! Bye-nii~!"

"..."

"... Wh... When the hell did YOU get so smooth?"

"Smooth? I was just stating a fact." Minoru said.

"... Damn it..."

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

What did you guys all think, huh? I hope you all liked it! And I got this one in two months instead of three! Sweetness! Let's see if I can take it down another month with the next one! Make sure to review!


	54. Chapter 54: A Very Doge TItle

Chapter 54: Many Discussion. So Ripping. Very Cooking. Much Confrontation.

Wow.

So, my goal was the 4th. That didn't happen. Obviously. I've had the last four days off of work though, and I wrote a great deal of this chapter during it! Do you realize that this story has hit over 500,000 words? 500,000. Let's put a feeling to that number, shall we? War and Peace is 587,287 words. You've seen War and Peace right? The book, not movie? It's huge. Like, freaking huge. That's a little less than nine chapters ahead of me. And this story definitely won't end around there. So yeah. My Lucky Star fanfiction that I started on a whim three or four years ago years ago (depending on whether or not you mean published or thought of respectively) has now turned into a Lucky Star fanfiction that is almost as big as one of the go-to books when talking about length. Of course, that's speaking merely of length. I'll admit, I've never read War and Peace, but I'd imagine that if it's still around and known, not to mention famous, it's gotta be pretty good. Or one of those works that English majors and the like love to pick apart.

"The curtains were blue."

"The curtains represent his immense depression and total lack of will to carry on."

OR

The curtains were blue.

Meh, I've tried those things in here too, but I don't know if any of them did any good. I wouldn't be surprised if it were both of them. Meh, chalk it up to ignorant youth. I haven't got the time to read it and it wasn't exactly on my old school reading list. Anyway, enough with all of that. I think I'm gonna try and get on with the chapter already! I know I made you guys wait a long time for it...

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Kagami poked her head out of the door, calling Tony, Konata, and Tsuki to attention.

"Alright guys, secret time is over." She said with a smile.

"So what's the scoop, Kagami?" Konata asked. Kagami's smile turned sympathetic.

"Sorry Kona, you know I can't tell you... It's a secret, ya know?" Kagami asked.

"No." Konata replied. "That isn't fair Kagami." She said sternly. Kagami cocked her head to the side.

"What do you mean, Kona?" She asked.

"Kagami, this was tearing you apart before! You were having an existential crisis and questioning everything about yourself and you just expect me to take a "I'm fine now"? There's no way I'd let it go at that!" Konata said.

"Kona, I can't. Dad made me promise that I would never tell anyone outside the family about that stuff. There's not really a lot I can do about it..." Kagami said. "You were okay with not knowing a few moments ago Kona, what changed?" Kagami asked.

"I thought you might tell us after you knew, like it was up to you if you wanted to tell us or not. But I've had a few minutes to think it over. I need to know what's going on with you Kagamin." Konata said.

"But I can't tell you... Dad said..." Kagami said.

"Kagamin, isn't there anything else that we can do? I want to know what's going on... Why you were able to do all of that." Konata said. Kagami sighed.

"Look... Maybe you can ask Dad... He wouldn't tell you before, but maybe if you can make a good argument..." Kagami said. Konata huffed as Kagami retreated into the living room. The three waiting in the hallway followed her. "Dad, Kona wants to know about the stuff you just told me..." Kagami said.

"If you were meant to hear it, you wouldn't have been asked to leave." Tadao said. Konata sighed.

"But..." She began thinking. "I will be." She said. "Eventually, me and Kagami will be married. Mom was in here when you were talking about it, so spouses get to know about it. Since I'll be marrying Kagami in the future, can't I know now?" Konata asked very seriously. Kagami gasped, covering her mouth with her hands and blushing.

"... It's a proposal then." She said. Konata smiled.

"I know it's a bit early, but I do fully intend on marrying you one day, Kagami." Konata said. Tadao crossed his arms.

"Hm..." He said.

"I don't think so." Miki said. Everyone looked over at her. She seemed as serious as Konata had been.

"What do you mean? Why not?" Konata asked.

"You two being married isn't legal in Japan." Miki said. Here, she smiled a bit. "Though, I do wish I could say otherwise, I don't think it'll change any time soon. So I don't think it would do to tell you." Miki said.

"I intend to change that." Kagami said with fiery passion. "If these schools ever open back up, I'm going to become a lawyer." Kagami declared. "I'm going to change the law and make our marriage legal." Kagami said. Miki and Tadao looked at the two.

"It will take more than a lawyer. Something like that is going to be a LOT harder than you think." Miki said.

"I hope you do though." Tadao smiled. "If you can do something like that, well..." Tadao said. Miki sighed.

"To be honest, from what I understand, at least, I'm pretty sure it's one old codger that's keeping it from happening." Miki said. "It's very likely that you'd never win from what I've seen." Miki sighed.

"What's gotten into you, dear?" Tadao asked. "It's not like you to be so pessimistic." Tadao said.

"But what they're up against..." Miki began, but decided she would stop and sigh instead of continuing. "I do genuinely hope you can find a way of legalizing your marriage. But I don't think you quite know how hard it will be. It'll be a battle harder than any you've fought." Miki smiled sympathetically. Konata sighed.

"But I'll be there to support her all the way!" She said. Tadao sighed and closed his eyes. Miki sighed.

"It's your decision, honey." Miki said. Tadao made a sound to recognize she had spoken, but made none to indicate his opinion. He sat for a few moments and thought. One eye opened and looked at Tony.

"Do you feel the same way?" Tadao asked.

"Well, other than the fact that my marriage would be legal, then yeah. I really do intend on marrying Tsukasa one day." Tony said. Tsukasa blushed and put her hand to her mouth. Tony smiled and looked at her. "If Tsukasa will have me, that is." He said. She looked immensely happy.

"Yes... I will!" Tsukasa said with a fierce nod. Tony smiled and chuckled.

"I can't say it'll be soon. I'd love to marry you Tsukasa, but I don't know enough about women. I need to learn about stuff so that I don't make some stupid mistake again. I made at least one already. And I almost lost you because of that." Tony said. Tsukasa smiled.

"I took the good times. I'll take the bad times." She echoed. "I'll take you just the way you are." She said. The two held eye contact for a moment. Tadao sighed, interrupting the two.

"Alright. Fine, I suppose." He said. He opened his eyes and looked at the two seriously. "I'll tell you the same thing I told those two. This is supposed to be a huge secret. Other than Miki, you two will be the only ones to not be legally a part of this family that will know this secret." Tadao said. Tony and Konata both nodded. Tadao looked at Tsuki. They stared at each other for a few minutes.

"... Oh come on!" Tsuki complained. "After all that, you're only gonna kick ME out?" Tsuki asked.

"Yes." Tadao said. Inori and Matsuri got up and walked over to her.

"Come on, we'll leave with ya." They both said as the three of them left.

* * *

**POV Tsuki**

"I can't believe I have to leave..." Tsuki mumbled.

"Well, you have to understand. Family secret and all." Inori said.

"What, about Yamato?" Tsuki asked. There was silence for a few moments.

"... How the hell did you know about that?" Matsuri asked. Tsuki seemed disheveled for a moment.

"Well aren't I like a part of the family now?" Tsuki asked with a smile.

"No. You're not. Not like that." Matsuri said. "We haven't told you. Mom and Dad haven't told you. And none of the others have had time to tell you. So how. Do. You. Know?" Inori asked. Tsuki waved her hand in front of her dismissively. Having let something slip, she began her familiar spell again.

"Ahehe... It's complicated..." She said. She suppressed the curiosity of the girlfriends and forced them to be less inquisitive. She wasn't entirely sure how it worked, but her uncle had taught it to her and he was one of the best at these sorts of things

"Hm..." Inori folded arms. "Fair enough." She shrugged.

"Yeah, well, if you know already, there really wasn't any reason for you to be kicked out." Matsuri shrugged. Suddenly feeling like the topic had been closed, she decided on a new one. "So, you look a lot like Tsukasa. What's up with that?" Matsuri asked. Tsuki chuckled nervously.

"Well, they say that there are at least seven people in the world that are supposed to look exactly like you... With more than seven billion people in the world, there are bound to be look-alikes..." Tsuki said.

"I suppose that that would make sense." Inori said.

"With so many people there would be some that would bound to be similar looking." Matsuri said. "Still, I never thought you'd also have some sort of abilities. Like Tony does." Matsuri said.

"Well, he was born with his powers, so why couldn't I?" Tsuki said.

"How do you know he was born with them?" Inori asked.

_Crap._ Tsuki thought. "Ahehehe... It's REALLY complicated." She said for the umpteenth time, also reusing her spell.

"Once again, fair enough." Inori said. Tsuki sighed in relief. After what happened in the car, she was worried the spell had stopped working.

_I guess it was just a fluke... _"Hey, I think it would cause trouble if they knew that I knew about the whole "Yamato" thing. So we should totally NOT tell them about it, alright?" Tsuki said.

"I guess that makes sense." Matsuri said. "Yeah, we should keep this from them." She said. She found the current topic had overstayed it's welcome. She looked over at Inori. "You know, we've only had one real date." She said.

"Earlier, yeah." Inori smiled. "I guess we can't really consider the others dates." Here, Inori sighed. "I can't believe it." She said.

"To think, that all of this time, my love was literally in the room right near my own." Matsuri said.

"If only I had known before." Inori said, staring into Matsuri's eyes. Sharing a moment with each other and leaving Tsuki entirely out of the loop, the door opened and Tadao poked his head out.

"Alright, you can come on back in." He said. Tsuki looked around at the two lovers, who spent another moment there before walking back into the living room. Tsuki followed.

* * *

**POV Konata**

"That's it!" Konata shouted as Tadao finished his explanation of their family heritage. Everyone in the room looked at her.

"That's what Kona?" Kagami asked.

"That's why you've been so much of a natural!" Konata said. "The descendant of some legendary hero like Yamato Takeru? Fighting is in your blood! That's why!" Konata said.

"Anyone with the blood of a legendary hero would be able to master basics like we were teaching you with ease." Tony said.

"I dunno, I never was very physically fit." Tadao said. "I tried to learn some basic Karate, but I was never any good or anything."

"I guess the blood just runs stronger in you Kagamin~!" Konata chimed.

"I don't think blood works that way, Kona..." Kagami giggled.

"You didn't think Yamato Takeru was your ancestor or that you had any mystic sort of background too! Who knows about this kind of stuff Kagamin?" Konata asked as Tadao walked over to the door.

"Alright." Tony began thinking. "Hey Mom, you said you were a history buff, right?" Tony asked. Miki nodded.

"It was Ta-kun who said that, but I do love history." She said with a smile.

"So... Hachiman is Emperor Ojin, correct?" He asked. History was never his strong point. Miki nodded, however.

"Yes, he was." Miki said.

"Any relation? I know that Yamato Takeru was an Emperor as well." Tony said. Miki giggled.

"While you are correct that they are related, it's a bit of an odd web." Miki smiled. "If I were to be simple about it, Yamato Takeru would be Hachiman's grandfather." Miki said. "Though, I read somewhere that he returned for a day to teach some of his swordplay to Emperor Ojin while he was a boy." Miki said. She got a distant look in her eye, as if trying to remember some obscure detail. "I'm not sure if I remember the names of the techniques... Or if they were even named there..." She said. Tony chuckled.

"I understand, you don't need to push yourself." He said. "Well Kagami, your ancestor is the ancestor of the god who's been helping us." Tony chuckled.

"Both direct descendants of Amaterasu herself." Miki pointed out. She smiled. "If you believe the myth, at least." She said. "Of course, if you really did have divine blood in you, it would probably be diluted to the point of nothing." She said.

"Yet it seems to be acting up." Tony said. "I'm assuming, at least. What else could cause Kagami to blow away someone who was twice as powerful as the guy who just about killed me?" Tony asked.

"Again, I don't think blood works like that." Kagami said.

"Meh, who knows." Tony shrugged. "Well, that's pretty crazy. Next time we see Hachiman, I'll have to tell him about this." Tony chuckled. "You're related in some way, at least."

"Though, only through Yamato Takeru." Miki said. "His consort to have your line, Kagami, was Princess Miyazu. For Emperor Ojin, his consort was Futajiirihime." Miki said. "If I remember correctly, that is." She added as an afterthought.

"Well, cool." Tony said.

"So I'm related to gods now. Wonderful." Kagami sighed. "Looks like I'm just as special as you guys after all." Kagami chuckled. "So that means that, by extension, Tsukasa is also a descendant of Yamato Takeru and, by extension again, Amaterasu..." Kagami began thinking.

"If you believe the myth, that is." Miki smiled.

"If I believe the myth, that is." Kagami nodded. "Well, with all of the things I've seen and heard in these past few months, I wouldn't be overly surprised if something like that WERE the case..." Kagami chuckled. "Maybe that's why Amaterasu is so interested in her." Kagami smiled at her twin. Tsukasa blushed a bit.

"I guess Onee-chan." She smiled.

"Maybe it's why you can heal stuff?" Konata suggested.

"Ah, speaking of which." Tony said. He turned to his girlfriend. "Tsukasa, apparently my body is gonna crash again. It's the reason I couldn't help Kagami earlier. Do you think that there's anything you could do to help me out with that?" Tony asked.

"But... I thought I healed you earlier!" She said. Tony shrugged.

"You healed me, but somehow that got missed. Go figure." He said. "Do you think you could heal me again?" Tony asked. Tsukasa's bow drooped a bit.

"I'm sorry I didn't heal you right the first time..." She apologized. Tony waved his hands in front of him.

"No, it isn't your fault! You're still new to this whole thing! The fact that did what you did was amazing in and of itself! I couldn't believe that you healed me where, apparently, Tsuki couldn't!" Tony said. Tsukasa smiled again.

"You really mean that?" She asked.

"Absolutely!" Tony said and gave a thumbs up. Tsukasa giggled.

"Okay, I'll try again... Maybe the one that I used before..." Tsukasa wondered. She looked around to see everybody looking at her curiously. She blushed a bit. "Do I have to do it in front of all of you?" She asked. Tony chuckled.

"You just did it in front of potentially millions of people. And an audience. Now you're embarrassed to do it in front of your family?" Tony asked. Tsukasa blushed a little bit more.

"Well, I wasn't the center of attention before..." She mumbled.

"Yes you were." Tony said. "You brought a dead man back to life. Of course you'd be the center of attention. Besides, people always look at the beautiful girl with the pretty singing voice." Tony pointed out. Tsukasa's face exploded.

"Yeah, it was a really pretty song." Kagami smiled and scratched the back of her head. Tsukasa whined a little bit.

"But that was just because it was Amaterasu's song!" Tsukasa protested.

"Tsukasa, your voice was angelic! It was amazing!" Tony said. He sighed. "Fine, we can go elsewhere." He smiled and left, Tsukasa behind him.

"So what are we talking about?" Tsuki asked as she walked back in, along with Inori and Matsuri.

"What took you guys so long? Dad went to get you a while ago." Kagami said.

"These two were having a moment. It seemed rude to interrupt them." Tsuki giggled.

"Sorry, sorry." Matsuri waved her hand in front of her face with a smile, making it quite obvious that she didn't feel any guilt at all.

"Oh yeah." Konata said, looking over at the two. "By the way guys, here's the check from the tournament. I hope it's enough." Konata said, handing them the check money. Matsuri and Inori both held onto it gingerly and looked at the amount. Inori thinking and running some numbers in her head.

"I think..." She put her finger to her lip and continued to think. "I think this should be a little more than enough..." She smiled. She and Matsuri both looked over at Konata.

"I feel really bad about taking this much money though..." Matsuri said. Konata shook her head.

"Don't. Think of it as an investment! So, do you think that Yutaka might be able to live here now?" Konata asked. Tadao sighed.

"I guess that would be alright. We would just have to figure out where she would live." Tadao said. "We only have so many rooms."

"Let's see..." Inori began thinking. "Mom and Dad's room... My room... Matsuri's room... Kagami's room... Tsukasa's room..."

"Kona-chan's room." Tsukasa corrected. Inori looked surprised, but nodded.

"Alright... Konatan's room." Inori said. "That's all of our rooms." Inori said.

"Me and Kona can live in the same room." Kagami volunteered selflessly, as she would claim.

"Um..." Konata began.

"What the big deal, Kona?" Kagami asked. "We've slept in the same bed before." Kagami said.

"Not really. Usually you just kick me out with a huge blush on your face." Konata giggled.

"What about after you defended me against those thugs?" Kagami said.

"Wait wait wait." Matsuri interrupted.

"When did this happen?" Miki asked.

"What happened?" Tadao asked.

"And where?" Inori asked.

"They wouldn't tell me either." Tony said.

"Later." Kagami waved her hand dismissively.

"See?" Tony said.

"Yeah... We did sleep in the same bed then..." Konata blushed a bit.

"You were so cute..." Kagami giggled. She gasped through her nose sharply. "THAT REMINDS ME." She said grandly, turning towards Matsuri. "You lied." She said bluntly. Matsuri looked confused.

"What? About what?" She asked.

"What you said on the phone the day before the festival." Kagami said. Matsuri blinked a few minutes.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She said, having only been more confused by what Kagami was saying.

"Remember? Tony picking a cute girl?" Kagami asked. Inori began staring at her girlfriend.

"What was that?" Inori asked. "We've been officially dating for ten minutes and I find out you're cheating on me with my sister?" Inori asked.

"What are you talking about? Seriously, I don't remember what you're talking about." Matsuri said.

"You kiddin'?" Kagami made her voice a bit deeper to show that she was now making fun of her older sister. "If we weren't related and I were a lesbian, I'd hit it." She quoted.

"How do you remember this stuff?" Matsuri asked.

"Well look at you now!" Kagami pointed accusingly at the couple. "You ARE related, you ARE a lesbian, and you are, IN FACT, hitting it!" Kagami shouted. Matsuri and Inori both blushed. Konata, on the other hand, burst into laughter. Inori looked over at her girlfriend and glared.

"Really? Tsukasa. Really?" Inori asked.

"You have to admit, she's really cute." Matsuri said, her blush turning carmine. Inori sighed.

"I have to admit... I can't exactly blame you..." Inori giggled a bit. The both of them looked at Kagami. "Look me in the eyes and tell me you can." Inori said. Kagami stared at the two of them for a moment, the room halting for a brief moment. Finally, Kagami sighed.

"No, no I can't. Still, you lied." Kagami said to Matsuri.

"Even her sisters want her." Konata giggled. "Everyone loves Tsukasa."

"There's just so much to love." Matsuri commented.

"Hey, if I got to eat her cooking everyday then maybe..." Konata said.

"Don't finish that sentence, Kona." Kagami said.

"What, you can lust after your sister but I can't?" Konata asked.

"That was that and this is this." Kagami said.

"That was this and this is that." Konata said quickly.

"That makes no sense." Kagami said.

"I've never had any sense to begin with." Konata responded.

"True, very true." Kagami said. "Still. I know I'm not gonna go after Tsukasa." Kagami said.

"You don't know I'm not?" Konata asked.

"See, why don't I trust you?" Kagami asked.

"Because I'm not trustworthy." Konata said. The two stopped and stared at each other through overly squinted eyes before dissolving into laughter.

"I didn't follow any of that." Matsuri said.

"Well, it wasn't a straight conversation." Kagami said.

"In more ways than one." Konata said. Tsukasa opened the door suddenly and poked her head in.

"Hey, is it okay to come back in now?" She asked.

"I dunno Tsukasa, you might get attacked if you do." Konata chuckled.

"Wuh-what?" She asked.

"Never mind." Kagami smiled. "You heal Tony again?"

"Yeah, I should be good." Tony said, following Tsukasa into the room. "Hopefully, at least." Tony added on as more of an afterthought. "If not, that's gonna suck." He said.

"So what's everybody talking about?" Tsukasa asked innocently. As the room fell silent, she looked around and tried to get a response of any kind, but almost everyone in the room simply blushed and averted their gaze, seemingly wanted to avoid eye contact at all costs. Tony looked at everybody's responses and almost seemed to read their minds.

"Tsu-chan is mine." He said, putting his arms around her protectively. She smiled and blushed.

"Hey, you don't own her now." Matsuri said.

"I didn't say I owned her." Tony said. "But she IS my girlfriend."

"I don't really get it, but I'm happy." Tsukasa smiled and cuddled up to her boyfriend.

"I'm happy you're happy." Tony said, not breaking eye contact with the rest of the room over-protectively. He realized he was guarding a puppy in a room of animals seeking her. In front of him laid a fox, rabbit, a panda and a mouse. And he could tell that they were all waiting to pounce on his little puppy.

"This is getting silly." Tsuki commented, reminding the entire room that she, in fact, exists.

"Oh yeah, I forgot you were here." Kagami said.

"Well, you haven't said anything!" Matsuri said.

"I was listening." Tsuki smiled.

"If you want to talk, you're allowed to ya know." Konata said.

"Nah, I really didn't have anything to add anyway." Tsuki said. "Even if you pause in a conversation, I usually don't have anything to say then!" She said.

_Getting the weirdest feeling of Deja-vu right now..._ Tony couldn't help but think.

"Well isn't that just kinda what we started doing around here?" Kagami asked. "Two people start talking and then get super into it until the point that nobody else seems to be able to get a single word into the conversation." Kagami said.

"Yeah, it seems that way. Well, a whole bunch of people talking at once seems bulky." Konata said.

"Not if everyone contributes." Matsuri offered.

"And if everyone says a couple of things, then maybe it isn't so bad?" Inori said.

"But if a couple of people only get a couple of lines while a couple of other people get the whole dialogue, then what's the point?" Kagami asked.

"Well, I suppose you do have a point there..." Matsuri said.

"Maybe we should just go with what we've been doing." Konata said. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"So, anyway." Tony spoke up. "I think I'm gonna head home. I'm exhausted and hungry and I want to go to sleep." He said as he stood up. "Are you ready to go, Tsukasa?" Tony asked. Tsukasa looked around the room at her family. As if giving a farewell look, her gaze lingered on each of them for a few seconds. Then, she closed her eyes, nodded to herself and stood up.

"I'm ready Kan-kun." Tsukasa said, smiling as though she were mustering her determination.

"Alright then, we'll see you guys later." Tony waved. As he and Tsukasa began to leave, Kagami jumped a bit.

"Tony!" Kagami said. Tony looked back over at her.

"What's up?" He said. Kagami got up and ran over. Leaning up and cupping her hands around her mouth so as not to be overheard, she spoke.

"Do you have any toothpicks in your house?" She asked. Tony was perplexed at the seemingly unrelated question.

"Well... Yeah." He said.

"Get rid of them." Kagami whispered very seriously.

"Hehe..." Tony chuckled uncertainly, trying to see if it was a joke and if Kagami would begin laughing with him. When Kagami made no move to, he stopped. "Why?" He asked.

"Just do it." Kagami said. "Get rid of all of them." She said.

"Er... Okay..." Tony said.

"Before Tsukasa finds them." Kagami said.

"I got it, I got it." Tony said. "Thanks. Anything else I need to know?"

"Do you have any unused pieces of furniture in plain sight?" Kagami asked.

"Er... I dunno... I think there's a chair that I might not use too often. I used to have clothes on it before Tsuki cleaned it." Tony said.

"Clean it. Use it." Kagami said. Tony blinked a time or two before nodding.

"Er... Okay... Why?" Tony asked.

"I was gonna let you find out about it, but it's that thing I told you about Tsukasa earlier." Kagami said. "Just trust me unless you want to go find a forest." Kagami said. The phrase only confused Tony more.

"Find... a forest..." Tony said.

"Trust me." Kagami said.

"What are you two talking about?" Konata asked.

"Kan-kun, what's going on?" Tsukasa asked.

"Tsukasa, I can honestly say that I have no idea." Tony said.

"It's nothing, Kona." Kagami sighed, not having been able to tell Tony everything she had wanted to tell him. He would have to learn about it all on his own from here on. "Tony." Kagami said very seriously.

"Kagami?" Tony asked, very confused by all he had heard.

"Don't forget what I told you. Listen to what I said." Kagami said. Her piece spoken, she sighed and turned to Konata. Everyone had been staring at the two and it made Tony feel uncomfortable.

"... Anyway... I'll be sure to do that, Kagami, thanks for the heads up." Tony nodded to Kagami. Konata looked at the two for a moment, and then understanding seemed to dawn on her.

"Aaahhh, I see what's going on..." Konata said. "The way you got so jealous when I clung to him, the very yandere feel I got from you, YOU and Kan-kan are having an affair!" Konata shouted, pointing at the two. Kagami punched Konata on the top of the head.

"You idiot." She said, though she couldn't suppress her smile.

"That not it?" Konata asked.

"Definitely not." Kagami said. Konata hummed again.

"... So-" Tony began.

"No Kan-kan, you're not allowed to leave until I figure this out!" Konata pointed accusingly at him while a bump swelled on her head. She crossed her arms and hummed. "Hmm... Did you tell him where I hid that special lingerie for Tsukasa at in her new room?" Konata asked. Kagami began staring at Konata, who was staring back.

"..." Kagami simply continued to stare at her.

"..." Konata, seemingly deciding that a staring contest was in order, stared back.

"...No." Kagami said.

"Kon-kon, I'd like to speak with you in private, later." Tony said.

"Down Tony." Kagami said without looking away from Konata. Soon, another bump joined the first one on Konata's head. "Idiot." Kagami said.

"So..." Tony began and trailed off to see if he would be interrupted again. When he wasn't immediately, he decided to continue. "Can I go now?" Konata waved dismissively.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll figure it out when we talk in private, later." Konata said.

"No private talk!" Kagami shouted, though she was ultimately ignored.

"Well, I'll see you all later!" Tony said as he left the house, Tsukasa in tow. Everyone in the room watched the door in silence for a moment.

"... I miss her." Matsuri said.

"She's been gone for ten seconds." Kagami said.

"Well, at least we got a new little sister~!" Inori shouted as she tackled Konata.

"Pile on Konatan!" Matsuri shouted as she leaped into the fray.

"Hey, she's mine!" Kagami shouted as she ran up and got tangled in.

"Oh dear god help me!" Konata shouted.

"..." Tadao watched with an amount of concern for his future daughter-in-law.

"..." Miki watched. "... My, what an eventful day it's been." She smiled in a carefree way.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony and Tsukasa opened the door to their house. The two had decided that walking was the best method for getting home rather than apparition or the subway. Never the subway. The two walked in and looked around. There was a pack of toothpicks that had somehow fell through the cracks of Tsuki's cleaning. Or they had been placed there. He had no idea how this place was cleaned. In any case, he quickly dashed over and snatched them before Tsukasa could see.

"Kan-kun?" Tsukasa asked. "What was that?" She asked, cocking her head to the side as Tony hid the pack behind his back. Tony was briefly reminded of a puppy.

"It's nothing Tsukasa, don't worry about it." Tony waved his free hand around, distracting her from the small amount of magic he had worked to send the package away somewhere. "So..." He looked around. "What do we do now?" Tony asked.

"I... don't know." Tsukasa smiled as she thought. Tony's stomach growled. "Oh! You're hungry, I'll make food!" She said, glad to have something to do.

"I ate already, you don't have to worry about it." Tony said.

"No, I heard your tummy! I'm gonna go make something!" Tsukasa said.

"You know, I still haven't seen you cook..." Tony said with a smile.

"Come watch!" Tsukasa cheered happily. The two entered the kitchen. Feeling like showing off for her boyfriend, Tsukasa began to concentrate. With the power of a cooking goddess, she began to tap into the ethereal powers of the comsokitchen and channeled the great strength from beyond. Tony watched as she suddenly snapped on two of the burners on dramatically. She then rose her hands once more and snapped the other one on, one being occupied with the pot of dengen. She put a pot in the sink to begin filling with water as the stove began preheating, all while she grated cheese and sliced tomatoes. Tony watched in awe.

"So... So many arms..." He looked on in wonder. "This is Tsukasa's... True form.. The Goddess of Cooking!" Tony shouted. Realizing he was being an idiot, he shook his head. "Or not... Those are all just afterimages, but I can't follow all of their movements... She's moving her arms so fast that she looks like she has more than two!" Tony said. Suddenly, it was like one of the cabinets fell open. A small bag of rice fell out. As Tony was about to move to catch it, Tsukasa's hand shot up and hit it. It opened up and the rice fell into one of the now boiling pots of water. When did she take them from the sink? This was moving way too fast for Tony to keep up... Tsukasa, knowing she was nailing it, smiled to herself nostalgically.

_It all started when Kona-chan came over years ago and Misa-chan stopped by with her friend without us knowing... Suddenly, I had to start cooking for three extra people while I was cooking for everyone else! Misa-chan said she was allergic to what I was going to make so I had to make her a completely separate meal at the same time so she could eat with everyone else... Plus Konata didn't like what I was making either, so I had to make something else for her too... Could it be done?_ She wondered to herself. _I didn't think I could actually do it..._ She thought. _But I pulled it off... I actually pulled it off. After that, I wanted to see how far I could go... I started cooking four meals separately. Then five. Now I can cook separate meals for our whole family AND friends at the same time! _She thought to herself.

"This is the Goddess of Cooking's power, eh?" Tony chuckled to himself.

_It's been a while... I wonder if I can still..._ Tsukasa wondered to herself. She stopped with the ingredients. _Synchronization!_ She repeated the word Kagami had taught her as she made her move. She threw the cheese, tomatoes, carrots she had gotten at some point, a potato that Tony didn't remember owning and a large piece of chicken that seemingly came from nowhere up into the air. She grabbed the pot of boiled rice and moved it into the air and back down quickly before grabbing a strainer and straining the rice above the pot. She put it on a plate while the water fell back into the pot without missing a drop. Tossing the strainer into the sink, her hand found a knife. She moved it seemingly once through the ingredients above the plate of rice before tossing some condiments in the air below the ingredients. The cheese, tomatoes, carrots, and chicken were suddenly cut into nine pieces each above the plate. She swung the knife one more time through them as they fell, turning them into eighteen pieces as they fell through the condiments, becoming perfectly seasoned on the way down. They hit the plate and formed a type of curry. The condiments mixed with the water left on the rice that hadn't been completely strained to make a sort of sauce. The meal complete, she turned around, a rare look of pride on her face as she held out the plate. Tony couldn't take it for a moment though, still attempting to take in what he had just witnessed.

"Tsukasa..." Tony mumbled. _If she could apply that ability to fighting... Me, Konata and probably Hachiman would be mincemeat to her..._ Tony chuckled humorlessly. For the moment that he entertained the thought, he ignored Tsukasa's position on hurting, much less killing, anything. He was then extremely glad that she had that attitude. From Tony's eyes, the entire last movement, her Synchronization, had only lasted a handful of seconds. He couldn't follow most of it, and what he could looked like a blur. If Tsukasa could fight like she could cook, no man alive would be able to match her. Suddenly, he felt something on his chest. Coming back to his senses, he saw Tsukasa's finger on his chest, just above where his heart was. He blushed. "Um... Tsukasa, what are you doing?" He asked.

"Well, whenever Onee-chan started to space out..." She began. "And it worked!" Tsukasa cheered. "I was worried that you didn't want to eat..." She said.

"Ah, of course! I was just a bit lost in thought..." Tony chuckled as he took the plate. Tsukasa stared at him intently, waiting for him to taste the food she had prepared. He took the utensils given to him and took a bit. As expected, he practically vomited rainbows from the taste. "Holy mother of all that's holy, this is amazing!" Tony shouted to the heavens. He half considered using magic to make beams of light shoot from his mouth to me even more dramatic, but ultimately decided against it. Tsukasa blushed, smiled, and fidgeted a bit.

"Good... I'm glad... you like it..." She suddenly seemed out of breath.

"Tsukasa, are you alright?" Tony asked, putting the food down to help support his girlfriend.

"Yeah, Kan-kun." She said with a happy, albeit tired, smile. "I just get really tired when I cook that fast." She said. Tony smiled and pecked her on the head.

"Oh, I have an idea!" Tony said. Having completely forgotten about the energy in his ring recently, he tapped into it and began replenishing Tsukasa's energy. The rate she was losing energy, however, concerned Tony. If this had continued without him giving it to her, she may well have lost consciousness after a few more seconds. "Hey Tsukasa..." Tony began.

"Yes Kan-kun?" Tsukasa asked.

"You don't have to push yourself so hard, you know?" He smiled. "I can't have you fainting after every meal." He chuckled. Tsukasa simply smiled back tiredly.

"Okay Kan-kun... But how was it? Did I look cool?" She asked with her best puppy eyes. Tony smiled warmly.

"You found a way to be cool and hot at the same time." He said. Tsukasa blushed deeply, her strength beginning to return. The energy in Tony's ring ran out before he could put her back at her full strength, however. The amount of energy she had lost in that mode terrified him. She would probably have been okay after sleeping, but he didn't want to take the chance. He decided to use his own energy to replenish the rest of her strength. Compared to his own reserves, it was almost a trivial amount.

"Are you okay Kan-kun?" Tsukasa asked. Tony realized how he must have looked and smiled again.

"I'm fine Tsukasa." He smiled widely.

"You just looked worried..." She said. Tony smiled a bit wider.

"You're so adorable Tsukasa." Tony chuckled as he ruffled her hair. Tsukasa blushed a bit more. "Here, I don't think I can eat all of this..." Tony said, as the portion of food that Tsukasa had made was truly enormous. He had been hungry, but had already eaten as well. Grabbing another pair of utensils, he returned to the table. "Here, let's share it." Tony smiled.

"But you're hungry!" Tsukasa argued.

"I ate earlier, so I wasn't that hungry and if I eat all of this, I'm gonna be miserable later. You'd be doing me a favor by eating with me!" Tony said. Tsukasa smiled.

"I'm not that hungry though!" She protested. Suddenly, as if by some mystic cue, her stomach growled. The two of them looked at her stomach and met stares.

"... There's a rumbly in your tumbly." He said with a frightening seriousness. He brought some a piece of chicken with some of the sauce on it up. "Time for something sweet." He said. Tsukasa smiled and sighed the sigh of the defeated. She opened her mouth.

"Ah~!" She said as Tony began feeding her.

"See? Is that so difficult?" Tony asked. "Amazing, isn't it?" Tony asked.

"It's good." Tsukasa smiled. _I'm glad it came out good, I haven't cooked like that in a while..._ She thought. It was odd, this had been the first time she hadn't crashed hard after it as well. Guessing that Tony had done something, as she had felt a refreshing sensation along with the usually draining one that came from using her "Goddess of Cooking mode", as everyone seemed to call it, she sighed with happiness. The two smiled as they shared the meal together, and both shared a mutual thought.

_This is gonna be great._ They both thought at the same time.

* * *

**POV Konata**

Inori, Matsuri, and Kagami all sat down in front of Konata, who looked quite ruffled.

"Sorry Konatan." Inori apologized.

"Yeah, we got a little carried away." Matsuri said, chuckling humorlessly a little.

"She's my girlfriend, I don't know why I should apologize..." Kagami said, looking pointedly away from Konata.

"You ripped my clothes..." Konata said.

"Not entirely sure it was an accident..." Kagami mumbled, blushing.

"You realize that I never got any of my clothes from my house, right? This is, like, my only pair of clothes right now." Konata said.

"Sorry Konatan..." Inori sighed. Matsuri gave a similar response.

"So why don't we just go on over to your old house and get some more! Maybe pick up a few of Yutaka's things since she'll also be staying here for a while." Kagami said. Konata sighed nodded.

"I don't know if I wanna go back there yet." Konata said. "I don't want to see Dad again." She said. Kagami sighed. She understood her girlfriend's hesitation to go to a meeting that could potentially turn fatal to her father.

"Then I'll just go." Kagami said.

"No." Konata said.

"Why not?" Kagami asked.

"Because it's super dangerous if he's still like he was! Even with the training you've gotten from me and Kan-kan, you're still not in any position to defend yourself from a grown man." Konata said.

"I just kicked a grown man's ass on the subway by myself. A fighter specifically trained to be able to beat Tony and anything that got in their way. I think I'd be able to handle your father." Kagami smiled.

"You know how to set that off?" Konata asked. Kagami put a finger to her cheek and thought for a moment.

"..." She thought for a long moment. "Nope." She eventually conceded.

"So then it doesn't count." Konata said.

"Kona, let's go together! You can wait outside just in case I need you and then you'll be right there when I'm done!" Kagami said. "That way you still get to come and protect me if he goes haywire." Kagami said.

"But what if I don't make it in time?" Konata asked.

"I'm sure you'll do fine Kona." Kagami smiled. "Come on. Let's go get you some clothes." Kagami said. Konata sighed.

"You sure I couldn't just borrow someone else's clothes?" She asked.

"None of them would fit you." Matsuri said. "Even Tsukasa's old clothes probably wouldn't..." She commented.

"How do you know the size of Tsukasa's... Er.. Never mind. Don't answer that." Inori began, but thought better of it. There are some things that mankind should simply never know. Konata sighed.

"Alright. Let's go." Konata said as she stood up with Kagami. The two of them left the room together, leaving the two couples remaining.

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

"That was simply delicious, Tsukasa." Tony sat back and rubbed his stomach. While Tsukasa's earlier display of amazing powers had intrigued him, the meal was good enough to take his mind off of it. Looking at her incredible prowess, it wasn't hard to imagine some weird ancestry in her. There had been a truly large amount of food on the plate, enough that it had been in danger of toppling over, so the two were quite stuffed. Tsukasa smiled and patted her own tummy.

"I'm glad you liked it so much Kan-kun..." She said. She was feeling sleepy now, undoubtedly from a food coma, and decided that she would have to get up so as not to fall asleep in the kitchen chair. Tony followed suit and the two entered the living room. The two of them sat down on the couch together as Tony turned the television on. Calling on the convenience of magic once again, he took a movie from Tsukasa's room, though he wasn't precise enough to do so with any accuracy, and brought it to his hand. He looked down to find Sleeping Beauty.

"Want to watch a movie?" Tony asked, brandishing the movie grandly. Tsukasa giggled sleepily, though she seemed to be glancing at something.

"Sure Kan-kun." She said. Tony got up, Tsukasa reluctantly leaning off of him, and put the movie in. When he looked back, Tsukasa was staring at the other chair in the room intently. Tony studied her for a moment, trying to figure out what she was thinking. Suddenly, she got up from the couch and walked over to the chair, taking a seat in it. What thought she had been having now over, she turned back to the television and, namely, Tony. "What's wrong, Kan-kun?" She asked. Tony huffed a breath of confusion before shrugging.

"Nothing's wrong, just thinking." He said.

"What were you thinking about?" Tsukasa asked.

"You know, I wonder that too." Tony said cryptically. Tsukasa giggled at the, what was to her, silly remark. She dropped the subject, just like Tony had planned. The two settled into their respective places and began watching the movie. Tony, having observed Tsukasa's odd actions, recalled Kagami's comment about using that chair. He shrugged to himself and made it about twice as long as Tsukasa before falling asleep.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Konata and Kagami walked down the street, though there was no "doo wa diddy diddy dum diddy doo" singing this time. Konata was feeling rather somber at what she might have to end up doing to protect her Kagami, while Kagami was trying to focus on how to get through to Konata's room diplomatically. She was a little torn, however. The last time that she had formulated a plan before-hand, it hadn't gone well at all. However, not making a plan made her feel even more apprehensive about attempting to go in. As much as Kagami knew that Konata could make it in time and deal with anything that Sojiro decided was necessary, she didn't want to have to make her girlfriend go through something like that if at all possible. Because one could do something most certainly didn't mean one wanted to do it.

"So, what kind of clothes do you want me to get?" Kagami asked, hoping to break the silence that had lasted between the two of them. While it had not been awkward, Kagami still hoped for some semblance of communication between the two. She wanted to know more about how Konata was feeling at the moment.

"Doesn't really matter..." Konata said. "Just get whatever you think looks cute or comfortable." Konata said. Kagami sighed a bit, though she was determined to keep their conversation going.

"Huh, usually you don't really think about what kind of clothes look cute on you if it isn't for your cosplay cafe job." Kagami teased. "You just kind of throw on whatever you find laying around.

"Well, I usually don't care, but I know you like it when I wear cute stuff, so why not?" Konata asked. Kagami smiled at her little love's logic and simply nodded.

"I love you Kona." Kagami said.

"I love you too, Kagamin." Konata replied. "Of course, this also implies that I'll get to do some dressing up of you some time in the near future." Konata gave Kagami a sly look that sent a shiver down her spine. There were so many things that Kagami knew Konata would want her to dress up as, and if she continued going to tournaments and such, she may very well get the funds to do such a thing. Kagami gulped over dramatically and smiled again. Some costumes would be the kind she'd like to show off to Konata in...

"So, cute and comfortable. Gotcha." Kagami smiled and nodded. Silence fell back between the two as Konata mentally prepared herself for what she may have to do and Kagami decided to just wing it once she got inside the house. The two walked in relative leisure, though they would have been there much sooner had they taken the subway.

Never the subway.

It wasn't very long before the two arrived at Konata's old house. Knowing Sojiro was on the other side of the door, Kagami sighed.

"If you need me, just shout." Konata said as she leaned against the small amount of wall that was beside the door. Kagami couldn't help but think how cool she looked like that. She smiled.

"No problem. I'll let you know." Kagami smiled warmly. Konata nodded solemnly, seemingly gathering her determination and confidence up. Kagami sighed as she walked into the house. Closing the door behind her, she saw Sojiro on the couch. No television or movie was playing and he was slouched over, looking contemplative. He stared at the ground and seemed quite oblivious to her existence. Thankful for her good luck, she began to move as silently as she could towards Konata's room.

"Hey." He said. Kagami stiffened and looked over her shoulder at him.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"What are you doing here?" Sojiro asked, still having not looked from the spot on the ground. He didn't seem angry, or bothered by her presence. More like... He seemed very tired. That he was asking simply because she was there. Kagami sighed. There were a great many ways she could reply. However, her gut feeling told her to simply explain herself.

"Konata's clothing got ripped at my house." She said, turning around. "I came to get her some more clothes." She said. Sojiro sighed.

"I see... Then she's staying at your house right now?" Sojiro asked. Kagami stared at him cautiously for a moment.

"... Yeah. She is." She said. Sojiro chuckled hollowly.

"Don't worry. I'm not gonna try and steal her away in the middle of the night or anything." He said. Kagami jumped a bit, her mind having been read all too easily. "I'm just glad to hear she's got a place to eat and sleep." He said. Kagami didn't need Tony's special powers to know what the man was thinking. He was obvious depressed that his daughter had chosen Kagami over himself.

"So then you don't mind if I go and get some of her stuff?" Kagami asked, starting to turn towards the door. Sojiro sighed.

"Where's Yutaka?" He asked. Kagami turned back around.

"We were thinking about having her come live with us as well." Kagami said. Sojiro seemed to shift in surprise, but still kept looking at the ground.

"So you were the ones who sent those movers?" Sojiro asked. "I didn't think your family had that much money if you came to move Konata out yourselves." Sojiro said. Kagami, now thoroughly confused, cocked her head to the side.

"Movers?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah, they came and got Yutaka's things, saying they were being paid extra to get it all in one day. All of her stuff was taken." Sojiro said. Kagami, having not expected this at all, was now glad she had abstained from thinking of a plan before coming in.

"That's odd. And they didn't say who sent them?" Kagami asked.

"I had assumed your family did." Sojiro said. Kagami sighed.

"I sure hope they were actual movers..." She said. Sojiro shook his head.

"They were. I know the company, it's well known." He said. A silence prevailed for a short time. It was weird conversing so normally with Sojiro at the moment. He heaved a great sigh. "So, my two little girls have both left me." He said. Kagami sighed and walked over. She put a hand on the man's shoulder. She wasn't entirely sure what moved her to the action, but the man seemed quite vulnerable at the moment.

"We're gonna take care of them. Don't worry about it." Kagami said. Sojiro, looking all the more contemplative, sighed for what seemed the thousandth time.

"I'm not worried. Tadao is a great father." Sojiro said. "He raised some really smart and compassionate girls." Sojiro said. "Not many could stand where you do and try and comfort a man like me..." He said. Silence descended again.

"Listen, it isn't too late. Kona is right outside the door. You can make amends right here, right now." Kagami offered. And for a moment, it seemed that Sojiro honestly considered it. Eventually he shook his head to show he was done thinking.

"Konata seemed to put a lot of faith in you. Don't screw it up as much as I did." He said. Kagami sighed.

"You know..." She said. "I've thought a lot about your position." She said. "I used to hate you. I did for a long while for what you put Kona through. You made her cry. You broke her heart. I hated you so much." Kagami said. It did nothing to raise the man's mood. "But..." She trailed off. "Now... I just pity you." She said. Sojiro couldn't help but be confused by her sudden change of heart.

"Pity? Why?" He asked, for the first time, his voice actually gaining some real emotion. Kagami retracted her hand from his shoulder and took a step back, as if preparing herself for what was to come. There was a sudden moment where Sojiro felt a powerful sense of nostalgia as he, also for the first time since Kagami's arrival, looked up into her eyes. In a blend between his voice from the past and Kagami's from the present, a declaration was made.

"Because I know that no one can ever love Kona as much as I do." She said.  
"Because I know that no one can ever love Kana as much as I do!" He saw himself shouting at his what was then future-father-in-law who couldn't imagine that Sojiro had taken an actual interest in Kanata. The man had been adamantly against their relationship for the longest time. Kagami looked at him fiercely, standing her ground for whatever Sojiro were to say, another nostalgic point. There was a few full minutes, however, where Sojiro just stared at nothing in particular, lost in his nostalgia so. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"Look... Kagami..." He began. Kagami's nostrils flared at the man addressing her like an old friend. However, she held her tongue to see what the man would say.

"What?" She asked. Sojiro looked up at her.

"I need to ask you a question." He said very seriously. "Please. Please, I need you to answer me with the utmost honesty." He said. Kagami breathed deeply.

"Fine. Ask away." Kagami said, recognizing the gravity of whatever it was. She would listen and answer as seriously as she could manage.

"What are your goals?" Sojiro asked. "Other than my daughter, of course." He added as an afterthought. Kagami cocked her head in confusion at the seemingly unrelated question.

"Hm? What do you mean?" Kagami asked. Sojiro sighed.

"What do you want to do with your life? If this... relationship were to work out, will... will my daughter have a secure future?" Sojiro asked. "Will you... CAN you promise me that?" Sojiro asked. Kagami sighed and closed her eyes, smiling a small smile.

"Sojiro." She said. Suddenly, her face turned deathly serious. "Listen to what I'm about to tell you. This is something I'm going to say as many times as it takes and I mean it every single time. I. Love. Kona. I'd do anything for her. Believe me when I say that I'll take any job to make sure she's comfortable." Kagami said, looking him dead in the eye. "As for my future job aspirations..." Here, she looked up as she if she were thinking heavily on the question. "Well, if the colleges ever open back up, I had an idea of trying to become the Prime Minister, though that was just an idea. Plus I could totally be the Empress if I could put the effort in. Barring that, though, I'd say that I'd try and become a lawyer." Kagami said, thinking hard. Sojiro smiled.

"Hmhm. Prime Minister, eh?" He asked with an amused smile. "I'm going to hold you to that, you know." He said. Kagami cocked her head to the other side this time.

"Huh?" She asked. Sojiro chuckled.

"Well, Konata is an expensive girl. Do you know how much a game system costs, not to mention games for it? Plus, she needs food! My my Kagami, you've got yourself into trouble now." Sojiro laughed. Kagami looked at him suspiciously.

"I... know all of that. What are you saying...?" Kagami asked hesitantly. Here, Sojiro's expression turned just as serious as Kagami's had been.

"I'm saying you'd better take care of my daughter. You made her fall in love with you, so no complaining. I'm not gonna let you back out of this relationship, even if you beg and moan." Sojiro said. Kagami looked at him for a moment, in awe of what the man was saying.

"... Thank you Sojiro..." Kagami said.

"Make my Konata happy. If you ever need anything I have, or anything I can give, it's yours. My blessing goes with you." Sojiro said. Kagami stood for a moment, taking in what he had said to her.

"... Sojiro..." She was speechless. That established, she did the only thing she could think to do. Giving an extremely rare gesture, she hugged the man. The man she use to hate. The man she then pitied. And now, a man who seemed to genuinely be asking the forgiveness of those he wronged. He patted her head.

"You'd better get going. Konata might get anxious." Sojiro said. Kagami detached herself from the man and composed herself again.

"I'm surprised that you're saying something like that. I'd have thought you'd try and get Kona to come live back here." Kagami smiled.

"Well, I would love it if she did. It's a lot more boring around here without her. However..." He began to comment. "She chose you." He said, a bit ruefully. "That means that, given the choice, she'd rather live with you instead of living with me. That being said, I think it'd be more convenient for you if Konata lived with you guys. After all, her cooking is the best!" Sojiro said. Kagami giggled a bit.

"Her cooking is pretty awesome." She said. "You know Sojiro, I came in here really hoping I wouldn't have to talk to you. I was afraid of what might be said and that Konata might have to come in to stop you from attacking me again. That would have really hurt her, you know?" Kagami asked, though not really meaning for it to have been a question. "But..." She trailed off for a moment. "Now... I'm glad that I got to talk to you. I was wrong. You do care about Kona." She said. Sojiro chuckled.

"Konata is the one I care for most in this world. She's the only person, my only connection with Kanata. She's very precious to me and I hate myself for hurting her. The two people who come close are Kanata and Yutaka. I love my daughter, even when she was leaving my house after almost killing me." He said.

"She almost what-now?" Kagami asked. Sojiro waved his hand dismissively.

"Later." He said, although most certainly meaning never. Kagami was now very aware of how irritating it must have been for Tony to be on the receiving end of a lot of those. "It isn't that I didn't love her... I just didn't love what she was doing..." He said. "I'm still not entirely certain that I can agree with it happily, but... It makes her happy. That's all I need." Sojiro said.

"As much as she'd like it, she doesn't really need you to take such an...active... part in it. If she only knew that you didn't hate her, or that you could at least tolerate our relationship, that would do wonders for her." Kagami said. "She would be so much happier than she is now." Kagami said.

"You think?" Sojiro asked.

"Definitely. This whole affair has been weighing down on Kona since it happened. Even if a lot of stuff has happened since then and she keeps a cool front, it's still pretty easy to see." Kagami said, having looked right through her little girlfriend. "Do you want me to go get her?" Kagami asked. Sojiro chuckled nervously.

"I'm afraid. I'm scared of how she's gonna react..." He said. "What a father, huh? Scared of his own daughter..." Sojiro said.

"At least it shows you care how she feels." Kagami smiled. She walked over to the door, but heard a voice from the other side. She put her ear to the door.

"...is... Ka... me..." She could barely make out. She cracked the door open and looked out to see Konata pacing, completely immersed in her own thoughts. "This is for Kagami. I'm not gonna hold back, I'm gonna protect her... Even if he is my Dad..." She repeated over and over to herself.

"Kona?" Kagami interrupted her. Konata jumped and tensed up to show she was ready to beat something within an inch of it's life on command. When it was shown such a display was not needed, she put her arms down.

"Kagamin?" She asked, confused at why Kagamin had not only taken so long, but why she didn't have any extra clothes with her. Kagami smiled a kind smile.

"There's someone who wants to talk to you." Kagami said.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya Luckies~! I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami~!" She shouted.

"And I'm the assistant, Minoru Shiraishi!"

"Uuuu~! All of that was crazy intense! And all the girls looked totally cute~!" Akira shouted. "Can I be the one to get cute the next chapter?" Akira asked the camera with her best puppy eyes.

"Next chapter can be the one when you realize you always were." Minoru commented. Everything seemed to pause for a moment. Suddenly, Akira glared death at Minoru.

"Hey. Idiot. Stop with the commentary." She said. Minoru, taken aback by her sudden shift, went back through his plan. He thought it was pretty smooth. He wondered what had offended her, but then she continued. "I'm not cute." Minoru looked at her, confused.

"Of course you are, Akira." He said.

"NO I'M NOT! I WEAR A TON OF MAKEUP, OKAY? THIS CUTE LOOK COMES OFF AT NIGHT!" Akira started screaming at him. "I chain smoke, I drink, I'm not even popular anymore! I got this job when I was beginning to lose my popularity! I just wear a ton of god damn make up!" She shouted at him, tears flowing freely. She got up and ran off.

*Music tone*

"..." Minoru stayed pasted to his seat for a moment.

"..."

"I already knew all of that."

*End*

* * *

**After Section**

I'm not entirely sure what I wanted to do with this chapter. I kinda forgot most of what I had planned, so this took me longer than I had hoped. However, one good burst of inspiration and a couple of all nighters saved the day! Er... Mostly. See, there's two ways to get around a writers block (Had a lot of them during this chapter). One, I can wait for a burst of inspiration to hit or two, I can just write something mediocre and hope for the best later on. I try to wait when I can, but meh. Who knows? Well, obviously you probably do, you're the reader. I have no idea if most of these ideas are good or not. I hope so! And I'll definitely keep working on it for as long as people still read! I can't help but wonder if I'm losing something by not having as big cliffhangers at the end of every chapter... Like leaving off when Sojiro calls out to Kagami or when Kagami is about to find out about her heritage. Hehe, well you're all gonna find out eventually!


	55. Chapter 55: Four Things Discovered

Chapter 55: An Illness, A Drunk, A Player, and... Pico?

Because AA is for alcoholics, and AB is in Scotland, it's me Ac! How you kids handlin' Post-Apocalyptia today?

So turns out that War and Peace isn't the only thing to compare to that I thought of. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (from Fellowship to Return) counts in at 473K words. Thirty thousand less words than this story before this chapter. The entire trilogy. I know I'm making a big deal of out this, but I'm pretty proud of myself. This is an accomplishment for me. How many people can say that they wrote a story/book/anything with that many words?

...

Well, a lot I suppose. In the Naruto fandom alone, there are (Estimated, I didn't actually count, so this is just assuming the same amount of 500k+ words per page) around 150-200 stories with more than 500K words. But I still count this! Because it isn't nearly finished.

Yes Sqweebs, that is exactly what it was referencing. My friend absolutely loves TWGOK. I liked it too, but I never watched past the first season (Not enough time in the day, ya know?). And yes, I suppose last chapter was a rather heavy chapter. Big issues and such. I'll have to work on that in the future to not be so serious! NoMutant, I absolutely loved that review. Those predictions though... Well, we'll all have to see, huh? I have begun sharing your love for Kagami and Tsukasa pairing up though, as of around half a year ago. I don't know why, but I've just grown to love that pairing so much, almost as much as Konami. It's just a shame that there aren't a whole ton of sister pairings in these stories. I'll have to do something about that too... And I have read Bonds of Sisterhood. I don't remember a whole lot of it, but I remember liking it. Ah, Z-kun! I know I've responded to you, but let me thank you again for your kind words! I've reread them often enough that I can speak them from heart and they always cheer me up!

Big shout out to FlygonMaster! Even after all these years, I still bother him with these chapters and he always responds. It's weird to think I've been a part of this site for almost four years. Time flies when you have good company, right? I'm glad I ended up coming onto here with this story. And I'm sorry to say that I'll be bothering all of you for quite some time yet with this story. Thank you all for your continued support, reviews, and PMs!

Man, I don't think I've had a beginning this long since chapter thirty-five. Whew. Anyway, and without further ado, on to the chapter!

* * *

**POV Tony**

Pain.

That was what Tony could feel. It was what he knew. His eyes creaked open to see a blurred ceiling. His head hurt in what was likely one of the worst headaches he had experienced that hadn't caused him to lose consciousness. Relying only on intent, he willed the headache to subside. When it didn't, he began to do the closest thing to panicking he could muster in his current condition. Eventually, however, the headache went down on it's own to a more bearable level. He blinked and sniffled. Now of sound mind, he noticed he was in bed. His nose was running and his throat ached.

_I'm sick?_ Tony wondered. _When did this happen? _He thought. He began wondering. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep on the couch watching Sleeping Beauty with his sleeping beauty. He looked around to notice he was indeed in his room, in his bed. "Tzuuu..." He began, but his voice failed him. His voice hurt. He breathed deeply. He willed his voice to work. "Tzuuu..." He began again. It hurt again. _Damn it... Hmm... I can text her!_ He thought. He took out his phone.

"Tsu-chan, where are you?" It read. He waited a few moments for reply. There was a moment that went by before he heard a knock at the door. Tony turned over to look at the door.

"Kan-kun? Are you up?" She asked.

"Yeee..." He rumbled a bit. He waited for another moment.

"... Kan-kun?" She asked, this time a little quieter. She had obviously not heard him. He threw his phone at the door. His arms being incredibly weak at the moment, it barely hit the door. However, it WAS audible. Tsukasa opened the door and looked on the floor. She saw his phone, but couldn't pick it up with the tray in her hand. She walked into the room and sat down next to his bed. She smiled warmly and put the tray down over his lap, there being a stand on it. She walked over to the phone and gave it back to Tony. He smiled and pulled the text to speech part of it up.

'What happened?' The robotic voice sounded. Tsukasa looked sympathetically at her boyfriend.

"When I woke up, you were still asleep and your face was all flushed. I felt your forehead and you felt really, really hot. So I carried you into the room and put you to bed." Tsukasa smiled. Tony stared at her for a moment.

'You... carried me... from the living room... all the way to my bed?' Tony's phone chimed. Tsukasa blushed and nodded. 'How?'

"I just... picked you up and carried you." She mumbled. She had struggled a great amount to move him at all, as he was considerably bigger than her.

'So... I'm just suddenly sick now?' Tony put into the phone.

"I guess so." Tsukasa smiled sadly. "I tried healing you already, but it didn't really work..." Tsukasa said. Tony smiled up at her.

'Thank you anyway.' He said through the phone. Tsukasa leaned down and put her forehead to Tony's. She closed her eyes and concentrated on telling how hot he was.

"You're still very sick Kan-kun." Tsukasa said. She backed her head up and moved the tray with the soup closer. She got the spoon out of it and held it to his mouth. "Ah~." She said quietly. He opened his mouth. He drank the soup, which, as he would have thought, was delicious.

'It's great Tsu-chan. Thank you.' Tony put in the phone.

"Thanks Kan-kun." She said. She took out a thermometer and put it in his mouth.

'I love you Tsukasa.' Tony said. Tsukasa smiled much wider.

"I love you too, Kan-kun." She said. There was a moment that went by before the thermometer beeped. Tsukasa took it from his mouth and read it. "Thirty-nine." She read.

'Is that bad?' Tony asked.

"Yeah, we might want to call the hospital." Tsukasa said. Tony winced.

'I'd rather not.' Tony said. 'I'm beginning to hate that stuffy place. It's too... sanitary there.' Tony said. Tsukasa looked back down to him.

"So what do you want to do, Kan-kun?" Tsukasa asked.

'I'd rather just stay here in my own bed.' Tony smiled. Tsukasa smiled back.

"Then we can stay here. But if it goes above forty, I think we should at least call Doctor Zimmerman." Tsukasa said. Tony sighed.

'I suppose if you want to, Tsukasa.' He said.

"Kan-kun, you can't even talk." Tsukasa said. She seemed to be getting more tired as the conversation went on, despite having gotten sleep earlier. Tony sighed.

'I know Tsukasa.' He said. 'I just really want to stay home.' Tony said. Tsukasa smiled.

"Alright Kan-kun. We don't have to take you to the doctor yet if you don't want to." Tsukasa said. Tony sighed in relief. He had just moved in with Tsukasa, so he felt no hurry to leave her company. Tsukasa giggled tiredly. "Can you eat by yourself, Kan-kun?" She asked. Tony nodded and moved to as best a sitting position as he could. Tsukasa watched as he began on the bowl of soup in front of him. She smiled. "Great. I'm gonna go see if we have any wash cloths I can put on your forehead to try and get your temperature down." Tsukasa said as she got up and turned to leave. Tony smiled.

"Love... you..." Tony spoke a bit. Tsukasa stopped and smiled. She turned around and came over, pecking Tony on the head.

"No talking. I love you too. Now eat." She smiled. She turned around and walked out of the room as Tony continued. As soon as she closed the door, she exhaled in exhaustion. She put the thermometer in her own mouth as leaned against the door. She let herself slide the ground as the thermometer beeped quietly. She took it out and read it. Sighing, she pushed herself off the ground. Wearily, she wandered towards the bathroom to get the washcloth for her boyfriend.

* * *

**POV Konata**

"There's someone who wants to talk to you." Kagami smiled. Konata stared at her for a hard second.

"Is it Yutaka or Dad?" Konata asked. Kagami smiled.

"It's Sojiro." Kagami said. Konata's face hardened. She walked up the stairs. "It's okay, Kona." Kagami said quietly. Konata seemed to brace herself.

"Alright." She said. She followed Kagami into the room. In it, she saw Sojiro, sitting down on the couch and looking at the floor. Upon hearing the two enter, he looked back up and saw his daughter. When the two of them met their eyes, both had a very different reaction. Sojiro's face lit up while Konata's expression somehow hardened even more. Then, Sojiro got up and began walking to his daughter. Konata stepped between him and Kagami and took a defensive stance to protect Kagami. Sojiro stopped cold and looked at his daughter.

"... Konata..." He mumbled. His heart felt broken at the sight of her first thought being she needed to protect against him. He had lost her trust. He bowed his head. Then he knelt down. "I'm so sorry." He apologized. "I know that you can't forgive me that easily. I know you may never forgive me, and I don't blame you." Sojiro said. "I just want to tell you that I'm sorry and that I love you." He said. Konata looked hard at him before dropping her stance.

"So... You're alright with my dating Kagami...?" Konata asked. Sojiro sighed.

"I won't say that I'm entirely comfortable with the thought." Sojiro said. "But... My main concern was if you would be cared for... after I'm gone." Sojiro said.

"Sojiro." Kagami said. "You don't have to worry about that ever again." She smiled.

"Dad..." Konata sighed. "... I think I understand now." She said. Kagami looked at her girlfriend.

"Kona?" Kagami asked.

"But it isn't like it was before." Konata said. She turned to Kagami. "Kagamin, when I was growing up, I didn't have any friends." She said. "I got bullied all of the time because I played visual novels with my Dad. None of the other kids even knew what they were, so... Well, no one really talked to me." Konata said. "Some of the other teachers even avoided me. What elementary school kid would be playing games with adult content? There was one point when I stopped playing with Dad because of it. I tried pushing him away for a really long time..." Konata sighed. "That was about the time I started taking up martial arts. Without visual novels, I needed something to pass the time and Dad just wanted to try and make me happy..." Konata smiled. "One day, he sat me down. And he said he loved me. Even if I hated him, he would always love me." Konata said. "He said... No matter what, Mama would always watch over me..." She said nostalgically. "After that, I stopped trying to push him away. I knew he loved me for being me and that Mama would be happy with me... It made me feel a lot better about myself. For the longest time, Dad was really my only friend. I could only ever really rely on him." Konata said. Sojiro looked up.

"I never knew..." Sojiro said.

"I always relied on you so much. Now, though... I have Kagamin. I have Kan-kan and Tsukasa! I have so many friends now, and they're all precious to me!" Konata said. "You were always there for me Dad, and that's all I needed. Just you. For some reason, I didn't feel sad or broken up about all that stuff, it just didn't seem real. But now with Kagami... No matter what, although my life hasn't been very fortunate until a few years ago, I'm glad that Tsukasa caught my eye because of that misunderstanding. Because of that, I was able to fall for Kagami." Konata turned to see Kagami with a smile, a tear or two suspended in her eyes.

"Kona..." Kagami said lovingly. "...Really? At a time like this. Anime quotes. Now?" Kagami asked. Sojiro chuckled.

"Isn't that just Konata though?" Sojiro asked. "Listen..." He mumbled. "I've made mistakes being your father, sometimes more than I would like to admit. But I will always be there for you, to hear you, cheer for you, to laugh or cry with you, to protect you with my life, and sometimes tell you things you don't want to hear. I will love you for eternity." Sojiro said. Here, he turned to look at his daughter's girlfriend. "Only Kagami will... can ever love you as much as I do." He smiled. Konata ran over and hugged him.

"I love you too Dad." She smiled. She sighed happily. After a few moments passed and the atmosphere was a bit less fuzzy, she broke the hug. "Now that we've reached our serious quota, let's get on to the fluffy stuff!" She shouted.

"One more thing Konata." Sojiro said. Konata smiled and looked back at him.

"Yes~, Dad?" She asked.

"I think you should continue to live with the Hiiragis." Sojiro said. "After all, you seem to be enjoying yourself over there." Sojiro smiled. Konata smiled.

"Are you sure?" She asked. "I'd think you'd get lonely over here all by yourself." Konata said.

"Meh, I'll be fine." He sighed, scratching the back of his head. "I still have my waifus." Sojiro laughed.

"And I have mine~!" Konata shouted, grabbing Kagami around the waist. Sojiro chuckled. "You're lucky that you came around when you did! I didn't want to have to expose your favorite waifu." Konata said with a malicious look in her eye. Sojiro chuckled nervously.

"Er... What do mean Konata?" Sojiro asked as a large drop of sweat dripped down the back of his head. Konata's knowing eyes turned even more evil.

"Ryouou Gakuen Outousai. I know who you chose." Konata said. Sojiro jumped and began to tremble a bit. "I also know what the name of every single Visual Novel heroine you can choose the name of is. And they're all the same." Konata said. Sojiro began trembling more.

"Um... Konata..." Sojiro mumbled.

"Even the H ones." Konata clarified.

"You REALLY don't have to go that far..." He mumbled. Konata's gaze turned still more treacherous.

"I also know that almost all of your favorite heroines are the same kind of girl." Konata said.

"Please Konata..." Sojiro pleaded. Konata giggled.

"Sure thing Dad. You forget, I played all of those games with you. Just 'cause you put them in some "forbidden" folder doesn't mean I'm not gonna play them." Konata giggled again. By now, Kagami was very confused. "Come on Kagamin, let's go get clothes."

"Um... Konata..." Kagami started as the two walked down the hall and into Konata's room. "What does all of that mean?" Kagami asked.

"I probably shouldn't tell you yet." Konata said. "It's kinda really bad." Konata said. "Your opinion of him might lower a LOT." Konata chuckled.

"So you'll tell me later then?" Kagami asked.

"Maybe..." Konata said.

"Hmph." Kagami huffed. "See that you do." She smiled. They walked into Konata's room to find her some cute and comfortable clothes.

* * *

**POV Tony**

Tony laid in his bed. He had finished the soup that Tsukasa had made and was sleepy. He felt bad being taken care of by Tsukasa, but the fact that he had a pretty girl looking after him helped him not feel too bad about it. The main thing that concerned him was that she might catch whatever had hit him herself, but whatever this was, it had knocked him on his back and practically incapacitated him. He'd like to think that if she had caught it, she'd be in just as bad a situation, probably worse. Tsukasa walked back in with a wet wash cloth and a light smile.

"Hi Kan-kun..." Tsukasa smiled. She walked over and put the cool cloth on Tony's head. He sighed in relief.

'Hello. Are you okay?' Tony asked upon seeing Tsukasa. Her face was really red and she seemed to be feeling down. Tsukasa kicked her head to the side and smiled her cutest.

"I'm fine Kan-kun!" Tsukasa chimed her happiest. "Did you like the soup?" She asked.

'It was delicious Tsukasa. Thank you very much.' Tony's phone said. He figured she must be okay.

"Is there anything that I can do for you Kan-kun...?" Tsukasa asked.

'Just having you here with me helps more than you know.' Tony said.

"Do you mind if I stay here with you a while then?" Tsukasa asked.

'I would love nothing more.' Tony said with the largest smile he could manage. Tsukasa walked over and sat next to his bed. Tony looked at her lovingly as she smiled to him.

"You know what might help, Kan-kun? A nice, long nap!" Tsukasa said. Tony smiled.

'That would be nice, actually. It'll give you a break too.' Tony said.

"You know that I don't mind Kan-kun." Tsukasa giggled softly.

'I know, I know, but I still feel bad about making you take care of me like this.' Tony said. Tsukasa smiled.

"Well don't." She said. She still sounded gentle, but her voice was also quite stern. "You've taken care of me when I was sick before. Why shouldn't I take care of you?" Tsukasa asked. Tony sighed happily. Tsukasa reached over and started stroking his hair.

___"Alone for a while, I've been searching through the dark,_  
_For traces of the love you left,_  
_Inside my lonely heart._  
_To weave by picking up the pieces that remain_  
_Melodies of Life - Love's lost refrain..."_  


Tsukasa sang. She wasn't sure why she sang that one in particular, but it had a soothing melody to it. Tony, as if in defiance of her expectations, seemed to pop even more awake. He looked over at her in bewilderment.

'Tsukasa, how do you know that song?' Tony asked. Had he been speaking, he almost surely would have frightened Tsukasa with volume. However, the nearly monotone voice of the machine barely conveyed such emotion.

"Um..." Tsukasa thought to herself. In her exhaustion, however, she could barely think of anything so obscure. "I don't really remember. I think I learned it a little while ago though." Tsukasa smiled. Tony stared at her for a moment.

'Please try and remember some time soon. My mother used to sing that song to me all the time.' Tony said as he smiled and put his head back on his pillow. All things considered, this wasn't the weirdest thing to happen to him recently. Or even that day. Tsukasa began to sing again. Tony relaxed and let himself drift off.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Kagami and Konata walked home quietly, hand and hand. Their other hands each had a large bag full of Konata's clothes in it. Konata's head rested on Kagami's shoulder, while Kagami's head rested on Konata's The two were near the home of the Hiiragis that had taken Konata in. They were both enjoying the silence that hung between them. It wasn't an awkward silence. Still, once Kagami had thought of a question, she felt the need to break it.

"Hey Kona, are you sure about this?" Kagami asked.

"About what Kagamin?" Konata asked.

"About coming here... About living with us over your own Dad?" Kagami asked. Konata giggled lightly.

"I'm sure Kagamin. I love you. I love your family. Besides, if I still lived with my Dad, almost the whole gang would be over there. Me, Kan-kan and Tsukasa would all live right next to each other. While that would be awesome, it wouldn't be as fun without you." Konata said. Kagami smiled.

"Aw~..." Kagami squeezed Konata's hand. "You know, I could come live in Yutaka's old room." Kagami said.

"Yeah, I was meaning to ask about that, what happened to all her stuff?" Konata asked. "When we passed her room, all of her stuff was gone." Konata said.

"Sojiro said that some movers came and took all of her stuff." Kagami said. "It was a well-known company though, so we just need to figure out where it went." Kagami said. They two of them reached their house. They opened the door and walked in.

"WELCOME HOME!" Four voices shouted out. Kagami and Konata both jumped and dropped their respective bag.

"Konatan~!" Matsuri shouted.

"Welcome to your new home Konatan!" Inori said.

"You're officially a Hiiragi in all but name." Miki said with a motherly smile.

"We're happy to have you in our home." Tadao said. Kagami giggled and bit as she hugged onto Konata, just deciding to roll with it.

"Welcome home Kona." She said as she pecked Konata on the cheek. Konata stood there for a second, simply taking the sight in. A few tears came to her eyes as she smiled and laughed silently.

"I'm... happy to be home..." She smiled. There was a flash.

"Konatan's cute crying happy face GET!" Inori shouted as she held up her phone.

"Inori!" Kagami shouted.

"Yes~?" She asked. Kagami stared at her for a moment.

"... See that I get a copy." Kagami said very seriously. Inori laughed.

"It's already on it's way Imoto!" Inori said as she began a text.

"Let's all go out and celebrate!" Matsuri shouted.

"What do you want to do?" Kagami asked.

"Let's all go out drinking!" Inori said. Kagami looked over hopefully.

"Oh, can we go too?" Kagami asked, having never been to an actual bar before. Miki and Tadao chuckled.

"I'm going to go change!" Konata shouted as she ran away into her new room.

"You know what? Sure, it's a special occasion. We'll go too. Do you guys know a good place?" Tadao asked.

"We've got a good place!" Matsuri said.

"The bartender there is a good friend of ours. We go there all the time!" Inori said.

"And what is this magical place called?" Miki asked.

"South Side of Chicago!" Matsuri said.

"Akira even started giving us discounts recently!" Inori said. "It's crazy, I thought she was hard pressed for money!"

"Ah, I remember that place. We go there sometimes as well." Miki put her hands together in delight.

"... That name sounds really familiar." Konata said. "Have we been there before Kagamin?" Konata asked, turning to her girlfriend.

"I don't think think so... I've never been to a bar before." Kagami said. "Is it a host club?" Kagami asked.

"No, it's a lot more of a western bar! There are regular waiters and waitresses!" Matsuri said. Then, she had a sly look. "Unless you really wanted it to be a host club." She said. Kagami, unfazed, scratched the back of her head and sighed.

"Nah, if I'm being honest, I'd really much prefer a hostess club." Kagami said. Konata turned and hugged onto Kagami.

"Kagamin's~ a pervert~..." Konata chimed.

"Only for you Kona." Kagami slyly looked over at Konata. Konata's face turned red. She averted her gaze a bit, a large smile on her face. There was another flash.

"Embarrassed Konatan GET~!" Inori shouted.

"Inori." Kagami said.

"On it's way Imoto." Inori said.

"Kagamin..." Konata mumbled.

"I love you Kona." Kagami said.

"I love you too Kagamin." Konata said. "Let's all go."

"Hmm..." Kagami said.

"I wonder what kind of drunk you are Kagamin." Konata giggled.

"I want to know what kind of drunk YOU are, Kona." Kagami said as the lot of them headed for the van. Konata and Kagami sat in the back, while Inori and Matsuri sat in the middle to provide directions to get to the bar. "I do have to warn you, Kona. Alcohol is bad for my legs." Kagami said.

"... Do they swell?" Konata asked, now pretty confused.

"No. They spread." Kagami got a seductive look in her eyes. This facade, however, cracked after only a moment. She started giggling.

"Kagamin, if you get drunk, I'm totally hitting that." Konata said. Kagami giggled.

"I'll punch you in the face." Kagami said. Konata giggled.

"So you'll be hitting it too?" Konata giggled. Kagami glared at her. "You love me and you know it." Konata said.

"Oh, of course I do. But I don't think we're quite THERE yet, if you know what I mean." Kagami said. Konata whined.

"But come on~!" Konata said.

"Hey, I've barely even began kissing you, ya know? Have we even had a second official date yet?" Kagami asked. "I have to show SOME kind of restraint!" Kagami said. "You're obviously not going to, so I have to have enough for the both of us." Kagami reasoned. Konata pouted cutely.

"All work and no play makes Kagamin a dull girl." Konata huffed.

"All play and no work makes Kona a poor girl." Kagami countered. "Do you have any real money for this trip?" Kagami asked.

"Um..." Konata hummed as she patted her pockets. She got a depressed look on her face as she slumped over. "No..."

"I thought so..." Kagami mumbled. "Hey Matsuri, Inori." Kagami got the attention of the couple in front of her. They looked around to her.

"What's up Imoto?" Matsuri asked.

"Kona doesn't have any money and neither do I. Can we borrow some?" Kagami asked. Inori chuckled.

"Like we're making you guys pay anyway. We're the reason that Konatan doesn't have any money to begin with!" Inori said.

"Today, at least, is completely on us." Matsuri said.

"Good to hear." Tadao said from the front.

"We'll be counting on you." Miki added.

"Hey, we don't have THAT much money!" Matsuri protested.

"Not if Mom's drinking too..." Inori said.

"I don't even know what it is she drinks, but it can get expensive sometimes." Matsuri said.

"Why, what happens?" Kagami asked. Her two sisters both looked back at her and stared for a moment.

"You'll see soon enough." Inori said.

"Here we are!" Tadao said. They began filing out of the car. When Kagami and Konata got out, however, Konata began chuckling.

"Kona?" Kagami asked.

"I've been here before." She said. "After I got sick just after Kan-kan got here." Konata said. "When we all went out to a bar, this was the bar we went to." Konata said.

"Did you get drunk?" Kagami asked.

"I think. I wasn't sober enough to remember." Konata said.

"Ha ha." Kagami laughed humorlessly. "What kind of drunk were you?" Kagami asked. Konata shrugged.

"I dunno. I was drunk at the time." Konata said. Kagami sighed.

"Well, we're gonna find out, aren't we?" Kagami asked with a smile. Konata giggled.

"May~be." She said. The lot of them went into the bar.

"Hey~! Aki-huh?" Matsuri shouted. The bartender looked up at them confused. Today, Akira was apparently missing, something that Inori and Matsuri had never seen before. Nevertheless, he waved.

"Welcome back, my lovely guests." The bartender said suavely.

"Inori! Matsuri! Over here!" A girl shouted from a table with three other girls. One seemed to hide behind another, more intimidating looking, girl as the six that had just entered turned to the group. The one left was almost bouncing in her seat with excitement at seeing the two of them.

"Hey Pansuke!" Inori waved.

"Who are you they?" Kagami asked. Matsuri looked over at Kagami.

"You didn't think we didn't have friends, did you?" She asked her little sister.

"I dunno, I just... I guess I never thought of it before." Kagami said with a smile.

"I'll be right back." Inori said. She ran over to the group and began talking.

"So, who's who?" Kagami asked out of curiosity. Matsuri pointed them out.

"Pansuke. I'm surprised you don't know her, she's Inori's and my childhood friend." Matsuri said, pointed at the shouting girl. "Asai." She pointed to the intimidating looking girl. "The one hiding behind her is Yukan." Matsuri said. "And the one that looks like she's going to explode at any moment is Yamete." Kagami smiled.

"They look like nice people." Kagami said.

"They really are." Matsuri said. Inori walked back over.

"I let them know that we're celebrating with you guys!" Inori said.

"No, that's alright, I understand. You can go drink with your friends!" Kagami said.

"I'd feel bad though, us inviting you guys out and then ditching you." Matsuri said.

"We don't mind, really. Go have fun." Konata smiled. "Besides, don't you have some really big news to tell them?"

"Big news?" Matsuri asked.

"Hello?" Kagami asked. "Lesbian? Related? Hitting it?" Kagami said.

"College? Paid? In full?" Konata said.

"Right... Right~..." Inori nodded. She smiled and scratched the back of her head. "Alright then, I think we will."

"I'll let the bartender know to put your drinks on our tab." Matsuri said. "Have fun!"

"We will!" Konata waved. The couple looked to the two elder Hiiragis with them.

"Oh, don't let us get in your way. Live a little!" Miki smiled.

"I'm surprised you aren't more against us drinking." Kagami said.

"It's a special occasion. Just don't go too overboard." Tadao smiled. Konata gave him a thumbs up.

"Don't worry! If Kagami gets really, really drunk, I promise I'll be there to vomit on her!" Konata said. Kagami looked over at her.

"Come on, don't get THAT drunk, Kona. Just drunk enough to let me see what kind you are." Kagami said.

"But I wanna know what kind of drunk you are too!" Konata said. They both went to the bar, somehow completely missing the piano player...

* * *

**POV Masuta**

"**You're** my **home...**" Masuta finished. "Alright, taking a break everyone, be back in a little bit." He said into the mic. He got up and walked over to Miyuki, who sat at the bar a good distance away from the couples. She put her hands together in delight.

"You even know Billy Joel." She smiled a very warm smile. Masuta chuckled.

"Probably my favorite piano player." Masuta commented.

"As he is mine..." Miyuki put a hand to her cheek. "I simply find more and more things to like about you..." Miyuki smiled.

"Well, that makes one of us." Masuta commented. "I'm pretty surprised. Konata, Kagami and the other Hiiragis walked in, I thought they'd notice me." Masuta chuckled.

"Hm." Miyuki suddenly seemed unhappy.

"Miyuki? What's wrong?" Masuta asked.

_It seems it's spreading... I was hoping I wouldn't get him involved._ Miyuki thought to herself.

"Are you okay?" Masuta asked.

"Hm?" Miyuki was brought from her thoughts and looked up. Masuta was looking at her, a very concerned look on his face. She smiled. "It's nothing, Masuta. It's just... I'm often forgotten or ignored as well. Ever since a few months ago, I've been put further and further from my friends. I was simply concerned that being with me and causing such a thing to spread to you as well." Miyuki said, a melancholy tone in her voice. Masuta chuckled.

"Miyuki." He said, approaching her. He put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm fine. I regret a lot of things in my life. I've made more mistakes than any man, woman or child on this planet." He said. "However..." He said. He smirked here. "My dating you is never going to be one of them." He said. Miyuki looked at him with a sad look, then smiled.

"Masuta, I'm so glad I got to know you." She said.

"And I, you." Masuta smiled. He then looked over at the jar near Miyuki. "Did we make any tips?" He asked. Miyuki smiled as she took the jar from the bar. There had been a sign that it was to tip the piano player. While Akira had offered, he hadn't accepted payment, so this was the compromise. Akira had said that she had felt bad for not paying him for his time, but Miyuki had wanted to hear him play anyway, and he had remembered hearing that Akira's entertainment had been calling out recently.

"Did you ever." Miyuki smiled. "Most of the people who come to this bar are fans of western culture, so many of them enjoy Billy Joel's music. It was rather pleasant hearing it live rather than from a recording." Miyuki said. She picked the jar up and held it out to Masuta, who counted the money. Considering it was his first night there, there were a considerable amount of bills inside the jar.

"Awesome." He smiled as he picked the jar up. "Next round is on me!" He said, to the cheers of the patrons. Oddly enough, Konata, Kagami and the others still didn't seem to take notice that he was there. He sighed while looking at them and shrugged. Since Akira wasn't here, he figured that he could give the money back to the people at least this time. Turning back to Miyuki, he smiled.

"That was very nice, Masuta." Miyuki smiled.

"Well, I was planning on doing this as a hobby now anyway, no real reason to take money for it." Masuta chuckled.

"That's one of the things I like about you." Miyuki smiled and closed her eyes. Her head tilting to the side, Masuta blushed a bit and averted his eyes from her radiant pureness.

"So, how long did you want to stay Miyuki?" Masuta asked. "I'll stay as long as you want." He said.

"I'm fine with being here as long as you are as well." Miyuki said. "I would like to hear you continue playing for a bit longer, however." She requested. Masuta smiled and nodded.

"As you wish." He replied as he stepped back up to the piano. "Alright, here we go!" He said into the mic as he began playing again.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Kagami and Konata both sat at the bar. The bartender had seen that they came in with adults and thus hadn't felt to the need to ask Konata or Kagami for identification. Besides, Konata had already gotten a reputation for being funny while drunk, so Akira MUST have checked her out before, and who doesn't want to see that?

"Kagami." Miki said as she walked up to the couple. The three couples had been drinking, though Konata had easily had the least to drink. Tadao had had regular Sake while Miki had gotten some regular she apparently had specially ordered solely for when she came to this bar. Miki currently had Tadao on her shoulder, the latter having nearly passed out drunk.

"Wow, wha' go' inda him?" Kagami asked, seeing her fallen father.

"A lot of Sake, that's what." Miki giggled. She sighed to see her daughter drunk. "Please, just don't go overboard." She smiled sympathetically.

"Mom, what did you even have? You had a lot, but you don't even look tipsy!" Konata said. Miki giggled again.

"I'm a bit of a heavy drinker. I wasn't aware that all of you knew this bar too, it's a special drink I have imported here." Miki said.

"What's it called? Maybe I can try some!" Konata said. Miki smiled.

"I wouldn't recommend it. I won't try to stop you, it's called Golden Grain Alcohol. It's strong though." Miki said. She pulled a bottle from where she had been sitting and poured a really small amount into it. It almost seemed like less than an ounce of alcohol. Miki put it down on the counter and everyone seemed to quiet down a bit, several people looking over at Konata in awe.

"Come on Ma'am." The bartender said. "She's just a starting out." He protested.

"She wants to know, so I say let her try." Miki smiled a bit mischievously. Konata looked cautiously at the cup on the counter as people stared at her. She grabbed the cup and attempted to down the entire drink at one time. However, the entire room spun around for a moment as her head kicked around. After it wore off a moment later, she shook herself.

"And you had so much of this..." She mumbled, holding her head a bit. Miki giggled a bit. "Are you safe to drive?" Konata asked.

"Certainly." Miki nodded. Konata looked suspiciously at her future mother-in-law.

"... Stand on one leg." She requested. Miki giggled a bit at her suspicion.

"I have to ask you to hold my husband for me for a moment." Miki said.

"Hey!" Kagami said. "Kona hol's no'one bu' meh..." Kagami protested before giggling. Konata got up and held Tadao so he didn't collapse. Miki smiled and complied. She stood perfectly balanced.

"... Hop." Konata requested. Miki hopped in place perfectly. "Walk heel to toe to that stool." Konata pointed. Miki spun on her heel and walked as requested. She looked fine. Konata sighed. "Well, alright then." She said. Miki came over and took her husband from Konata.

"I'm going to take him and my other daughters home." Miki said, gesturing over at the couple, who were still with their friends. However, the couple had reported their new status as a couple and, the alcohol taking their inhibitions away, were currently demonstrating for all of their friends.

"Yeah, you might want to." Konata giggled. "You don't want to take Kagamin?" Konata asked Miki winked.

"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll take care of her." Miki winked before going to collect the other Hiiragis.

"I'll do my best!" Konata saluted. "I'll make sure that she gets home at an indecent hour!" Konata said. Miki giggled.

"See that you do." She smiled as she dragged the other Hiiragis from the bar.

"Bye bye burdies~!" Kagami waved drunkenly. She giggled again. Konata giggled a bit at her girlfriend's drunk behavior.

"Having fun Kagamin?" Konata asked. Suddenly, Kagami burst into laughter. "What's so funny Kagamin?"

"So'times I jus' THINK funny things!" Kagami shouted as she giggled herself to her next drink. Konata sighed and smiled at her inebriated girlfriend.

* * *

**POV Tsukasa**

Tsukasa's eyes opened a bit. She was still incredibly tired, even after the nap she had had. Her first thought made her look down to the bed. Seeing that Tony was still there and still asleep, she sighed in relief. She noticed his phone was still on and had texted Konata in a conversation, so Tsukasa assumed that he had woken up in the middle of the night. She half wished he had woken her if he had been awake. She didn't like the thought of him being uncomfortable while she was sleeping. Of course, she was also slightly happy that he had let her sleep. She was so tired it felt like she could fall back asleep, even as poorly the chair had served her as a bed. She tried to stretch, but her muscles ached from having slept uncomfortably in the chair. In an incredible force of will, she pushed herself up and left the room. She looked at the clock once she was in the living room to see it was getting quite late at night. Still sort of full from the large plate of food that she had prepared Tony earlier, she looked around. She could find nothing that particularly needed doing. Hoping that Tony would let her know if he needed anything, she decided it was time for bed. Walking into her room, she laid down in her bed. She was soon asleep.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

"I'nt dis fun Kona?" Kagami asked her girlfriend drunkenly. "I'nt fun the best thing ta have?" Kagami asked. Konata giggled a bit. As funny as Kagami was while drunk, she was probably reaching the safe amount of alcohol for her to drink.

"Kagamin, may I have that bottle?" Konata asked. She wasn't going to drink any, but she did need it away from her girlfriend.

"I's still my turn!" Kagami complained loudly. Konata giggled as she took the bottle anyway.

"Come on, come on..." She chuckled. "You know Kagamin, it's getting kind of late. Everyone else went home an hour ago." Konata said.

"W'as yur point?" Kagami asked.

"I think it's time to go home." Konata said.

"No way, Jose! I don' wanna goh home." Kagami shook her head.

"Come on Kagamin, take my hand." Konata said. Kagami looked bewildered.

"Bu' that would leave you with one!" Kagami protested. Konata sighed.

"Fine. I'll carry you." Konata walked up behind Kagami and hugged her around her chest. Without apparent effort, she lifted the Tsundere from where she sat and turned to leave.

"WEEEEE~! I'm goin' for a ride!" Kagami squealed with delight before giggling.

"Kagamin, you're weird when you're drunk." Konata commented as they left the bar. The last thing the people inside heard was Kagami's retort.

"Oh yeah? Well... Your mouth is... a cat!" She shouted as if this was the discovery of the ages. Once they were a bit of the way down, Konata set Kagami down.

"Kagamin, get on my back." She said as she got down on a knee.

"Usually you want me off it..." Kagami giggled. "I'll get on your front though." She said rather seductively. Konata shook her head.

_Just the alcohol._ She thought to herself. Saying something like that was very out of character of Kagami, after all. After some odd conversations that Kagami wouldn't remember in the morning, they arrived at the Hiiragi house and entered. "Hey momsie, hey popsicle, I'm home!" Kagami shouted before giggling again.

"Imoto?" Matsuri poked her head out of a room.

"She's drunk. I'm going to give her a bath and get her to bed if that's alright." Konata said.

"Not until we're married." Kagami mumbled before laughing again. "AaaaaaI'm just kiddin' Kona, I'm yours." She said. Konata blushed the hardest she had in a long time. Matsuri giggled.

"Sounds fine to me." She continued giggling as she brought her head back into the other room, feeling lucky she hadn't had so much alcohol that she would miss this. Konata brought Kagami to her bathroom and, after turning the water on to fill the tub, started to strip her, blushing all the way. She had seen Kagami naked before, but it was different now. Once she had the Tsundere's clothes off, she grabbed the shower nozzle and started washing Kagami on the stool in the middle of the room. First she washed her back. She went around to the front of Kagami. She was halted almost immediately. The girl she loved was at this moment giving her the most seductive look that was probably possible when drunk and Kagami's legs were open. Wide open. Konata blushed. She reached to start scrubbing as intended, but Kagami caught her in a death hug.

"Kona, why are you so small?" Kagami asked as Konata was forced into her friend's breasts.

"I was born that wa-!" Konata tried to escape.

"WRONG! It's so I can hug you, and pet you, and squeeze you-"

"Kagami..." Konata was getting hot being so near the naked girl. She wasn't even noticing her wet clothes since she was still spraying Kagami and herself with the shower.

"-and pat you, and pet you,-" Kagami continued mimicking the actions she narrated.

"Kagamin..." Konata was losing it.

"-and rub you and caress you-" Kagami seductively as she started reaching between Konata's legs. Suddenly, in a burst of insane self-control, Konata ripped herself from the hold of the girl. To say she had wanted to stay and... be with Kagami was the biggest understatement of the century. She wanted so badly to be with Kagami like that, but she couldn't do it with Kagami's judgment so affected. It wouldn't be right. It wouldn't be fair. God knows it would be fun, but not right or fair. Konata breathed heavily and tried to calm herself, excited as she had gotten. Kagami, meanwhile, had tears welling up in her eyes. She started sobbing. "KONA HATES ME!" She yelled before putting her head into her hands and crying there. Hearing her say that made Konata's heart break.

"I don't hate you Kagami, I love you! That's why I'm doing this!" Konata shouted.

"NO YOU HATE ME THAT'S WHY YOU WON'T FU-" Kagami was silenced as Konata practically flashstepped over to her with a hand over her mouth.

"Kagami, don't say anything you'll regret in the morning. Don't do anything you'll regret in the morning." Konata warned. It was taking all her willpower to not take Kagami right there. Kagami seemed to calm down a little, causing Konata take her hand off her mouth. She sniffed a bit.

"But that's the point." Kagami said. This statement confused Konata.

"What do you mean?" Konata asked.

"Kona, I love you more than life itself, but I'd never tell you that when I'm sober. I always have that mental block that keeps everything out." Kagami had tears in her eyes again. "I don't know why, but I can never tell you that I love you and that I need you when I'm sober so I wanted to do it while I'm drunk!" Kagami shouted, burying her head in her hands. Konata hadn't expected such... logic while her friend was drunk. "Please love me Kona." Kagami mumbled. Konata walked over and hugged her love, not so much romantically, but as a bit of support. She had no intention of sleeping with Kagami while her judgment was impaired.

"I do. And I always will. Right now, we just need to get you clean and in bed." Konata said. Kagami looked up at Konata.

"I'm a little surprised Kona. Here I am, ready to go at it, begging for it, and you reject me... I thought you would want to...?" Kagami trailed off.

"Kagami, I'm not going to. We've only really had one date, remember? I won't while you're drunk." Konata said sternly.

"But it's gonna be a long time if it isn't now." Kagami said as if this was a revelation unparalleled by any ever made.

"And I'm willing to wait." Konata said.

"But why wait?" Kagami asked. Konata sighed, smiled, and looked Kagami straight in her eyes.

"Because I love you more than life itself." Konata smiled warmly before kissing Kagami on the forehead. She then proceeded to start washing Kagami's front side. After she was finished, she carried Kagami and laid her in the bath. "There. Now don't you feel better?" Konata asked.

"Yeah..." Kagami sank until only her head was above water. They sat in silence for about ten minutes while Kagami soaked. "Kona?" Kagami looked up at Konata, who never left her side.

"Yeah?" Konata asked.

"I love you so much more then I'll ever tell you sober. Remember that... Please?" Kagami looked up hopefully. Konata felt her heart warm.

"Of course. I love you way more then I can ever tell you, 'cause words aren't enough." Konata smiled down. Kagami smiled and sank until her mouth was under the water. They both sat there for another ten minutes before Konata decided it was time for bed. Konata reached into the water and picked up Kagami as a husband would his blushing bride. She walked over and set her on the stool. Konata grabbed a towel and started drying Kagami. Again, she started on Kagami's back, then started drying her front. Though Kagami made little noises as the towel moved across her chest, Konata had to just ignore them. After she had the upper part of Kagami's back and front dry, that is to say everywhere above her stomach, she gave Kagami the towel. "Think you can do the rest? My arms are tired." Konata complained. Her arms weren't tired, but she knew she wouldn't be able to handle where her job would have taken her and she would have gone back on her word. Kagami reluctantly took the towel and started to dry herself below the waist. However, she took extra time and... care... with the parts Konata was so afraid to do. Kagami giggled as Konata turned around.

"Kona, you sure you don't wanna dry? I'm wet where a towel won't do!" Kagami called. Konata blushed heavily again.

_Usually it's me who spoils the moments with perversion!_ Konata shouted in her head. "Nope... It's all you." Konata waved behind her.

"Yep. All~ me, and all~ natural." Kagami said with a sort of seduction in her voice. When Konata refused to respond, Kagami sighed and finished. She got dressed herself before telling Konata it was okay to look. Konata turned around and smiled.

"Let's get you to bed." Konata smiled. She walked over and led Kagami back to her room. She put the Tsundere in her bed, covered her with her blanket, and kissed her on the forehead again.

"Kona... I love you." Kagami smiled as she snuggled under her blanket.

"I love you too Kagami." Konata smiled before she left. Kagami looked at the door, sighed, and fell asleep.

Konata went back into the bathroom, stripped, cleaned herself, and got into the bath, trying to calm herself from Kagami's more than obvious come ons. All of them had succeeded in making Konata want to take Kagami, and she was surprised she had had the strength not to. Once she was out, she sighed. She stretched and took her phone out. She sent out a text to Tony.

"Hey, what did you give me for my hangover?" She asked.

"A sugar pill and water with some lemon juice." The text came back.

"What? How does that help?" Konata sent back.

"Placebo effect. You have to sell it for it to work. That's why I gave you a time on it and why it tasted so sour. Helps to sell it." The reply came. Konata sighed. "Aspirin will work just as well. A vitamin can do it too." Another came back.

"Thanks." Konata sent back.

* * *

**POV Konata - In the morning**

Konata walked into Kagami's room to see the Tsundere awake and holding her head, in obvious pain.

"Hey Kona, did you get me home last night?" Kagami asked roughly, groaning softly.

"Yep. Take these." Konata handed Kagami the "medicine" Tony told her about. "They'll cure your hangover in a jiffy." Kagami took them from her in about as much time and drank the drink and swallowed the pill. The relief was palpable.

"Thanks Kona." Kagami smiled.

"No problem. Wanna go to the living room and I'll make you some breakfast?" Konata asked.

"I would love that Kona, thanks." Kagami rubbed her stomach as it growled.

"Alright, let's go." Konata led them out and Kagami sat next to the surprisingly awake Matsuri. They were trying to be quiet since no one else in the house seemed awake. Matsuri, upon seeing Kagami, giggled.

"What's so funny?" Kagami asked as Konata went into the kitchen to start breakfast. She got in to see Miki standing near the stove. Miki turned around, a wide smile on her face.

"I see you two got home alright last night." Miki smiled. Konata blushed a little bit.

"Were you asleep when we got home last night?" Konata asked. Miki giggled.

"Yeah, but I can guess by the look on your face what type of drunk my daughter really is." Miki said. Konata blushed even more. "Would you like to help me with breakfast?" She asked. Konata smiled as the subject was changed from her girlfriend. Konata walked over and began to help her mother. Meanwhile, in the living room...

* * *

**In the living room**

"What's so funny?" Kagami asked her sister.

Matsuri said not a word, but took out her phone and opened it, playing a video she had taken. Kagami saw her own naked back with her legs spread wide open, Konata in front of her. She grabbed Konata into a hug and started hugging, squeezing, rubbing, and caressing her. A feeling of horror came over Kagami. She saw herself reached down for Konata's underneath, but Konata broke free of Kagami's grasp. Kagami looked at the video with a dumbfounded look as time and again, Konata refused and resisted Kagami's seductive attempts. The video finally ended as Kagami started getting dressed.

"Who's hungr- ow!" Konata was pulled into the hall by the death-grip on her arm by none other than Kagami. "Kagami, what's up? I almost dropped the food." Konata looked down at how she had awkwardly had to position the tray to prevent the breakfast from falling off.

"Konata, what did I do when I was drunk last night?" Kagami asked. Konata, on hearing the question, blushed.

"Nothing, nothing." Konata said as she averted her gaze, unable to look Kagami in the eye.

"Matsuri showed me a video of the bath." Kagami said. Konata got an even heavier blush. "We almost... you know." Kagami said. Konata was waiting for the hits to come. "And you stopped me." Kagami smiled. "Thank you." Konata looked up to see a truly grateful Kagami. She smiled back.

"I wish I could say it was no problem, but damn you almost had me a few times." Konata catgrinned, knowing she was probably going to ruin the moment again. "You said that you didn't think we were there yet, right?" Konata smiled.

"Well..." Kagami's smile transformed a bit. It grew... almost perverted. "Who knows how long it will really be? Keep this kind of stuff up, and it might not be as long as you think." Kagami winked as she walked back into the living room. Konata stood there for a solid minute, paralyzed by what had just happened. She smiled, giggled to herself, and followed Kagami after that minute was up.

* * *

**POV Miyuki**

Miyuki knocked on the door to Tony's home. Tsukasa having spent the night, Miyuki was a bit curious as to how they were coming along. She waited for a moment before knocking again, a bit more forcefully this time. Again, there was no answer. Miyuki was getting a bit worried. She listened at the door, but couldn't hear anything. She took out her phone and called her boyfriend.

"Y'ello?" Masuta answered.

"Hello Masuta." Miyuki smiled.

"Miyuki? Why are you calling, couldn't you just come to my room or something?" Masuta asked.

"Ah, I'm not at home at the moment. I decided to go see Tsukasa and Kanpeki-san." Miyuki said.

"Really? This early?" Masuta asked.

"It's only three hours from noon Masuta." Miyuki giggled a bit.

"It's still early... Why didn't you tell me? I'd like to have come." Masuta said.

"Well, I didn't want to wake you... But the main question I had was do you think that Kanpeki-san would still be asleep this time of the morning?" Miyuki asked.

"Hmm... Probably not. I can't imagine he would sleep in this much." Masuta said.

"Perhaps they've gone out to somewhere? To celebrate their living together?" Miyuki asked.

"Have you checked inside yet?" Masuta asked.

"I haven't. I didn't want to intrude in case they were still asleep." Miyuki said.

"Well if he is asleep, he shouldn't be. Don't want him getting lazy, ya know?" Masuta chuckled. Miyuki giggled a bit as she opened the room.

"No, we wouldn't. I think I'll see if he's asleep." Miyuki smiled.

"Let me know what's going on. I think I'll start heading over as well." Masuta said.

"Very well. If he isn't home, I shall inform you." Miyuki smiled.

"I'll see you soon." Masuta said.

"See you soon." Miyuki smiled a bit wider. There was a click as Masuta hung up. Miyuki sighed in contentment. She opened the door to Tony and Tsukasa's house. Everything was dark and quiet, as if no one was there. Miyuki looked around. She hadn't been here but a few times, but those times had left a distinct impression on her. Thus, she was rather impressed that the place seemed clean and organized. Miyuki smiled. Turning a light on, she walked into the hallway and looked around. Recalling what she remembered from her stay there, she looked at the entrance to Tsukasa's room and cracked the door open. She peeked in to see Tsukasa, seemingly fast asleep. Miyuki giggled lightly before closing the door. She walked down to Tony's room and cracked that door open. Peeking in this room as well, she saw Tony much in the same state as his girlfriend. Miyuki sighed. _I think I'll wait on Masuta to make a decision on if we should wake him._ Miyuki smiled before closing the door. She hear a tired yawn from behind her. She turned to see Tsukasa rubbing one eye with her other only cracked a bit open.

"Yuki-chan~..." Tsukasa yawned cutely. "What's going on? When did you get here?" She asked. Her face was flushed red from having been asleep.

"Ah, Tsukasa." Miyuki clapped her hands together in delight and smiled with her eyes. "I'm sorry to have woken you." She said. "I only arrived recently. I was simply coming to see how you were doing now that you've moved in together." Miyuki said. Tsukasa smiled and swayed a bit sleepily.

"Okay then..." She smiled. "Would you like some breakfast?" Tsukasa asked. Miyuki shook her head.

"Thank you for the offer, however, I ate before I came." Miyuki said. "I never really thought about it, but you do an awful lot of cooking, don't you Tsukasa?" Miyuki asked. Tsukasa giggled wearily.

"I just like to cook." She said.

"It seems as if almost every time we see you, you're cooking." Miyuki giggled. Tsukasa giggled a bit as well.

"Wanna just go watch a movie then?" Tsukasa asked. Miyuki smiled.

"I would love to. Would it be okay if Masuta came over as well?" Miyuki asked.

"The more the merrier!" Tsukasa exclaimed in a subdued sort of way. The two of them made their way to the living room where Miyuki sat on the couch. Tsukasa sat in the chair that she had sat in the previous night. She sighed as she turned the television on with the remote. The two of them enjoyed some random television programming when a knock came at the door.

"Ototo!" A voice came at the door. Miyuki smiled and sighed a little happily. She walked over to the door and opened the door. "Hey there." Masuta smiled with a wave. He walked in and looked around.

"Hi!" Tsukasa turned and put her hand up. Masuta chuckled and waved.

"Hey. Is Ototo still asleep?" He asked.

"Kan-kun is sick." Tsukasa said. "He needs sleep." She said.

"Ah, when did this happen?" Masuta asked.

"He got sick last night." Tsukasa sighed.

"Are you okay?" Masuta asked. "Your face is all red." He commented.

"I just got up..." Tsukasa said.

"..." Masuta studied her for a moment. "...Uh-huh." He decided before continuing. "Alright. Well, now we're both here, we can help with taking care of Ototo." Masuta said. Tsukasa sighed in relief at the backup. The three of them sat as Tony continued to sleep.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

Kagami sat back and smiled.

"Delicious as always Kona." Kagami smiled. "I love your cooking." She sighed as she patted her stomach.

"By the way Imoto?" Matsuri said.

"Hm?" Kagami hummed inquisitively. Matsuri pulled out her phone once more and showed it to Kagami. Kagami took it and looked at the picture. She blushed wildly.

"Cooking Konatan get." Matsuri said. The picture was a picture of Konata with a cooking apron on, fluttering around and she held a ladle in her hand. She looked all the parts of a perfect housewife. Kagami glared at her sister.

"Matsuri." She said with deathly seriousness.

"On its way Imoto." Matsuri said. Kagami sighed in relief.

"Good." She said as she handed Matsuri back her phone. "So Kona what do you want to do now?" Kagami asked. Konata seemed to give it great thought.

"Hmm..." She thought. "We should watch anime." She said seriously. "I haven't actually watched anime since..." She thought back. "I think since before we met Kan-kan." Konata said. Kagami smiled.

"Alright then." Kagami nodded. "What do you want to watch?" Kagami asked.

"Well..." She thought once again. "Have I ever showed you Boku no Pico?" Konata asked. Kagami smiled.

"No, I don't think so." She said. "What's it about?"

"It's a love story about a young boy!" Konata said enthusiastically. Kagami smiled.

"Like Negi?" Kagami asked. Konata giggled mischievously.

"EXACTLY like Negi." Konata said. Kagami smiled.

"Cool! Do you have it with you?" Kagami asked.

"I just so happen to have gotten it while we were at Dad's place." Konata said.

"Awesome! Let's go watch it!" Kagami said with a great excitement, grabbing Konata by the hand and practically dragging her behind her. After all, Negima was one of her favorite manga, so to have a character in it that was like that protagonist would surely be an epic story, right?

If only the poor girl knew...

* * *

**POV Masuta**

Masuta sat in Tony and Tsukasa's living room, watching the television. There really wasn't anything on that interested him, so he instead studied the two girls in the room. Miyuki watched the television along with Tsukasa. However, Tsukasa had said her face was red because she had only just gotten up. Her face hadn't turned a different color yet however, and it had been a little while since then. She seemed tired as well and heat radiated off of her. Masuta was incredibly surprised that Miyuki hadn't noticed. Tsukasa smiled.

"I... I think I'm gonna go get some drinks..." She said. She seemed out of breath, even though she had done little more than sat in the chair and watched television.

"I'll get them." Miyuki offered. However, Tsukasa pushed herself up anyway.

"No... I'd feel bad if I made you get them..." She smiled as she began to walk. Her steps were heavy. Masuta continued to watch her all the way into the kitchen. Once she was in, Masuta addressed his girlfriend.

"Miyuki, have you noticed that Tsukasa is... off? She seems more tired than usual." Masuta commented. Miyuki sighed.

"I had hoped I was simply over-thinking it since Kanpeki-san is sick. From what Tsukasa told me, Kanpeki-san seems to have been incapacitated by it, so I assumed it would have done much the same to Tsukasa if she had caught it." Miyuki sighed. "I think I'll check her temperature once she comes back." Miyuki said.

"I think that we had better." Masuta said. The two of them sighed as they sat back. Miyuki had simply come over on a whim, yet the two of them seemed to be stuck here for a while to take care of Tony and possibly Tsukasa. Suddenly, they heard a thud. The two of them alerted, they both jumped up, Masuta reaching the door to the kitchen first. Tsukasa was sitting as one who had just fallen. Looking almost unaware of her surroundings, she looked around with an almost clueless expression.

"Tsukasa!" Miyuki shouted in alarm as she ran over to her friend.

"Yuki-...chan..." Tsukasa mumbled as she lost consciousness. Masuta sighed.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

"Oh... Oh dear god! What the hell?" Kagami shouted at what she was seeing. "Why...? Why would put an ice cube there? This is NOT a place that needs cooling!" Kagami asked.

"I dunno Kagamin, your's is pretty hot." Konata commented. What would have been a nice way to get Kagami to blush, however, went ignored.

"Why would... Why would you... NO!" Kagami shouted. "Do not get in that car!" Kagami shouted. "Why is the grandfather just letting this kid go with a random stranger?" Kagami asked. Konata giggled and shrugged.

"I dunno. Maybe he isn't right in the head?" Konata suggested. Kagami didn't comment further before it continued on. "No! You're gonna get ice cream on the upholstery of that car!" Kagami protested. Konata giggled. It continued on. By the end, Kagami's jaw had been dropped for a long time. Konata looked at her slyly.

"What did you think?" Konata asked.

"That... was not only incredibly disturbing... but also physically impossible in some cases..." Kagami said.

"There are two more." Konata said. Kagami's jaw almost hit the ground as she looked at Konata.

"WHAT? They made THREE of these?" Kagami asked.

"Yep. All with the same protagonist too." Konata said.

"Yeah, he was NOTHING like Negi!" Kagami protested. "Negi is cool, smart, and he's only ten! This guy was thirteen!" Kagami shouted.

"The ten year old guy comes up in the next one." Konata said. Kagami closed her mouth and stared at Konata.

"... You better be telling the truth this time." Kagami said.

"Kagamin, I thought you liked Yaoi!" Konata said.

"I don't really care for shota though." Kagami said. Konata's smile went down a bit.

"Don't I kind of look like a small boy though...? If I had a boy's tools, I would be a shota..." Konata said.

"Don't even compare yourself to a boy Kona!" Kagami said. "You're so small, cute, cool, smart and just all around adorable!" Kagami said. Konata blushed. There was a flash as Kagami brought her phone up. "Embarrassed Kona two get." She mumbled to herself as she saved the picture to her phone's storage. Then she put her phone away again. "Kona, you're feminine. The boys in this anime are androgynous. There's a BIG difference Kona." Kagami said. Konata's face lit up with a huge smile.

"Love you Kagamin." She said.

"I love you too Kona." Kagami pecked Konata on the forehead. She sighed. "... I have to watch the other two, don't I?" Kagami asked.

"Yep." Konata said.

"No getting out of it?" Kagami asked.

"Unless you go hero mode again and force your way out of here, nope." Konata said. Kagami sighed once again.

"Well then... Once more into the fray..." Kagami said as Konata clicked the next video.

* * *

**POV Miyuki**

Miyuki felt Tsukasa's head and felt a little panicked. Her eyes fluttered a bit.

"Y-Yuki-chan..." Tsukasa mumbled.

"Tsukasa, why didn't you tell us you were sick too?" Miyuki asked out of clear concern for her best friend.

"I didn't want to make you worry..." Tsukasa mumbled.

"Now we're even more worried about you." Miyuki scolded her. "Here, put this under your tongue." Miyuki held a thermometer up. Tsukasa shook her head sleepily.

"I already took my temperature earlier." Tsukasa mumbled.

"What was your temperature?" Miyuki asked.

"Forty-one and a half..." Tsukasa said. Miyuki gasped sharply.

"FORTY-ONE AND A HALF?" Miyuki shouted in sheer shock. Tsukasa was almost thrown back by the force and surprise of Miyuki shouting. She couldn't remember a time when Miyuki shouted in recent memory. "Why have you not gone to the hospital yet?"

"Kan-kun didn't want to..." Tsukasa mumbled.

"Did he know that you were sick as well?" Miyuki asked.

"No... I didn't tell him..." Tsukasa said.

"Why not?" Miyuki asked.

"I had to take care of him..." Tsukasa mumbled. Miyuki sighed.

"Well you don't have to anymore." Miyuki said. "Let me and Masuta take over now." She smiled.

"Thank you Yuki-chan..." Tsukasa chimed quietly.

"My pleasure Tsukasa." Miyuki said.

"Yuki-chan...?" Tsukasa asked.

"Yes Tsukasa?" Miyuki asked.

"Can we not go to the hospital? Do you think you can treat me here?" Tsukasa asked. Miyuki sighed.

"I would feel better about a real doctor checking on you." Miyuki said.

"Did you start studying medicine Yuki-chan? I know you were thinking about it and I think you'd be really good at it..." Tsukasa asked. Miyuki sighed.

"If you truly wish, we may stay here, but if it's gets too bad, I'm going to have to take you to the hospital." Miyuki said. Tsukasa nodded with a smile.

"Thank you Yuki-chan." Tsukasa said as she relaxed into the bed more.

"You're welcome Tsukasa." Miyuki smiled. The two sat in silence for a moment.

"Where is Masuta, anyway?" Tsukasa asked.

"Well..." Miyuki looked at the door. "He's in with Kanpeki-san." Miyuki said.

"Oh... Okay..." Tsukasa said as she leaned back on to the bed. "Thank you for taking care of me Yuki-chan." Tsukasa repeated. Miyuki giggled a bit.

"As I said before. It's my pleasure." Miyuki smiled.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

"NO!" Kagami shouted. "No! No!" Kagami shouted. "That does NOT constitute the proper use of a dog toy in any situation there has EVER been!" Kagami said.

"I'm surprised you're not commenting on their familial activities." Konata said.

"Kona, we were just in a room that my sisters confessed to each other in. What makes you think I have a problem with that kind of stuff?" Kagami asked.

"I dunno, maybe that it was a shota and a big sister." Konata shrugged.

"The sister is actually really cute." Kagami said.

"Really?" Konata smiled.

"Six out of ten." Kagami rated.

"Only six?" Konata asked.

"Well, it doesn't really matter since she appears straight, huh?" Kagami asked with a smile.

"True." Konata said.

"On a side note, there's no way a boy is that big." Kagami said.

"Negi would probably be though." Konata said. "And he's the same age!" Konata said enthusiastically.

"Negi is totally different." Kagami crossed her arms. "And that kid was no Negi." Kagami glared at Konata.

"I said he would be ten years old!" Konata held both hands up. Kagami sighed.

"Yes you did." She growled. "And why did they have to cross-dress the entire time?" Kagami asked. "This is ridiculous." Kagami sighed.

"Next one?" Konata asked. Kagami sighed.

"If we must." Kagami said.

* * *

**POV Masuta**

Masuta shook Tony. Tony's eyes opened a bit.

"Hey..." He tested his voice out. Seeing as it was seemingly working again, he continued. "Hey... Masuta..." Tony said.

"You feeling any better?" Masuta asked. Tony pushed himself up a bit.

"A little bit..." He said.

"Good." Masuta said. "Then do you realize that you're being a god damn jackass?" Masuta asked. Tony jumped a bit.

"What...?" Tony asked.

"Do you realize that your girlfriend is sick with a really bad fever?" Masuta said. Tony's eyes widened.

"Tsukasa is sick?" Tony asked.

"Yes. While you're in here belly aching and complaining, she was out there cooking, cleaning and then collapsing!" Masuta shouted. Tony's nostrils flared.

"She collapsed?" Tony asked, getting up quicker than he meant to.

"Damn right she did!" Masuta shouted. "And it's all because you were too busy with your bitching and moaning to get off your ass and help!" Masuta shouted louder.

"Hey, I didn't know she was sick!" Tony said.

"Don't make excuses!" Masuta shouted. "You're smart! You must have noticed she was off the entire time and you didn't do shit!" Masuta shouted again. "Now you've already fucked up today and you just got up!" Masuta shouted.

"I didn't..." Tony began.

"It doesn't god damn matter! What the hell are you gonna do about it now?" Masuta asked. Tony got out of bed with a force of will and stood up straight.

"I'm going to take care of my girlfriend, sir!" Tony shouted.

"Damn right you are!" Masuta shouted as Tony rushed out of the room. Masuta stood there and looked after him. "Damn that felt good." He scratched the back of his head. He'd gotten too used to cursing in the forces.

Tony rushed out of the room and opened the door to Tsukasa's room.

"Tsukasa, why didn't you tell me that you were-!" Tony leaped out of the room and around the corner.

"AHH!" Tsukasa shouted as she covered up. "Kan-kun, please knock!" Tsukasa shouted.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were getting changed!" Tony said. He gave it a moment.

"I'm decent Kan-kun." Tsukasa called back out. Tony walked around the corner again and smiled.

"Hey Tsukasa." He said. "Why didn't you tell me you were sick?" He asked.

"I didn't want to worry you Kan-kun." Tsukasa said.

"Well I'm worried now." Tony said. "Don't worry though. I'm all better now." He said. "I'm up and I'm ready to take care of you." Tony put his hand on his arm to show how strong he was feeling. He wasn't, but he could fake it just as well as his girlfriend. Tsukasa smiled.

"I'm so glad that you're feeling better." Tsukasa smiled.

"Are you hungry?" Tony asked.

"I could eat." Tsukasa smiled.

"Got it!" Tony said. "Miyuki, I'm sorry to say I'll be relying on you while I'm cooking." He said. Miyuki smiled and nodded.

"Leave it to me." She said.

"Thanks." He said. "It'll taste bad, but it'll be healthy!" Tony as he went down the hallway. Tsukasa and Miyuki looked at each other and giggled. Masuta walked by.

"What did you say to him, Masuta?" Miyuki asked.

"I guess you could say I pulled rank." He said with a smirk.

* * *

**POV Kagami**

"So is Coco real or not?" Kagami asked.

"I dunno." Konata shrugged.

"But then... who was phone?" Kagami asked. "Jesus that whole things was just so... Ugh..." Kagami shuddered.

"You really dislike shota that much?" Konata asked.

"Shota is NOT what I'm into." Kagami sighed.

"Even if all of them are shotas?" Konata asked.

"ESPECIALLY if they're all shotas." Kagami said. "Yaoi is fine."

"Well, we finally made it." Konata said. "I'm proud of you Kagamin."

"It certainly wasn't easy." Kagami said. "I really had to sit here and bite my tongue for a lot of that. Man, was that hard."

"That's what all of them said." Konata said. "You'll have to give me a detailed review of it later." Konata requested.

"No. I'm never thinking of this thing again." Kagami said.

"Awww, come on Kagamin~!" Konata said.

"No Kona, I'm getting the brain bleach." Kagami said.

"Kagamin~!" Konata chimed.

"Kona?" Kagami asked.

"I love you." Konata said. Kagami sighed.

"I love you too." Kagami replied.

"What are we going to do now?" Konata asked. Kagami smiled to her girlfriend.

"I dunno... I guess you'll just have to see..." She smiled and dragged her girlfriend out of the room.

* * *

**Luckier Channel**

"..." The screen came on and there's the table.

"Where the hell is he?" The director asked.

"Sorry I'm late." A male in a suit casually strolled in.

"Where have you been? We've already started rolling!" The director asked.

"It isn't my fault, it was short notice." The male came on screen and sat down. "Hello, I'm Daisuke Ono. I apologize for Akira and Minoru's absence. Neither said they would be missing today and we aren't sure where they are." Daisuke said. "Honestly, I didn't even want to come back on here after the last incident." He glared off screen.

*Music Tone*

"Already? Great, I'm rather bored here anyway." He said.

"..."

"That's it? That's all I was called here to do?"

"Well maybe if you had been here on time you would have been able to say something else!"

"Eh, whatever."

*End*

* * *

**Aftersection**

Man, that took a long time to type out. Sorry guys, I've had more than Otakon keeping me busy lately. You know, more of the same stuff. Work, college, and martial arts class, not to mention all the other stuff I'm doing. Plus all the other stories I've been thinking of and trying to write for (Hopefully I can finish at least the first chapter of them to see if they're actually any good). There are quite a few ideas I've had recently and I've been trying to split my time between each of the stories (Which also slows this one down quite a bit). Anyway, I'll try to get those done so that you all can be the judge! I'll probably end up posting the first chapter and asking if it's any good. Maybe at least one of them and you guys can tell me if it's worth pursuing. Anyway, I'm sure you guys are wanting this chapter soon so I'll see you all later! Thanks for reading! Please review!


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